Is there such a thing as Daoist philosophy? Is there one set of doctrines, an essence, that all forms of Daoism share? Apparently not. Since circumstances can always develop in unexpected ways, and even produce radically opposed consequences, the same is true for beliefs, doctrines, and daos. Doctrines and ways transform into opposing views. Just as paths can branch off as they develop, the resulting paths can continue to diverge further. So, as one follows a path, one’s practice can manifest in different ways; those differences can multiply over time, eventually giving rise to ways that claim the same ancestry yet oppose each others’ interpretations of the way. A single stream follows its tendencies and, according to changes in terrain or amount of rainfall, may end up with branches at opposite ends of the mountain. The author of the Liezi gives the example of three students of Confucianism who developed three mutually inconsistent interpretations of the significance of yi, rightness (175–76).
Likewise, the Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Liezi present very different approaches to the dao. The Zhuangzi itself splits into a Zhuangzian mainstream, the Utopians, and the Syncretists, and according to Graham’s classification, the Utopians subdivide into the Primitivists and the Yangists. We can nevertheless recognize strong resemblances between the Laozi and the Utopians, and between Zhuangzian philosophy and the Liezi. Other continuities can also be traced. The critique of Ruism in the Laozi is echoed in chapters 1, 4, and 7 of the Inner Chapters, and is brought vividly to life in the Utopian chapters. Reflection on the originative potency of the cosmos can be seen in the Laozi, Zhuangzian thought, and the Liezi. The Liezi develops themes from chapters 1, 3, and 6 of the Inner Chapters and chapters 17, 19 and 22 of the Outer Chapters: the importance of skill, wandering beyond, life and death, waking and dreaming, and not knowing.
Admittedly, the Han dynasty Syncretists are the most distant relatives, but they can be seen to share more than a passing resemblance. Although they adopt the tenets of many schools, core Daoist principles lie at the root of their practice. The importance of cultivation of one’s life and potency at the root of political governance, and the metapolitical notion of sageliness within and kingliness without, can both be discerned in the passages of the Laozi that refer to rulership of an empire. This is even echoed in chapters 1 and 5 of the Inner Chapters, where the potency of the Daoist sage flows effortlessly into a flourishing community. This idea is explicitly articulated in chapter 28, which forms the aikido pivot between utopian anarchism and mystical rule of an empire.
What do we make of a way that diverges into so many paths? How do we identify the right one? Is there a single right way, a single correct interpretation of dao? The Liezi laments the multiplicity of the branches of dao and urges that we must trace our path back to the source (176). One might argue that two threads can be found in all these manifestations of Daoist thought: tian and wuwei. The context to which we must return in order to flourish is the overarching perspective of the cosmos, tian. The means by which we engage is diminishing the force of social constructs and imitating the effortless success of natural processes, wuwei. How this is to be done is interpreted differently by each group. Perhaps at the root of both of these is a deeper thread, a deeper commonality: a process of reversal, softening, disintegrating, wu, that allows natural phenomena to reach their fullest potential.
However, even if these threads can be found in all forms of Daoist thought, it would be a mistake to think of them as the “essence” of Daoism. Rather, the texts form a Daoist family, related members that develop in related ways over time. There is no reason why Daoist thought should stop here, or be confined by these characteristics, or why these characteristics should not continue to be interpreted in new ways. Having followed the paths of Daoist philosophy through their many manifestations, having followed their internal tendencies, we see that all have problems and all have insights. The insistence that there can be only one dao seems to be inconsistent with the movement of dao itself. Growth and slippage are natural, and it is the nature of an indeterminate path to spread. It should come as no surprise that the same dao can manifest in a multiplicity of different ways.