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Origin's of the Classic of Purity
This short but profound work is, with the exception of the writings of Lao Tsze, the founder of Taoism, and those of Chuang Tsze, his disciple, one of the earliest of the Taoist Classics.
By some authorities it has been attributed to Lao Tsze himself, but it more probable that it is the work of Ko Hsuan, who lived in the Wu Dynasty (A.D. 222-227).
Of Ko Hsuan, many extraordinary occurrences are recorded. He is said to have been able to work miracles, to walk upon water, to have known the secret of the Elixir of Life, to have been translated at last to heaven in the full light of day, and to have attained the rank of an Immortal.
Among Chinese students of the subject, there is a diversity of opinion as to whether Ko Hsuan did actually write this work; but that it was composed by a Taoist of an early date is generally conceded.
The question of authenticity and authorship of the Classic, however is, of quite secondary importance, if we are chiefly concerned with the inner Reality with which it deals.
The true test of the value of any scripture, or presentation of truth, be it what it may, and whatsoever its source, may be found by the discriminating in the teachings themselves, and consist in their intrinsic truth. This is the standard by which any writing should be tested, for this alone is to be found its essential worth.
There have been several previous English translations of the Classic of Purity, all of which possess merits of their own, but none of them have been widely known. One of the earliest was that of F. H. Balfour, which appeared in the little volume entitled Taoist Texts, which was published in Shanghai about 1880. A second is that of James Legge, which is given as an appendix to Vol. XL of The Sacred Books of the East, published in 1891. Another is an undated pamphlet by W. H. Midhurst, which may have been the earliest of the three. The original appears in the Collection of the Most Important Treatises of the Taoist Fathers (Vol. 49).
In this new translation, an endeavour has been made to restore many of the obscure passages to there original purity.
The Taoism of Lao Tsze and the early exponents of this Mystical Philosophy, has a simplicity and profundity which in its own way, has perhaps never been surpassed, and the fact that modern forms of Taoism have degenerated into a system of divination and magic, shows the curious depths into which the ignorance and selfish desires of man lead him, when the spiritual reality is obscured.
In The Classic of Purity, however, we have a precious jewel in the diadem of Truth. It is, in a concentrated form, a treatise on the Way of Attainment through the purifying of the mind and the stilling of desires. It has many points of similarity with Asvaghosha's Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana, for the attainment of Tao and the attainment of Nirvana are the same, and the Path thereto is essentially the same Path.
There is also a certain resemblance between Eastern Mysticism and the Western School known as the Quietists, wherein the undue accentuation of externals is restrained and the tendency to live exclusively in the outward world of time and sense is corrected.
Basically, there are two ways of approaching God, that of the Via Affirmativa, in which the mind is concerned with what He is, in relation to that which the finite is not, and that of the Via Negativa, which denies of Him all finite limitations or attributes whatsoever.
By the negative approach, no limitation of the Divine is implied, but by this method, veil after veil is removed, until Diety Itself is beheld.
The Via Affirmtiva and the Via Negativa have also been termed two modes of Contemplation of the Divine; they are said to mark the equilibrating Pulse of the true Mystical Life.
"In the former case, beginning from on high, there is an out-flowing and a down-flowing of the consciousness, which passes from universals to particulars and sees God in all things, in the lowest as well as the highest. But in the latter case, there is an up-drawing and an in-drawing of the consciousness, passing from particulars to universals, which sees God is not any of the things contemplated (because He transcends them all ), and therefore, by abstraction, it arrives at the Super-essential Darkness which outshines and obliterates the light of all sensible things. Or, in other words, an approach is made to the Light Unapproachable."
It is this approach which is described in the Mystical Theology of Dionysius the Areopagite, wherein it is portrayed almost exclusively in terms of pure intellect, rather than by a freeing of the mind by the stilling of desires as in The Classic of Purity, yet the Super-essential Darkness of the Western Mystics is none other than Tao.
That the teachings of sages and mystics of all ages and lands should confirm one another is not surprising; in fact, it could not well be otherwise, for the inspired authors of sacred scriptures and mystical and philosophical works, although they may be unknown to each other, as well as to the world at large, are yet, in that they have touched Reality itself, expounding different aspects of one unalterable Truth.
The Source of their inspiration is the same, but the manner of their presentation is adapted to the needs and conditions of the time and place in which they live and work. Thus, the Eternal Verities are unfolded in new and beautiful settings to the never-ending upliftment and joy of the awakened mind and heart.
In the Chinese Classics, as in other Eastern writings, a word is often repeated in order to impress a truth more forcibly upon the mind, as for example, in the passage in The Classic of Purity, which states that " the nothingness of nothing is also nothing." Again, it will be noticed that throughout these teachings, constant use is made of paradoxes, and this method of presentation enables truths to be glimpsed that are beyond expression in a literal sense.
Thus, the mind may be led through the uttermost negation to the Transcendent Reality of Tao Itself, and thus come to the realization that the Via Affirmativa and theVia Negativa are but different modes of approaching the same ultimate Goal; that the method of all mystics has been the endeavour to express the inexpressible by means of paradox, and in a symbolic imagery which only those who have walked long and persistently on the Mystic Path will comprehend with any degree of fullness; that affirmation and negation are processes of the mind which may be overpassed when the soul is at-one with That Which it seeks.
The following preface, attributed to Ko Hsuan on account of its mystical character, forms a significant and fitting introduction to the work itself.
When I attained to union with Tao, I had meditated upon this Canon ten thousand times. Only the spiritually-minded are able to realize its true meaning and it cannot be communicated to the worldly.
I received it from the Divine Ruler of the Eastern Splendour; he received it from the Divine Ruler of the Golden Gate; and he received it from the Royal Mother of the West.
It has always previously been transmitted by word of mouth, and never before has it been written, but now, while I am still in the world, I have committed it to paper with great care.
Enlightened Sages who have truly comprehended the meaning of this Canon will become Ambassadors of Heaven; those of the middle order who endeavour to put its precepts into practice will be ranked among the Immortals of the Southern Palace; and those of the lowest order who gain even a limited understanding of it, will achieve longevity, traverse the Three Regions, and ascending at last on high, they will enter the Golden Gate.
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