A Critical Analysis of 'Shen' and 'Zhi' in the Core Passages of the Guanzi's 'Nei Ye' and an Inquiry into Pre-Qin Theories of Mind and Nature

Section 2: Why does "The Dao fill the world" yet "the people cannot know it"$23

This is an extremely profound philosophical question and a central proposition in Pre-Qin Daoist discourse.

Why is the Dao omnipresent, yet people fail to perceive it$24

(1) The "Formlessness" of the Dao

The Laozi, Chapter 14, states: "Looked at, it is not seen, and is named 'Invisibleness' (Yí). Listened to, it is not heard, and is named 'Rarity' (Xī). Grasped, it is not held, and is named 'Subtlety' (Wēi). These three cannot be closely questioned, and so they are merged into One. Its top is not bright, its bottom is not dark. Unceasingly it flows on, beyond naming, returning to nothingness. This is called the image of the imageless, the form of the formless; this is called confusion and indistinctness. Meet it and there is no head; follow it and there is no tail."

The Dao cannot be seen, heard, or touched. It has no shape, no sound, no substance. It is "the image of the imageless, the form of the formless"—having an image despite having no form, having shape despite having no substance. This "indistinctness" renders it completely undetectable by ordinary human senses.

(2) The Dao of Daily Use, Unrecognized

The Yijing, Xici Shang states: "One Yin and one Yang is called the Dao. What follows it is Goodness; what completes it is Nature. Benevolent men see it as benevolence; wise men see it as wisdom. The common people use it daily and do not know it, and thus the Dao of the Gentleman is rare."

"The common people use it daily and do not know it" (bǎi xìng rì yòng ér bù zhī)—The people use the Dao every day (it is everywhere in their lives), but they are unaware that they are using it.

This is like fish being unaware of the water they swim in. The Zhuangzi, Dazongshi states: "Fish forget each other in the rivers and lakes; men forget each other in the Dao and its techniques." Fish are in water; water is so natural to them that they are unconscious of its existence. Similarly, humans are within the Dao; the Dao is so natural to them that they are unconscious of its existence.

(3) The Dao Hidden by Non-Naming

The Zhuangzi, Qiwulun states: "The Dao is hidden in small accomplishments; speech is hidden in ornamentation." The Dao is obscured because people settle for small achievements and cease to investigate the more fundamental principles. Speech is obscured by flowery language, as people are attracted by beautiful words instead of seeking the truth behind them.

The reason people "cannot know" the Dao is not that the Dao hides itself, but that people are obscured by their own cognitive limitations. It is like the sun shining everywhere; the blind cannot see the light, but that is a failure of the blind, not the sun.

(4) Neiye's "The People Cannot Know"

Within the context of the Neiye chapter, "the people cannot know" has an additional specific meaning: Ordinary people have not undergone the rigorous training of cultivation—they do not know how to "adhere to the One," "rectify the Form," "respectfully clear," or "guard the Center"—and thus cannot consciously recognize the Dao's presence.

However, this does not mean the Dao has no effect on them. "The Dao fills the world, universally present among the people"—the Dao is constantly surrounding the people and present in their lives. Even if the people do not know it, their very lives, their actions, and their livelihoods depend on the Dao's operation.

This leads to an important political philosophical question: If the people cannot know the Dao themselves, who will guide them$25 The answer is the "Gentleman who adheres to the One"—the ruler who masters the discipline of "Adhering to the One." The ruler's responsibility is not only self-cultivation but also, through governing the mind, speech, and affairs, transmitting the Dao's order and power to the people, so that the people, though unaware, can live within the Dao's order and enjoy its benefits.

This is precisely what the Laozi, Chapter 17, describes as the highest level of governance: "Of the best leaders, the people barely know they exist... When their work is done and their achievements accomplished, the people all say, 'We did it ourselves.'" The people do not know the ruler exists, but their lives are naturally ordered, and they attribute it to their own nature. This is the operation of the ruler's Dao.