''The Book of Balance and Harmony'' ("Zhong he ji", 中和集) is a thirteenth-century Chinese

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

by the

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

master Li Daochun (李道純, fl. 1288-1292) which outlines the teachings and practices of the

Quanzhen School The Quanzhen School (全真: ''Quánzhēn''), also known as Completion of Authenticity, Complete Reality, and Complete Perfection is currently one of the two dominant denominations of Taoism in mainland China. It originated in Northern China i ...

("Way of complete reality"). The ''Zhong he ji'' begins by affirming the theory of the Integration of the Three Doctrines ("Sanjiao Heyi", 三教合一). This theory holds that Daoism,

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

evolved in different ways but are all based on the Absolute, or Supreme Ultimate ( " Taiji", 太極). Thus the opening lines of the book state:

The absolute is movement and stillness without beginning,
yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the c ...
without beginning.
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
s call this complete awareness, Taoists call it the gold pill, Confucians call it the absolute. What is called the infinite absolute means the limit of the unlimited.
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
called it "as is, immutable, ever clearly aware". The
I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zho ...
says, "tranquil and unperturbed, yet sensitive and effective". An alchemical text says, "Body and mind unstirring, subsequently there is yet an endless real potential". Yet all refer to the subtle root of the absolute.

Central to the book is the search for the "gold pill" ("Jindan", 金丹), which produces spiritual transcendence and immortality. This practice is divided into Weidan (outer medicine) which deals with the physical body, and inner medicine (" Neidan", 內丹), which includes various forms of mental practices and deals with the spirit. The ''Book of Harmony'' also describes the experience of the "Mysterious Pass" ("Xuanguan", 玄關) and states that it has no fixed physical location. The Mysterious Pass is the central experience in which the Taoist practitioner achieves

transcendence Transcendence, transcendent, or transcendental may refer to: Mathematics * Transcendental number, a number that is not the root of any polynomial with rational coefficients * Algebraic element or transcendental element, an element of a field exten ...

. The book then proceeds to outline a wide variety of practices and meditation techniques to achieve vitality, energy, and spirit - named the "three treasures".''The Book of Balance and Harmony: A Taoist Handbook'', Thomas Cleary, November 11, 2003, p. xxx-xxxi The book also includes a varied collection of Poems and Songs.

Notes

References

*''The Book of Balance and Harmony: A Taoist Handbook'', Thomas Cleary, November 11, 2003, Shambala publications, Boston. * Daoist encyclopedi

{{DEFAULTSORT:Book of Balance and Harmony, The Taoist philosophy Chinese classic texts Taoist texts 13th-century Taoism Religion in the Yuan dynasty