Ziran, also rendered in the Wade-Giles romanization as tzu-jan, is a key concept in Taoism and East Asian Buddhism that literally means 'of its own' or 'by itself' and thus "naturally; natural; spontaneously; freely; in the course of events; of course; doubtlessly."Slingerland, Edward G. (2003). Effortless action: Wu-wei as conceptual metaphor and spiritual ideal in early China. Oxford: Oxford University Press. , p. 97Lai, Karyn. Learning from Chinese Philosophies: Ethics of Interdependent And Contextualised Self. Ashgate World Philosophies Series. . p. 96 Etymology This Chinese word is a two-character compound of and , which is used as a -ran suffix marking adjectives or adverbs (roughly corresponding to English -ly). According to the Shuo Wen lexicon, the character 自 zi means "nose." In Chinese culture, the nose (or zi) is a common metaphor for a person's point of view.Callahan, W. A. (1989). "Discourse and Perspective in Daoism: A Linguistic Interpretation of Ziran," Philosophy East and West 39(2), 171–189.
Ziran in Daoism Ziran is a central concept in Daoism, closely tied to the practice of wuwei (non-action). Ziran refers to a state of "just-so-ness" or "as-it-is-ness,"Fu, C. W. (2000). "Lao Tzu's Conception of Tao", in B. Gupta & J. N. Mohanty (Eds.) Philosophical Questions East and West (pp. 46–62). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. a quality of naturalness and spontaneity which can be seen as a specific personal virtue, as well as a description of the unfolding of natural processes. The term ziran first appears in early Daoist sources, like the Dao De Jing (chapters 17, 23, 25, 51, 64), the Zhuangzi and the Taipingjing.Robert James King, Re-examining Ziran in early Daoist texts, 名古屋大學中國哲學論集, 13475649, 名古屋 : 名古屋大學中國哲學研究會, 2010, 9,1-18. Early Daoist sources depict sages who cultivate ziran by abandoning unnatural and contrived influences, returning to an entirely natural, spontaneous state. Ziran is thus related to developing an "altered sense of human nature and of nature per se".Hall, David L. (1987). "On Seeking a Change of Environment: A Quasi-Taoist. Philosophy", Philosophy East and West 37(2), 160-171
In early Daoist works The Dao De Jing (DDJ) contains various passages which mention ziran, such as the following:(Chapter 25): The Dao is great, heaven is great, earth is great, and the king is also great. In the country there are four great things, and the king sits as one. People are ruled by the earth, the earth is ruled by heaven, and the Dao is ruled by itself (ziran).According to Wang Bi’s commentary and the Heshanggong commentary, ziran here refers to the very nature of the Dao. In another other passage, the DDJ uses the term to describe how actions happen spontaneously in a well ruled kingdom:Merits were achieved and matters were finished smoothly, even though the people said we are this by ourselves (ziran).Other passages of the DDJ discuss the ethical side of ziran, indicating how true virtue is not something that occurs through education or through unnaturally forcing people to be virtuous:Honoring the Dao and revering virtue, there is no order for this but this is always so by itself (ziran).Ziran is also the way of the sages, which coincides with the meaning of non-action (wuwei), as described in this further passage from chapter 64:With this the sage wants not wanting, does not value rare treasures; he learns non-learning. He returns to the places where others have passed by; he is able to help all things as they are (ziran), while in fact taking no action.In the Zhuangzi meanwhile, ziran only appears twice in the inner chapters. In one passage in chapter seven, ziran is described thus:Let your heart enjoy simplicity, have your essence be one with indifference, follow things themselves as they are [ziran] without placing yourself among them, and the world will be governed well.According to Robert James King, in this passage, the term refers to "things of this world, in that their characteristics dictate the correct order of the world around us, and a ruler may only need to pay attention to these and let them be as they are in order to correctly rule." In the late Han religious Daoist text called Taipingjing (Scripture of Great Peace) the term ziran takes on a more cosmological and metaphysical significance, one which would influence later Daoist philosophy. In one passage, the text states:Heaven fears the Dao, the Dao fears nature (ziran). Heaven fearing the Dao is that heaven holds the ultimate deeds. The Dao removes those deeds that are not of this, this being the destruction and corruption of the way of heaven. With the corruption and destruction of heaven, there danger and death, and there will be no restoring of law and order again. Therefore, nature (ziran) makes heaven and earth protect the Dao, act with the Dao without being negligent, then ying and yang both spread, both come together, and both are born. The Dao fears nature (ziran) is that if the way of heaven is not based on nature (ziran) then it is not possible to form things. Therefore, the myriad of things are all based on nature to be formed, and without nature they will form with difficulty.In this text, ziran is seen as a natural principle that shapes the creation of the natural, being equal to or even beyond the Dao itself. This view of ziran as a creative primordial principle or law can also be seen in the following quote from the Great Peace:The primordial energy with nature (ziran) and the energy of supreme harmony spread together, they together with their power and make their essence one, at this time the universe is chaotic and there is nothing that has shape. These three energies come together in to one and together they give birth to heaven and earth.According to King then, the Taipingjing sees ziran as representing a kind of natural law essential for the creation of the world. It is also essential for government and for sages to revere and to respect.Robert James King, Re-examining Ziran in early Daoist texts, 名古屋大學中國哲學論集, 13475649, 名古屋 : 名古屋大學中國哲學研究會, 2010, 9,1-18.
In Neo-Daoism In Neo-Daoist (Xuanxue) philosophy, the term ziran becomes even more central. For the key Xuanxue thinker Wang Bi, ziran refers to the ultimate nature, that which is both the true reality of the natural world as also the ultimate nature of humanity, which are the same "just-so-ness." Wang also notes that ziran is not a thing or a creator deity, but a concept referring to the ultimate, the nature of the Dao itself, which is the source of all things.Chan, Alan, "Neo-Daoism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.) Thus in his commentary to the DDJ, Wang Bi writes that ziran, that which is "self-so," "is a term [that we use] to speak of that which has no designation; it is an expression that seeks to lay bare [the meaning of] the ultimate." Regarding the nature of sagehood, Wang Bi argues that sages do not artificially transform themselves, nor do they lack ordinary human emotions. Instead, the sage is merely someone who effortlessly (wuwei) abides in ziran in a simple manner, allowing all things to follow their natural course, and thus imitating the growths of uncarved wood. This type of natural behavior is ideal for all forms of activity, from ruling a nation to running a family.
The ideal of ziran was further promoted by later Daoists such as Ji Kang (223–262, or 224–263) and the other “Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove”. Like Wang Bi, Ji Kang held there was a natural order to all things, underpinned by the natural unfolding of vital energies (qi). Through self-cultivation, Ji held one could enhance one's energies and lifespan as long as it followed the ways of nature. He also applied ziran to ethical cultivation. For Ji, moral purity was best achieved through abandoning self-interest and calculations about self-benefit. In this one, could be completely authentic about one's feelings and intentions.
Guo Xiang (d. 312) is another key Neo-Daoist figure who was influential in the development of the concept of ziran. Unlike Wang Bi, who emphasized non-being, Guo Xiang emphasized ziran, which he glosses as spontaneous “self-production” (zi sheng) and “self-transformation” (zi hua or du hua). For Guo Xiang, ziran is the most fundamental reality. Thus at the ontological basis of all things is being "so of itself," which is also in everything as its real nature. As Guo writes in his Commentary to the Zhuangzi: “Generally, we may know the causes of certain things and affairs near to us. But tracing their origin to the ultimate end, we find that without any cause, they of themselves come to be what they are. Being so of themselves, we can no longer question the reason or cause of their being, but should accept them as they are.” This applies not just to nature, but to civilization. All the norms and rites of a society also flow naturally and spontaneously from nature's ziran.
In Chan Buddhism Within Chinese Buddhism, ziran initially appears in pre-Chan materials. It can be found in the writings of the monk Daosheng (c. 360–434), who identified ziran with buddha-nature.Young-Ho Kim. Tao-Sheng’s Commentary on the Lotus Sutra: A Study and Translation, page 87. State University of New York Press, 1990. Daosheng was well known for having defended an early doctrine of sudden awakening. According to Daosheng, enlightenment is sudden or without stages as ultimate reality is self-so (ziran) and does not admit of any gradations. As ultimate reality is indivisible, it can only be grasped by an equally indivisible means, with its ontological nature dictating its epistemological mode.Young-Ho Kim. Tao-Sheng’s Commentary on the Lotus Sutra: A Study and Translation, pages 33-34. State University of New York Press, 1990. Daosheng's preface to the Nirvāṇa Sūtra states:The true principle is tzu-jan [Taoist naturalness, spontaneity; Buddhist suchness]. Enlightenment occurs when one is mysteriously united with it. Since the truth allows no variance, how can enlightenment involve stages? The unchanging essence is always quiescent and shining [chao ‘reflecting’, as a mirror does]. It is only because of the delusions obscuring it that it appears to be beyond our reach.Lai, Whalen. Tao-sheng's Theory of Sudden Enlightenment, in Sudden and Gradual Approaches to Enlightenment in Chinese Thought, page 173. Motilal Banarsidass, 1991.
Ziran was later taken up in Chan Buddhist sources as well. For example, in the Xiuxin yao lun, after providing an analogy in which buddha-nature is likened to the sun hidden behind the clouds of false thoughts, Hongren goes on to give the analogy of a mirror: when its dust has been removed, its nature, or brightness, becomes manifest naturally (ziran).McRae, John. The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch’an Buddhism, pages 125 and 317 (note 79). University of Hawaii Press, 1986 The teachings of Shenhui, the famous Southern School proponent of sudden enlightenment, contain references to ziran as well. According to Yanagida Seizan, Shenhui's understanding of no-thought (wunian) as sudden awakening is based on the notion of a "natural knowledge" (自然知; ziran zhi), or "original knowledge" (本知; ben zhi).Yanagida Seizan. The Li-tai fa-pao chi and the Chan Doctrine of Sudden Awakening, in Early Ch'an in China and Tibet, edited by Lewis Lancaster and Whalen Lai, page 19, Berkeley Buddhist Studies Series, Regents of the University of California, 1983 Shenhui also speaks of a , or .