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ABSTRACT
This essay brings together the discourses of Daoism and Deleuze and Guattari to elucidate the convergence among them on a fundamental metaphysical level that can open, for the receptive mind, a deeper intuitive insight and understanding of what a person is capable of doing and becoming, and how such a person can enter into a different relation with spacetime beyond the conventional understanding of it. After examining how vital energy (qi 氣) is transformed in internal alchemy (neidan 内丹), the focus turns to a consideration of the possible relation between Daoist “immortality” and Deleuzo-Guattarian “becoming-imperceptible.”Footnote*
* This essay is the result of decades of bodily practices beginning with gongfu 功夫 (Sanhedao 三和道 style) followed by taijiquan 太極拳 (Wu 吳 family style) and eventually qigong 氣功, which informed considerably my later philosophical reflections. Parts of this paper have been presented previously at the Comparative and Continental Philosophy Circle, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, March 25, 2016; the Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy, Western Sydney University, Australia, November 23, 2018, the Comparative and Continental Philosophy Circle, University of Leiden, Netherlands, May 24, 2019; and the Pacific Association for the Continental Tradition, University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, September 9, 2021. I am grateful for the opportunity to present my work at these societies and for the important critical feedback I received from their memberships. I also want to thank especially Meilin Chinn and Elisabet Yanagisawa for their many hours of conversation with me about my work on this topic.
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Disclosure Statement
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Notes
* This essay is the result of decades of bodily practices beginning with gongfu 功夫 (Sanhedao 三和道 style) followed by taijiquan 太極拳 (Wu 吳 family style) and eventually qigong 氣功, which informed considerably my later philosophical reflections. Parts of this paper have been presented previously at the Comparative and Continental Philosophy Circle, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, March 25, 2016; the Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy, Western Sydney University, Australia, November 23, 2018, the Comparative and Continental Philosophy Circle, University of Leiden, Netherlands, May 24, 2019; and the Pacific Association for the Continental Tradition, University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, September 9, 2021. I am grateful for the opportunity to present my work at these societies and for the important critical feedback I received from their memberships. I also want to thank especially Meilin Chinn and Elisabet Yanagisawa for their many hours of conversation with me about my work on this topic.
1 Meilin Chinn accurately points out that “because the relationship between philosophy and alchemy has been severed by philosophers, the explanatory—and practical—resources of neidan remain dormant. While it is generally accepted that the Laozi [老子] and Zhuangzi 莊子 provided many of the concepts and vocabulary for later Daoist alchemy, most of the scholarship on philosophical Daoism ignores this influence (notably, scholars and practitioners of Daoist alchemy embrace these origins). In the interest of producing texts acceptable and comprehensible to contemporary audiences, philosophers leave aside the arcane” (Chinn Citation2021, 47).
2 In the body of this text, all romanized Chinese names, places, terms, and titles have been converted to Hanyu Pinyin spelling; all Chinese, Japanese, and Korean proper names will follow the East Asian convention of listing the surname first, unless the authors themselves have used the Western order. Bibliographical citations and references will not be altered. All diacritical marks have been omitted unless they were included in textual citations and the bibliography.
3 The first character in “the Chinese word for becoming, 變成 biancheng . . . expresses the idea of change, variation, and transformation. . . . As for 成 cheng, it suggests a process, a completion, the final step in becoming, its entry into effect, or the end of its unfolding” (Bordeleau Citation2013, 5).
4 For a partial overview of these forms and types, see Kaptchuk Citation2000, 47–50.
5 For an encyclopedic historical overview of neidan, see Pregadio and Skar Citation2005, 464–497.
6 A translation of the Neiye along with analysis and commentary is found in Roth Citation1999.
7 Pregadio says that the best English translation is not his own but rather The Secret of Everlasting Life Citation2011. “Unfortunately, however, this book does not offer the tools that are necessary to comprehend the extremely difficult imagery and terminology of the text” (Pregadio Citation2009, 6n8).
8 “The work titled Awakening to Reality (Wuzhen pian), written by Zhang Boduan around 1075 [CE], has been included in the Taoist Canon, in the Buddhist Canon, and in several collections compiled by Confucian scholars under imperial decree” (Wang Citation2011, 3). For a translation of Wuzhen pian, see Chang Citation1987. For an overview of Zhang’s thinking and the importance of his work for Daoist neidan, see Pregadio Citation2009, especially 1–6.
9 Interestingly, both traditional (無) and simplified (无) forms of wu are found in early sources.
10 Unfortunately, like many classical Daoist works, this text is currently not translated into English but only referenced in various anthologies, encyclopedias, with some translated portions appearing in PhD dissertations and master’s theses. (Compare with Anderson Citation2008, 517–518; Didier Citation1998, 99–151).
11 Liu Yiming, Wuzhen zhizhi, 悟真直指 (Straightforward Directions on the Awakening to Reality [Wuzhen pian]), ch. 1, poem 3; cited in Zhang Citation2009, 77.
12 For a thorough explanation, see Dom Citation2013.
13 The Huangdi Nei jing is actually comprised of two texts, the Huang Di nei jing su wen 黄帝内經素問 (or Su wen 素問; Basic Questions) and the later companion volume Huang Di nei jing ling shu 黄帝内經靈樞 (or Ling shu 靈樞; Spiritual Pivot), which is concerned primarily with acupuncture. For an excellent bibliographical history of the Su wen, see Paul Unschuld’s section on the topic in his earlier translation of the text (Huang Di nei jing su wen Citation2001; 1–7). Also see Sivin Citation1993, 196–215.
14 The Secret of the Golden Flower; cited in Yuasa Citation1993, 89.
15 For an overview of this concept, see Smith Citation2012, 27–42.
16 The quotation is from Deleuze and Guattari Citation1994, 212; emphasis added.
17 The quotation is from Deleuze Citation1990, 149, 153.
18 For an analysis of shen and the difficulty in translating its meaning, see Simonis Citation1998, especially 83–94.
19 Zhuangzi Citation2007: Books 6 (大宗師 Da Zongshi; The Great and Honoured Teacher), 13 (天道 Tiandao; The Way of Heaven), 14 (天运 Tianyun; The Revolution of Heaven), 15 (刻意 Keyi; Ingrained Ideas), 21 (田子方 Tian Zifang), 24 (徐无鬼 Xu Wugui), 32 (列御寇 Lie Yukou), 33 (天下 Tianxia; Under the Heaven).
20 “‘The complete man [zhiren] has no thought of self; the spirit-like man [shenren], none of merit; the sage [shengren], none of fame’” (Zhuangzi Citation2007, 85).
21 For an overview of this fundamental concept, see Robinet Citation2008, 401–402.
22 For an analysis of the Event in Deleuze, see Kirkeby Citation2004, 290–308.
23 The quotations by Deleuze are found in Deleuze Citation1993, 28.
24 For a diagram of the microcosmic orbit, see Deng Citation1983, 169.
25 A diagram and explanation of ling qi meditation can be found in Deng Citation1983, 180–183.
26 On the relation between Dogen and Deleuze regarding this, see Schroeder Citation2019, 247–252, 257–260.
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Brian Schroeder
Brian Schroeder is Professor and Chair of Philosophy and Director of Religious Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology. He has published widely on continental philosophy, East Asian philosophy, environmental philosophy, comparative philosophy, and the philosophy of religion.