1. Journey of a Thousand Li: Introduction to Chinese Philosophy

Very excited for the new series!

Why have you decided to end it with the beginnings of Buddhist philosophy? This is notably sooner than the previous series' end point.

I was so intrigued by your episodes on Nagarjuna that I picked up other pieces on the “MMK”, including Graham Priest’s essay on the Catuskoti; which in turn opened two paths: to non-classical logics, and to Professor Lai’s Introduction to Chinese philosophy.

So I am also very excited by this new series, and look forward to you both carving the subject with the efficiency of a Cook Ting.  

Hearing the proper pronunciation of names and terms is an extra benefit.

Will the series have the space to discuss the extant source materials, and the challenges of sequencing, interpretation and translation?   

So stoked you’re starting a series on Chinese philosophy! Will you do Japanese philosophy too? 

Dear professor Adamson,

I have issues with RSS feeds of your podcasts. I am not sure if the issue is on my side. I am using Podcast addict app and recently I am getting error messages. Faulty RSS feed: At line 1, column 0: no element found for the main series. In feed of noneuropean series I have InvalidRedirectionException error. All my other podcasts seems to be updating fine. Were there any changes recently, that could cause this? Is anyone else experiencing these issues?

Thank you for making such a great content,

Albrecht 

Even if Daoists were right, I wonder why one would choose to follow that way.  Afterall, if the whole point is to not have a destination, then it seems that doing it in order to live a good life is defeating the whole point, since then you have a destination, and the wandering itself ceases to be be for itself.  And if there is no reason to follow the true path, there is no reason why one couldn't just not follow it.

post script:  reminder to myself to later compare Daoist dao vs Hindu brahman.  

Just a couple of comments on future possibilities,  as this is the turn the discussion is taking at the moment - though I am really focussed for Classical China!

Regarding later China,  I would suggest that  a natural dividing point would be substantive contact with Western philosophy.  So perhaps one series on Chinese Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism, plus Japan,  then another incorporating Western influence, from Ricci to the May 4th movement and beyond?

If we are looking at more non-Western philosophies I would also like to put Central Asia in the mix. The region was more than touched on, of course, in the Islamicate series.  But it has as much claim as any to be underrepresented.  I am not sure, however,  where good sources can be found.

Regarding  Western or non-Western, I would really like to live to see you cover my favourite modern Western philosophers..  However I will enjoy the journey whatever paths are taken.

Hi,

I am really glad you are starting this new series. I have loved everything so far, but have been eagerly anticipating this.

I do have one difference with your introduction,(though it may be more apparent than real) regarding the interpretation of "wu wei". Here is what I wrote for Martial Journal:

"First, let’s begin with the concept itself. Wu wei is translated many different ways. The most literal translation is “no action”. More often, it is rendered as “non-action” or “non-doing” in an effort to capture its deeper metaphysical meaning. Some authors go so far as to render it as “effortless action” or “spontaneous action”. I feel that getting a bit far afield and tending toward the later Chan (Zen) concept of mushin (no-mind), which does have its roots in the syncretization of Daoist and Buddhist thought.

I am going to stick with the more conservative translation of “non-action” as I feel it captures the essence of the original idea, that it is more than just “doing nothing”. From my personal studies, I have come to see the concept of wu wei as meaning avoiding unnecessary action and not forcing action when we do act. Further, it embodies an awareness and abiding that allows one to recognize when it is appropriate to act, but also to use their non-action as an active tool."

Here is the full article: https://www.martialjournal.com/nothing-doing-the-daoist-wu-wei-and-the-martial-arts/

Thanks for the great podcast and books. Looking forward to more!

Tim

Would it help to add a Books page, and link to it in the footer, alongside Blog, Themes, etc? Seems like it can amplify the fact that HOPWAG books are as wonderful as the podcast, and, for referencing and citation, even better!

This page could also list the tentative publication dates for forthcoming titles (Africana).

I love your site and admire your work, and I have been waiting for the Chinese Philosophy part for a while. Thank you!

If I may, I would like to bring the perspective of a practitioner on this topic, since all spiritual traditions have an exoteric/gnosis and an esoteric/praxis aspect, and Daoism is certainly no exception to this.

Wei/action and Wu Wei/non action are taught together in authentic Daoist schools ;       Wu wei is a Quality of the mind obtained through assiduous Wei.

Wei/doing, occupies for at least the first 3 years of training, the majority of the practice of a Daoist adept. In the Long Men tradition, there is a lot of Doing before getting into the Non doing (i.e. martial arts, calligraphy, qi gong, nei gong, nei dan, meditation,Chinese medicine, Feng Shui...etc). First, these activities are all engaged with a strong intention of mastering the technical aspects (wei), while understanding the common principle underlying them (wu wei). But, at this preliminary stage Wu wei is just a concept. First we must observe how the mind and body work together during the learning process, and second we learn how to make them function efficiently through song-kai/relaxed/open intention during the process.That initial intention is forceful; there is no way around this. Effort must be made before the intention can fade out of the action. This leaves a "casual attention" and the tasks will be carried out with increased efficiency in this second stage. More energy is saved and constantly reinvested in the process. As for the mind/mental effort, a deep regression, not unlike dimming the light with a switch, must be allowed to take place. This takes some time for most people. This process of refinement is called "cultivation". The effects are more than just being in the "zone", which any person who has engaged seriously with a sport has sometimes felt. Since, as it is happening, the unconscious and conscious start to communicate, and tensions/stress are disappearing while performing all daily actions, but also while resting or sleeping (the number of dreams diminish drastically overtime). View in this way, Non-doing is a quality (not a concept), which is built internally through countless hours of learning how to release physical and mental tensions. It has radical transformative consequences on the body and mind. The perceptual aspect changes, the body physiology is changed...etc

We can run into 2 main problems in the west when studying Daoism : 1) the solely conceptual study of Daoism which mostly births mystical paradoxes. 2) The New Age movement riding on whatever misinterpretation of the Dao which fits its sensualist oriented approach. 

Many Daoist teachers also think that the Daoist "philosophical" works were meant for people who had already done the preliminary wei/work. To them, these texts act as hidden metaphorical and mnemotechnic instructions. Chinese masters have always been known to be extremely secretive about their advance cultivation practices, and they found a way to hide in plein sight through metaphors, poetic and flowery language. This is enhanced by the classical Chinese language used which is almost impregnable in its absence of clear markers, über flexible syntax, and characters filled with endless meanings.

I do not mean to dismiss a priori analytical analysis of the texts, but I want to point out the possible limitations in understanding that may arise if not accompanied by praxis.