Daoism and Intellectual Disability

This is part two of a three part series where I am sharing a chapter from my master’s thesis. Part one was a basic introduction to Daoism. This part is about the ways that Daoism speaks of disability broadly, and how it might be interpreted to bear on intellectual disability specifically. Part three will be putting the pieces together to try and synthesize a way, or ways, to understand and value the experience of intellectual disability using Daoism as a foundation.

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The relevance of Daoism to intellectual disability is not immediately obvious. While neither of the two main texts, the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi, are primarily concerned with disability or disabling conditions, there are several passages that explicitly refer to disabling conditions. Further, “these texts do provide resources and concepts that can enrich contemporary discussions of disability.”¹ Three themes from the Daodejing and Zhuangzi that I will explore as they relate to disability, specifically intellectual disability, are becoming like an infant or child, valuing the worthless or useless, and fasting of the heart-mind (xin 心). 

In several places in the Daodejing, becoming like an infant is valued more than becoming a wise sage. Indeed, the ideal Daoist sage is closer to an infant than an adult. “The image of the baby tells us much about how the Daoist thinks people should approach the world. It suggests flexibility of the body and a mind not filled with knowledge.”² In chapter 55, a person with de is compared to an infant:

One who is vital in character (de)
Can be compared with a newborn baby.

Wasps and scorpions will not sting a baby, 
Snakes and vipers will not bite him, 
And birds of prey and ferocious beasts will not snatch him up.
Though his bones are soft and his sinews supple
His grip is firm.³

Here, the limits of the infant are precisely what gives it so much de that it remains unharmed in dangerous situations. What is valued here is not power or strength but suppleness and weakness. “The baby, unconsciously and without motivation, is the embodiment of harmony and equilibrium.”⁴ In chapter 28 we see something similar:

Know the male
Yet safeguard the female
And be a river gorge to the world.
As a river gorge to the world, 
You will not lose your real potency (de), 
And not losing your real potency,
You return to the state of the newborn babe.⁵

In this verse, there is a reversal characteristic of the Daodejing—instead of valuing the male side of life we are told to instead value the female; instead of making ourselves high like a mountain we are told to make ourselves low like a river gorge. When we are able to value the undervalued side of things we are able to achieve an infant-like state, filled with de. 

There is another important reason the Daodejing places value on an infant-like state: infants and newborns lack the intellectual capacities and evaluative tendencies of adults, or even older children. “The baby lacks the apparatus or inclination to impose and be guided by conceptual or linguistic distinctions of the world. The absence of familiarity with conventions and the freedom from habitual mental associations and ways of seeing the world are valuable because they allow greater responsiveness to transformations in qi [氣]⁶ forces and the surrounding environment.”⁷ This lack of intellectual and linguistic capacity is praised in several places in the Daodejing. In chapter 20, for example, a contrast is drawn between ordinary people—presumably people with fully-functioning cognitive and linguistic faculties—and the Daoist sage.

The multitudes are peaceful and happy;
Like climbing a terrace in springtime to feast at the t’ai-lao sacrifice.
But I’m tranquil and quiet—not yet having given any sign. 
Like a child who has not yet smiled.
Tired and exhausted—as though I have no place to return.
The multitudes all have a surplus.
I alone seem to be lacking.
Mine is the mind of a fool—ignorant and stupid!
The common people see things clearly;
I alone am in the dark.
The common people discriminate and make fine distinctions;
I alone am muddled and confused.
Formless am I! Like the ocean;
Shapeless am I! As though I have nothing in which I can rest.
The masses all have their reasons [for acting];
I alone am stupid and obstinate like a rustic.
But my desires alone differ from those of others—
For I value drawing sustenance from the Mother.⁸

Here, the ideal state is compared to that of a newborn child, a fool, and an uneducated rustic. Clearly what is valued in this passage is not knowledge or even the capacity for knowledge. “The Daoists, unpersuaded as to the value of this kind of discriminating education, retain an inclusive, pristine state of mind, welcoming the full sea of experience like that of an infant, a blockhead, a fool, a country bumpkin.”⁹ This devaluing of knowledge and education are most clearly stated in chapter 48:

In studying, there is a daily increase, 
While in learning of way-making (dao), there is a daily decrease:
One loses and again loses
To the point that one does everything noncoercively (wuwei).
One does things noncoercively
And yet nothing goes undone.¹⁰

While other schools of thought in the Warring States Period, especially the Confucians, saw immense value in teaching and training others in the ways of virtue so that one could navigate the world effectively, in the Daodejing just the opposite is the case. “To attain Laozian¹¹ wu-wei, you need to undo, rather than do, gradually unwinding your mind and body, shedding book learning and artificial desires.”¹² Edward Slingerland even suggests there is some evidence that the cognitive state of wuwei is very similar to that of an infant. Certain forms of meditation—which some believe the Daodejing and Zhuangzi advocate, albeit somewhat obscurely—disable areas in the prefrontal cortex that are highly developed in adults. The resulting state, which Slingerland argues is akin to wuwei, is like that of an infant: a sense of timelessness, an inability to differentiate between self and environment, and therefore, an inability to analyze or discriminate between “good” and “bad” experiences.¹³

The cognitive abilities of many people with profound intellectual disabilities are comparable to those possessed by infants or young children. Many lack linguistic, symbolic, and cognitive capacities that many older children and adults possess. Thus, there is a kind of freedom from the types of linguistic and conceptual limitations and trappings that hinder adults when attempting to be open and responsive to their environment in ways praised by Daosits. Like infants and young children, persons with profound intellectual disabilities are not obstructed by the types of knowledge the Daoists propose we leave behind. 

For the second and third themes I will draw on the Zhuangzi, specifically chapters 4 and 5 of the Inner Chapters.¹⁴ 

The title of chapter 5, which Ziporyn translates as, “Markers of Full Virtuosity [de],” and Angus Graham translates as, “The Signs of Fullness of Power [de],”¹⁵ gives some clue as to the themes and content of the chapter. The chapter is full of vignettes describing the interactions between people who would not have been considered, by Confucian standards, ideal models of the Way. Chapter 5 is populated with characters with names like: Wang Tai, the one-footed ex-con; Toeless Shushan; Horsehead Humpback; Hunchback Limpleg the lipless cripple—these are the sages of the Zhuangzi, the ones who possess de. Chapter 5 opens with a disciple of Confucius¹⁶ asking how Wang Tai the one-footed ex-con could possibly have as many followers as Confucius:

“When [Wang Tai] stands he offers no instruction, and when he sits he gives no opinions. And yet, they go to him empty and return filled. Is there really such a thing as a wordless instruction, a formless way of bringing the mind completion? What kind of man is he?”

Confucius said, “That man, my master, is a sage.”¹⁷

As the dialogue unfolds, Confucius explains that Wang Tai is a sage because he uses his mind as a mirror. “People cannot see their reflections in running water, but only in still water. Only stillness can still the multitude to the point of genuine stillness.”¹⁸ He goes on to describe how one who has a mind like a mirror cannot be harmed in battle, much like the infant remains unharmed in chapter 55 of the Daodejing. 

Later in chapter 5 we meet Horsehead Humpback, described here by the Duke of Lu as he confers with Confucius:

“When men are with [Horsehead Humpback], they can think of nothing else and find themselves unable to depart . When women see him, they plead with their parents, saying they would rather be this man’s concubine than any other man’s wife… He has no position of power with which to protect their lives and no stash of wealth with which to fill their stomachs, and on top of that he’s ugly enough to startle all the world. He chimes in with them instead of presenting anything new of his own, his understanding is limited to his immediate surroundings, and yet the men and women converge around him… What kind of man is this?”¹⁹

Confucius again responds by pointing out that this man, Horsehead Humpback, is full of de, and this is the reason so many people are drawn to him. They sense something overflowing within him that they depend upon for their existence. The seemingly useless—cripples, hunchbacks, lepers, criminals—are eminently valuable for their ability to discern the way, at least according to Zhuangzi. “There are also suggestions in the text that de can effect change by having a direct impact on other people’s values… the calm and spiritual equanimity of the Zhuangzian sage is so powerful that it can melt away the spiritual hang-ups of others around him.”²⁰ This is alluded to in the passage about Horsehead Humpback, that the power of his de transforms what those around him value. While it is unlikely that Zhuangzi and his contemporaries conceptualized disability in the way we do today, there are parallels that can be drawn between the Zhuangzian sage and people with disabilities today. Though the sages in chapter 5 are depicted as being primarily physically disabled, when combined with the first theme discussed above, it is possible to begin to see an image emerging of how people with intellectual disabilities²¹ can be similarly valued. 

Before moving on to the third theme there is an additional passage in the Zhuangzi that illustrates the worth of the worthless, and the usefulness of the useless. In chapter 4, we meet Carpenter Shi and his apprentice. On their travels they come across a tree “over a hundred arm spans around, so large that thousands of oxen could shade themselves beneath it. It overstretched the surrounding hills, its lowest branches hundreds of feet from the ground, at least of dozen of which could have been hollowed out to make into ships.”²² However, Carpenter Shi walks past the tree without looking twice. His apprentice, puzzled, asks him why he doesn’t consider utilizing this exceptional raw material. Carpenter Shi responds:

“Stop! Say no more! This is worthless lumber! As s ship it would soon sink, as a coffin it would soon rot, as a tool it would soon break, as a door it would leak sap, as a pillar it would bring infestation. This is a talentless, worthless tree. It is precisely because it is so useless that it has lived so long.”²³

Later that night, in a dream, the tree speaks to Carpenter Shi:

“What do you want to compare me to, one of those cultivated trees? The hawthorn, the pear, the orange, the rest of those fructiferous trees and shrubs—when their fruit is ripe they get plucked, and that is an insult. Their large branches are bent; their small branches are pruned. Thus do their abilities embitter their lives. That is why they die young, failing to fully live out their natural life spans… As for me, I’ve been working on being useless for a long time. It almost killed me, but I’ve finally managed it—and it is of great use to me! If I were useful, do you think I could have grown to be so great?”²⁴  

Just like the stories in chapter 5, this story advocates for valuing those who would otherwise be deemed worthless or useless. Taken together, these stories propose that in order to find the correct course of action in the world, do not look to the useful or the valuable for direction, but to those who are useless and worthless. “The usefulness of the useless suggests that people who appear to lack capacity or function are not only useful but can even exert an influence on those around [them]. This idea suggests that disability itself can be a form of usefulness and relieves the need for the disabled to meet standards for usefulness imposed by the non-disabled.”²⁵

Finally, there is a passage in chapter 4 of the Zhuangzi that gets to the how of following the course or dao espoused by the Daoists. The dialogue begins with Yan Hui asking Confucius for permission to travel to Wei. Yan Hui wants to travel to Wei to proselytize Confucian values with the hope that the brutal ruler of Wei will change his ways and thereby relieve the suffering of the people of Wei. Confucius (as the mouthpiece of Zhuangzi) then explains why Yan Hui’s intentions will never be actualized and warns him that his endeavor will likely end in his death. 

Yan Hui said, “Punctilious in bearing, I shall become empty and humble. Diligent in my work, I will make myself unified and focused. Would that work?”

Confucius said, “No, no! How could that ever work? Filled to overflowing with aggressive resolve but presenting an ever-changing appearance to the world so as to accommodate common opinion, manipulating the impressions of others to win a place in their hearts, I’d say even a gradually advancing Virtuosity [de] will be unable to take shape, much less the Great Virtuosity. If you cling without transforming, externally accommodating but internally without any self-criticism—how could that ever work? ”

Yan Hui said, “Then I shall be internally upright but externally adaptable, using preexisting doctrines linked to antiquity… To be externally adaptable, on the other hand, means to be a follower of the ways of man. To bow and salute is the ceremony that goes with being someone’s underling… To use preexisting doctrines linked to antiquity means to be a follower of the ways of the ancients. Although one seems to speak only accepted dogmas, in reality a criticism is hidden in it—but it was the ancients who said so, not me! In this way, although upright, one cannot be attacked… Would this work?”

Confucius said, “No, no! How could that ever work? You’re like a ruler with a great multitude of policies and methods but without any foreign intelligence. Although this might well allow you to get by without being faulted, that’s about all you’ll accomplish. How could it have any effect on the tyrant? You are still taking your mind as your instructor.”²⁶

It is here where Yan Hui gives up and asks Confucius for his suggested course of action. Confucius responds that Yan Hui must fast. Not fasting of the body, however, but fasting of the mind. Fasting of the mind is described as unifying intentions so that one can “hear” with the vital energies within, not with the conscious, thinking mind. “The ears only record sounds, the mind can only analyze and categorize, but the [vital energies are] empty and receptive.”²⁷ Once the mind is empty and receptive, then dao can gather in the emptiness and direct one’s actions accordingly. Fasting of the mind is emptying the mind. 

If one wishes to influence and ultimately change another, as Yan Hui does, the Daodejing and Zhuangzi are (fairly) clear about the best way to achieve this: be like the supple infant; be like the worthless, useless, or invaluable; fast your mind. The method for changing the world, as advocated by Zhuangzi, is to avoid interfering with the endless generation of new perspectives, new daos; fasting of the mind is how one achieves this. “Here the mental stillness called ‘mind-fasting’ is not so much an ideal state as a method to put one in touch with one’s ‘primal breath,’²⁸ the dao, and ‘emptiness.’”²⁹

It is in this state of mind-fasting that one can act without acting (wuwei) and thus be fully responsive to the movements and transformations of the dao. Fasting of the mind, by downplaying the significance of the cognitive, linguistic, and symbolic faculties needed to move effectively through the world, builds on the valuation of infantile mental states and offers a way to value people with intellectual disabilities: as models of a mode of navigating the world in accordance with dao.

footnotes

1. Andrew Lambert, “Daoism and Disability,” in Disability and World Religions: An Introduction, eds. Darla Y. Schumm and Michael Stoltzfuz (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2016), 71.
2. Lambert, “Daoism and Disability,” 74-75.
3. Ames and Hall, Daodejing, 163.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid., 121.
6. Qi (氣), often translated as life force, vital energies. Ames and Hall suggest “psychophysical stuff.”
7. Lambert, “Daoism and Disability,” 75.
8. Lao-Tzu, Te-Tao Ching, 72.
9. Ames and Hall, Daodejing, 106.
10. Ibid., 151.
11. Laozi, sometimes Lao Tzu or Lao-Tzu, is the (disputed) author of the Daodejing.
12. Slingerland, Trying Not to Try, 99.
13. Ibid., 101-102.
14. from Lambert, “Daoism and Disability,” 72: “Scholarly consensus has the historical Zhuangzi writing the first seven chapters of the text, known as the ‘inner chapters.’ Later disciples or like-minded scholars wrote additional chapters embellishing the themes of the original chapters.”
15. Chuang-Tzu, Chuang-Tzu: The Inner Chapters, trans. A. C. Graham (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2001), 76.
16. Zhuangzi was fond of putting his words in the mouth of Confucius.
17. Zhuangzi, Zhuangzi, 32-33.
18. Ibid., 33.
19. Ibid., 35-36.
20. Slingerland, Trying Not to Try, 160.
21. It is not uncommon for someone who is intellectually disabled to be simultaneously physically disabled.
22. Zhuangzi, Zhuangzi, 30.
23. Ibid.
24. Ibid.
25. Lambert, “Daoism and Disability,” 77.
26. Zhuangzi, Zhuangzi, 25-26.
27. Slingerland, Trying Not to Try, 144.
28. Qi (氣), translated as ‘vital energies’ above
29. Chris Jochim, “Just Say No to ‘No Self’ in Zhuangzi,” in Wandering at Ease in the Zhuangzi, ed. Roger T. Ames (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998), 52.