Analysis of a passage from The Yellow Emperor Secret Talisman Classic.

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天性人也,人心机也。立天之道,以定人也。
“heaven’s nature is the same as that of human’s.
Man’s mind is its mechanism.
Setting upright with the way of the heavens and people will be stable in it.”

This passage is constructed of the key idea that the nature of the sky and humanity is the same, and that the human mind is the mechanic element by which the two are united.
If people can copy the fundamental nature of the way of the heavens, then they will naturally become stable and stronger.

Some people have made the assertion that the heaven’s are considered as an empty space and comprised of yang energy, and that this passage is encouraging people to empty the mind in the same way as the sky, but this is an oversimplified concept which is not true to the original text. The actual meaning of this statement is that the mechanism of the sky, that which holds all of the natural world within it, The sky not only consists of emptiness, it also consists of movement of air and it contains various cycles of phenomenon such as the rise and fall of the sun and the moon, cloud cover, rain, thunder and wind. Each of these phenomenon change naturally with the seasons and although they are not predictable in an absolute sense, it is possible to know when they are likely to occur. For instance, the waxing and waning of the moon and rise and fall of the soon are consistent and can easily be defined to the minute according to time of year and geographical locale. Most parts of the world usually have four major seasons, each with its own unique weather patterns, and each of these can be predicted with at least some degree of accuracy, although they do change from year to year.
The human mind and body are very much the same. The mind experiences emotional events, some obvious and some subtle. We are happy when we come into fortune, and unhappy when we meet with misfortune. Sometimes our minds seem clear and other times they are clouded by thought or feeling, and there are times of turbidity and change that accord to events, thoughts, feelings and so on.
The body goes through a natural development, ageing, and dying process, and although it is possible to protect the body to some extent, it will eventually die and pass away.

The Yellow Emperor Hidden Talisman Classic uses the concept of the similarity between people and the sky in order to advance a synthesis of Daoist and Confucian ideas which suggests that in the understanding of our nature as the same as the nature of the world, we can take advantage of both in order to become more healthy, conscious, and take advantage of the forces of nature, rather than being at their mercy.
The important point to take away from this passage is that people’s minds are the mechanism by which humanity and the heavens are connected. That is to say, our minds are the interface between us and nature and they are the way that our corporeal forms are able to take advantage of nature in order to advance ourselves.

2 thoughts on “Analysis of a passage from The Yellow Emperor Secret Talisman Classic.

  1. The interpretation is not correct. The correct interpretation is roughly as follows.

    The passage is about the role of the mind and consciousness, or awareness, in correctly fulfilling human nature or destiny.

    Humans, like all myriad phenomena, are endowed with heaven’s nature: human nature is heaven’s nature, they are not different things – all things arise from the one source, namely the Dao. This is the meaning of the passage “Heaven’s nature is the same as that of human’s.”

    The human mind has conscious awareness, something that inanimate objects and animals don’t have. The role of this conscious mind is to (1) be aware of, perceive and understand this one source or one nature, which is within humans and all other inanimate and living things, given by heaven. Then via this conscious awareness of this one nature, humans are (2) able to properly fulfil this nature both as individual human beings but also collectively as the whole human species on earth, and also support and encourage all other inanimate and living things to correctly fulfil their natures and realise their destinies both individually and collectively as whole species. This is what the passage “Man’s mind is its mechanism” means: the human mind is the way or mechanism by which all things are able to realise this nature and destiny given by heaven and live harmoniously, destiny being realised.

    By doing this (“Setting upright with the way of the heavens”) then the place of not only people but all inanimate and living things in earth will be stable not only in terms of emotions and physical health and wellbeing, but also in terms of whole species: all living things will coexist in a harmonious and sustainable whole, destiny fully realised – all things are in their correct place, delighting in and realising this one nature that is endowed to them by heaven or the Dao, living with calmness and happiness. This what the last line means.

    Hence most of the interpretation on this webpage is wrong. In particular, it is very wrong to say things like “take advantage of the forces of nature” or “to take advantage of nature in order to advance ourselves”. Comments like this completely miss the point – the human mind or consciousness exists in order to support all things in realising their nature, not to dominate, control, and take advantage of.

    However, comments like “This passage is constructed of the key idea that the nature of the sky and humanity is the same, and that the human mind is the mechanic element by which the two are united” and “The important point to take away from this passage is that people’s minds are the mechanism by which humanity and the heavens are connected” are completely correct.

    I simply leave you with some quotes:

    Chuang Tzu said:

    “Those who are quiet at the proper occasion and follow the natural course, cannot be affected by sorrow or joy.”

    “Let your mind make excursion in pure simplicity. Identify yourself with non-distinction. Follow the nature of things, and admit no personal bias, then the world will be in peace.”

    “So the perfect man lets everything have its own achievement and name, while he himself is mingled with things without distinction. Therefore, he is free from the harms of the human world.”

    And Kuo Hsiang said: “Although the great is different from the small, yet if they all indulge themselves in the sphere of self-enjoyment, then all things are following their own nature and doing according to their own capacity; all are what they ought to be and equally happy.”

    1. “The passage is about the role of the mind and consciousness, or awareness, in correctly fulfilling human nature or destiny.”

      Yes, this was the point I was making when I said that the mind is the point at which nature and humanity are connected. The connection doesn’t infer duality, it infers that the mind is that which gives rise to our perception of nature.

      “Humans, like all myriad phenomena, are endowed with heaven’s nature: human nature is heaven’s nature, they are not different things – all things arise from the one source, namely the Dao. This is the meaning of the passage “Heaven’s nature is the same as that of human’s.””

      No one made any argument to the contrary. Human’s mind and the heavens are the same, I posted that in my commentary.

      “The human mind has conscious awareness, something that inanimate objects and animals don’t have.”

      There is no place in yin fu jing where inanimate objects are discussed as either having or not having consciousness.

      “The role of this conscious mind is to (1) be aware of, perceive and understand this one source or one nature, which is within humans and all other inanimate and living things, given by heaven. Then via this conscious awareness of this one nature, humans are”

      故天有五贼,见之者昌。 “the heavens have five thieves, he who recognizes them will be fortunate”
      The five thieves of the heavens is a code for the five elements, any of which being out of accord with the others will create destruction. If they are in accord they will create harmony. This is followed by 五贼在心,施行于天。 “the five thieves are in the mind, they move with heaven.” The mind can be injured by imbalances in the five elements, just like in the destructive cycles in nature.

      宇宙在乎手,万化生乎身。 “space and time are under your control, the myriad changes are born in the body” people who understand how to correctly control the five elements can bring natural order to time and space and the myriad changes of nature will positively affect the body.

      This leads up to the point I referred to in my post. It is the main reason why I left the caveat at the beginning of the post about the potential for people to make an overly surface level interpretation of the document as being about emptiness, oneness and joining with the Dao. The document is significantly more detailed about how to join with the Dao than that. It instructs us how to properly navigate the nature of the mind and the nature of the heavens in order that instead of being injured by the heavens, we harmonize with them. There are many other period Daoist texts which talk about “tai yi” and how to achieve it through being still and quiet and in harmony etc… yin fu jing is significantly different from those texts. In Dao Zang alone there are over thirty commentaries on it, all drawing different conclusions. here is the yi yindeng commentary on the section i posted: 以为立天定人,其在於五贼。 because people are made stable by being upright with the heavens, they are in contact with the five thieves.
      Remember that that section is directly followed by 天发杀机,龙蛇起陆。人发杀机,天地反覆。 “when the nature destroys the natural order, dragons and snakes rise from the ground. when people destroy the natural order, heaven and earth overturn.” The natural order is being in harmony with the five elements. Destroying the natural order is out of harmony with the five elements.

      “(2) able to properly fulfil this nature both as individual human beings but also collectively as the whole human species on earth, and also support and encourage all other inanimate and living things to correctly fulfil their natures and realise their destinies both individually and collectively as whole species. This is what the passage “Man’s mind is its mechanism” means: the human mind is the way or mechanism by which all things are able to realise this nature and destiny given by heaven and live harmoniously, destiny being realised.”

      This is not written in any place in that document and can only be treated as personal interpretation.

      “By doing this (“Setting upright with the way of the heavens”) then the place of not only people but all inanimate and living things in earth will be stable not only in terms of emotions and physical health and wellbeing, but also in terms of whole species:”

      Chinese philosophers at that time in history were not aware of the concept of “species,” and again, this is a personal interpretation, but it is not one that is contained in the document or any of the commentaries I’ve seen. If you are talking about the earlier Confucian concept that correct “Li” ceremony could be used to appease the spirits and ghosts and thus bring harmony to the world, I also don’t think it is that meaning, although perhaps there is some historical connection. It isn’t explicit in the document though.

      ” all living things will coexist in a harmonious and sustainable whole, destiny fully realised – all things are in their correct place, delighting in and realising this one nature that is endowed to them by heaven or the Dao, living with calmness and happiness. This what the last line means.”

      This sounds more like 20th century ecology and the hippy movement than any Daoist classic I’ve seen.

      “Hence most of the interpretation on this webpage is wrong. In particular, it is very wrong to say things like “take advantage of the forces of nature” or “to take advantage of nature in order to advance ourselves”. Comments like this completely miss the point – the human mind or consciousness exists in order to support all things in realising their nature, not to dominate, control, and take advantage of.”

      This might be a semantic difference of opinion. when I said take advantage of, I didn’t mean in the manner of exploiting physical resources, but rather to achieve the natural advantage of being in harmony with the natural world and not allowing misalignments of the five elements to dominate our bodies and minds. I’ve seen some commentaries which put this concept together with the five spirits (shen, zhi, hun, po, yi) and make the argument that when the five spirits are out of alignment we will develop bad habits and thus die earlier than we would if the five spirits were aligned. I’m afraid that what you’ve done is interpreted my words and replaced them with your own meaning. I also disagree with your interpretation of my words.

      “However, comments like “This passage is constructed of the key idea that the nature of the sky and humanity is the same, and that the human mind is the mechanic element by which the two are united” and “The important point to take away from this passage is that people’s minds are the mechanism by which humanity and the heavens are connected” are completely correct.”

      Yes, I’m aware of that, otherwise I wouldn’t have written it.

      “I simply leave you with some quotes:

      Chuang Tzu said:

      “Those who are quiet at the proper occasion and follow the natural course, cannot be affected by sorrow or joy.”

      “Let your mind make excursion in pure simplicity. Identify yourself with non-distinction. Follow the nature of things, and admit no personal bias, then the world will be in peace.”

      “So the perfect man lets everything have its own achievement and name, while he himself is mingled with things without distinction. Therefore, he is free from the harms of the human world.””

      That was Zhuangzi, not Li Quan, they are two totally different documents with different meanings. It is incorrect to assume that all documents contained in Daoism have exactly the same meaning.

      “And Kuo Hsiang said: “Although the great is different from the small, yet if they all indulge themselves in the sphere of self-enjoyment, then all things are following their own nature and doing according to their own capacity; all are what they ought to be and equally happy.””

      I’m not exactly sure how this pertains to the original document.

      Your interpretation is not based on a factual interrogation of either the original text or texts germane to it such as the many commentaries on the subject. Here is a full collection of the commentaries on yin fu jing contained in Dao Zang http://www.daorenjia.com/c17 welcome to have a look at them and if you think I’ve made any mistakes, welcome to send another message with clarifications.

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