The Unity of Being in Liu Chih's "Islamic Neoconfucianism"

by Sachiko Murata From the middle of the seventeenth down to the end of the nineteenth century, the school of I n '!ra i had a significant "resence in the Chinese language# The first $uslim scholar to e%"lain Islamic teachings in Chinese was &ang Tai'y(, who "u lished his ma)or oo* in +,-.# /e tells us that his ancestor had come to China three hundred years earlier# /e himself was educated in the traditional Islamic manner, and only when he was old did he egin to learn classical Chinese# /is intention was to e%"lain Islamic teachings to fellow $uslims educated in the Chinese manner and ignorant of the literatures of their own languages# !s far as we can tell, u" until this time most Islamic learning in China had een transmitted in 0ersian, though of course the !ra ic 1ur'an "layed the same asic role in China as it did elsewhere# &ang Tai'y( called his ma)or oo* The Real Commentary on the True Teaching 2Cheng-chiao chen-ch'an3# It is a long study of the "rinci"les of Islam, focusing on meta"hysics, cosmology, and ethics# In the Islamic languages, these to"ics are discussed mainly in the fields of "hiloso"hy and 4ufism# &e do not *now for certain which 0ersian and !ra ic oo*s &ang Tai'y( was reading, ut we do *now that the most im"ortant and "ossi ly the only oo*s translated into Chinese efore the nineteenth century were Mirsd al-'ibd of Na)m al' 5in 678i 2d#,9-:+.9,3, Maqsad-i aqs of '!8i8 al'5in Nasafi 2d# ca# ;<<:+=<<3, and two of the treatises of '! d al'6ahm7n >7mi 2d#?@?:+-@.3 A Law'ih and shi''at al-lama't#

These four oo*s are well *nown 0ersian te%ts y three famous 4ufi masters, all of whom lived after I n '!ra i# By ta*ing a Buic* glance at the three authors, we can readily see that I n '!ra i's school of thought must have een see"ing into the Chinese language# The earliest of the authors, Na)m al'5in 678i, was a disci"le of Na)m al'5in Cu r7 2d#,+?:+..+3, a well' *nown contem"orary of I n '!ra i# 678i's Mirsd al-'ibd, translated into Dnglish y /amid !lgar as The !ath o" #od's $ondsmen, is one of the most influential oo*s on 4ufism in the 0ersianate world A in other words, from Tur*ey, through Central !sia and India, and into China# !lthough it is Buite theoretical in its own way, 678i's oo* shows no signs of eing influenced y I n '!ra i's teaching# The same is not true of the wor*s of '!8i8 al'5in Nasafi, a disci"le of 4a'd al'5in /ammEya 2d#,-@:+.9.3# /ammEya is an im"ortant author of 4ufi theoretical wor*s in oth !ra ic and 0ersian, ut he has hardly een studied in modern times, "artly ecause of the notorious o scurity of his wor*s# /e was acBuainted with oth I n '!ra i and 4adr al'5in 1Enawi and seems to have run in the same intellectual circles, though he cannot e said to re"resent the same "ers"ective# !s for /ammEya's disci"le Nasafi, his 0ersian wor*s are largely res"onsi le for "o"ulari8ing theoretical discussions of the sort carried out y I n '!ra i and his followers# It is Nasafi who first uses the e%"ression wahdat-i wu%&d in 0ersian, and he also wrote a oo*

called 'nsn-i kmil, thus hel"ing "o"ulari8e this eBually famous term# Nasafi was not a follower of I n '!ra i, ut he does discuss many of his teachings in his oo*s# !s for '! d al'6ahm7n >7mi, he was "ro a ly the single most im"ortant "ro"agator of I n '!ra i's "ers"ective in the 0ersianate world# !ll of his theoretical writings and much of his "oetry e%"ound the teachings of I n '!ra i and his ma)or followers, es"ecially 1Enawi, Fargh7ni, >andi, C7sh7ni, and 1aysari# The fact that >7mi is the author of two of the four Islamic wor*s translated into Chinese certainly suggests that it was difficult to study Islam in Chinese without eing e%"osed to I n '!ra i# 0ro a ly the single most im"ortant $uslim scholar to write in Chinese was Liu Chih, who lived a out fifty years after &ang Tai'y(# It is he who translated the Law'ih of >7mi into Chinese, and he also is the author of the most influential oo* on Islamic thought in the Chinese language, T'ien-"ang hsing-li, which he "u lished in the year +;<-# The e%"ression hsing-li in the title means "nature and "rinci"le"# This is the standard designation for Neoconfucianism, which was the dominant school of Chinese thought for a thousand years down to the eginning of the twentieth century# The e%"ression t'ien-"ang means "direction of heaven", and it is the name that $uslims gave to $ecca and to the Islamic world in general# Thus the title of Liu Chih's oo* means literally "Nature and 0rinci"le in the 5irection of /eaven", that is, "Nature and 0rinci"le according to Islam"# Fne could even translate it as "Islamic Neoconfucianism"# The very title of Liu Chih's oo* suggests that it is a statement of the "rinci"les of Islamic thin*ing a out God and the world in Neoconfucian terms# !s for the oo*'s im"ortance, the evidence suggests that it was considered the definitive statement of Islamic eliefs# It was re"u lished twenty'five times etween +;,< and +@=@, and it is constantly referred to y $uslim scholars writing in Chinese#H.I

Liu Chih's "Islamic Neoconfucianism" is divided into si% sections# The actual written te%t of each is no more than thirty "ages long# The first section is su divided into five short cha"ters, which are followed y ten diagrams that illustrate the ma)or to"ics in a schematic way# In each of the five remaining sections, Liu Chih analy8es one cha"ter of the first section with the hel" of twelve more diagrams# Thus he "rovides a total of seventy diagrams, ten elonging to the first section, and si%ty to the five e%"lanatory sections# Dach of the si%ty su""lementary diagrams has an accom"anying te%t of two or three "ages# Liu Chih calls the first section of the oo* "the 6oot Classic" 2 (en-ching3# It "resents asic "rinci"les of Islamic theology, cosmology, "sychology, and "ro"hetology# Throughout the 6oot Classic he "rovides references to his sources, and y far the most commonly cited are the four 0ersian oo*s )ust mentioned#

The first cha"ter of the 6oot Classic descri es how the macrocosm and microcosm A that is, the universe and the human eing A originate from the Fne Being and then return to the Fne Being# In other words, it sets down the "rinci"le of what may e called wahdat al-wu%&d, which is to say that it e%"resses the first "rinci"le of Islamic thought, tawhid or the unity of God, in terms of wu%&d# /owever, Liu Chih mentions only a handful of !ra ic and 0ersian words in the whole oo*, and he certainly does not mention wahdat al-wu%&d or any other term associated s"ecifically with the school of I n '!ra i# $oreover, we should *ee" in mind that there was nothing new in Neoconfucian thought a out the oneness of eing# The language of eing had een formulated centuries efore y the early Taoists, and it had ecome common"lace to refer to the first "rinci"le as Being 2 yu3# $oreover, it had always een self' evident to the Chinese that the first "rinci"le is one# To say that the 6eal Being is one would sur"rise no one# The second cha"ter of Liu Chih's 6oot Classic e%"lains how the attri utes and characteristics of the microcosm corres"ond with those of the microcosm# The third cha"ter e%"licates the stages of human develo"ment from one seed to full s"iritual "erfection# The fourth cha"ter descri es asic human virtues and the manner in which the various human ty"es ecome differentiated# The fifth and final cha"ter re"resents a summary of everything in the first four cha"ters in terms of the original and final unity of all things# $ore s"ecifically, the fifth cha"ter e%"lains how human "erfection alone is a le to re'esta lish all things in the original oneness of eing#

In the remainder of my "a"er, I want to offer a few e%am"les of Liu Chih's diagrams# I will also cite a few "assages from the oo* in order to give a sam"le of the te%t that he is illustrating# 6emem er that throughout this discussion, much of what Liu Chih says has "arallels in Neoconfucian te%ts# I will refer riefly to some of the well'*nown teachings of I n '!ra i's school that may have ins"ired Liu Chih from the Islamic side# The 6oot Classic is written in a standard, four'character "attern that I re"resent in Dnglish y stan8as# It egins as followsJ The )ery $eginning has no designation* the Real Substance has no attachment+ ,nly this is Reality-$eing+ -olding the ,ne* it contains ten thousand+ ./01234 5iagram + illustrates the nondesignation of the Kery Beginning 2the num ers of the diagrams corres"ond to their order in Liu Chih's te%t, not the order in which I will discuss them3# The term "nondesignation" recalls a num er of "arallel terms in !ra ic, es"ecially l ta'ayyun, "Nonentification", an e%"ression made current y 1Enawi and often used y >7mi# /ence the first diagram illustrates the fact that wu%&d in itself is, in I n '!ra i's terms, not only

"nondelimited" 2mutlaq3, ut also "nondelimited y nondelimitation" 2mutlaq 'an al-itlq3# This is the un*nown Dssence that cannot "ro"erly e designated y any name A and of course, for the Chinese, to s"ea* of it in these terms recalls the eginning of the Tao-te Ching, "The name that can e named is not the name"#

5iagram . can e ta*en as an illustration of the following "assage from the 6oot ClassicJ The ,nly Substance turns and "unctions and acti5ity begins to emerge+ The Real !rinci(le "lows and the mandate dis(lays the original trans"ormation+ t root it is knowledge and (ower* then it is a((ortioned into nature and wisdom0 ,ne Reality* a thousand a((ortionments+ ./062/74 The diagram illustrates the "reliminary stages where y the Fne 6eality undergoes transformation in order to ma*e "ossi le the a""earance of the universe, which in Chinese terms is called "heaven, earth, and the ten thousand things"# Notice that, according to the title, this transformation ta*es "lace in the Former /eaven# This is a technical term that is contrasted with Latter /eaven# The Former /eaven designates the invisi le "rinci"les that give rise to the visi le universe, and the Latter /eaven re"resents the situation in the cosmos once the universe ecomes manifest# In Islamic terms and as understood y Liu Chih, the Former /eaven re"resents what is commonly called the "arc of descent", and the Latter /eaven

re"resents the "arc of ascent"# In Islamic "hiloso"hy, these are commonly called "the Frigin and the 6eturn" 2al-mabda' wa'l-ma'd3# I n '!ra i and his followers often discuss the structure of the cosmos in terms of the e%"ression "two' ows' length" 2qb qawsayn3# The 1ur'an tells us that when $uhammad ascended to God during the mi'r%, he reached the "oint of "Two ows' length, or nearer" 29=3# This, y the way, is the only 1uranic verse that Liu Chih cites in the whole te%t of "Islamic Neoconfucianism"# Li*e the Latin word arcus, the !ra ic word qaws means oth ow and arc of a circle# Thus, the verse can e read as referring to the two arcs that ma*e u" the circle of e%istence# The first arc is the descending flow of increasing differentiation that rings the universe into e%istence, and the second is the ascending return toward nondesignation# /uman eings achieve "erfection y ascending on the second arc and reattaching themselves to the origin# In other words, they achieve "erfection y actuali8ing the totality of the circle of e%istence# Fne of the most detailed and systematic theoretical formulations of this )ourney, y the way, is "rovided y 4adr al'5in 1Enawi in his oo* Mi"th al-ghayb, "The Cey to the Unseen"# I n al''!ra i freBuently discusses this )ourney, ut not with such clarity of focus#

By referring to the Former /eaven, Liu Chih is telling us that this diagram de"icts the descending arc of the manifestion of wu%&d# Notice that the u""ermost circle is la eled "su stance", which is another name for Being# /ere "su stance", however, should not e understood in the !ristotelian sense, where it is contrasted with "accident"# 6ather, "su stance" is a standard translation of the Chinese word t'i, which is contrasted with yung, ty"ically translated as "function"# The relationshi" etween t'i and yung, or su stance and function, is "arallel to that in Islamic thought etween btin and 8hir, "inward" and "outward"# Function manifests the nature of su stance, ut su stance in itself always remains nonmanifest# In some diagrams Liu Chih refers to the First 0rinci"le as Being 2e#g#, 5iagram ++, which is identical with 5iagram +3, and in others as 4u stance 2e#g#, 5iagram +.3# /e uses different names ecause the word Being designates the First 0rinci"le inasmuch as it is nondelimited and cannot e differentiated from anything else# In contrast, "4u stance" alludes to the First 0rinci"le inasmuch as it can e differentiated from its own functions# I n '!ra i often ma*es the same distinction y using the standard theological terms "Dssence" 2 dht3 and "attri utes" 2si"t3# 1Enawi and his followers use the theological terminology, ut they also refine the discussion y using terms li*e "Nonentification" for Dssence and "First Dntification" for God inasmuch as he "ossesses all names and attri utes# They use the e%"ressions ahadiyya and whidiyya in a similar way# to the universe# hadiyya designates the e%clusive and incom"ara le unity of the Dssence, and whidiyya refers to the inclusive unity of God as First 0rinci"le, which gives rise

The second circle from the to" in 5iagram . is la elled "function"# Thus, the diagram tells us that 4u stance, which is Being, has a dual Function, and that is *nowledge and "ower# &hen I n '!ra i discusses *nowledge and "ower, he often does so in the conte%t of the "four "illars of divinity", which are life, *nowledge, desire, and "ower# That Liu Chih focuses on two "rimary divine attri utes rather than four has much to do with his Chinese ac*ground# !s he e%"lains in some detail in the te%t, it is this "olarity in God that is the root of yin and yang A two terms that are essential to Chinese cosmological thin*ing# In the diagram, Function gives rise to !ct# Thus in the first three circles we have a clear corres"ondence with the standard theological triad in Islamic theologyJ "Dssence, attri utes, and acts"# The 5iagram descri es !ct in terms of four asic tendencies or attri utesJ transforming, "roducing, granting, and de"riving# These terms, which derive from Neoconfucian cosmology, "lay an im"ortant role later on in the te%t in the e%"lanation of the manner in which the cosmos unfolds# The fourth circle is named "mandate" 2ming3# This, of course, refers to the "mandate of heaven", which is much discussed in Chinese thought# The word is also translated as "destiny"# Fn the Islamic side, Liu Chih may have in mind qadar, which is commonly translated as ""redestination"# I n '!ra i and his followers distinguish etween qad or the divine "decree", which is God's desire for the cosmos as an undifferentiated whole, and qadar, which I would translate as "measuring out" or "determination"# 9adar is the manifestation within the creatures of the differentiated details that follow on the undifferentiated decree# Liu

Chih sees $andate as manifesting itself according to two asic attri utes A wisdom 2 chih3, which is inherent to the structure of the cosmos and is also a "rimary Confucian virtueL and "nature" 2hsing3, the same word that is used in the e%"ression "nature and "rinci"le", the designation for Neoconfucian thought# If we are loo*ing for Islamic "arallels for these terms, we might thin* of I n '!ra i's discussion of nature, which, in its roadest sense, designates the Breath of the !ll'$erciful, the underlying stuff of the universe# The !ll'$erciful Breath ecomes articulated y the divine words, which of course manifest God's wisdom# !fter these three "reliminary levels of the unfolding of su stance, we reach the &orld of 0rinci"le, which seems to corres"ond with the s"iritual world in Islamic cosmology# This world em races oth the "rinci"le of all things and the "rinci"le of human nature# In other words, it rings together all the attri utes and Bualities that will su seBuently e differentiated as the macrocosm and the microcosm# The final stage of the arc of descent is called the "Kast 4ediment"# This re"resents the undifferentiated matter that will eventually give rise to the differentiated things that we *now as the visi le world# In I n '!ra i's cosmology it might corres"ond with the 5ust 2 hab3, which is universal matter 2hay&l3# From this "oint on, the "rimal undifferentiation of matter is gradually organi8ed with a view toward the return to the Fne Being# In 5iagram =, Liu Chih gives an overview of the first stages of the Latter /eaven# !s I said earlier, the Latter /eaven is the arc of ascent, which eventually leads ac* to the 6eal Being# In 5iagram =, Liu Chih traces the ascent from the lowest, most undifferentiated level u" to the level of animals# /e e%"lains that what had een called "Kast 4ediment" from the "oint of view of the descent is called "Kital Dnergy" from the "oint of view of the ascent# The word for vital energy is ch'i 2>a"anese ki3, a well'*nown term in Far Dastern medicine and the martial arts# !s Kital Dnergy egins to manifest itself, it ecomes differentiated into yin and yang# These two then give rise to the four elements, and the four elements "roduce heaven and earth# !s is made clear y 5iagrams . and =, the first four stages of the Latter /eaven corres"ond with the first four stages of the Former /eaven# /ence, the &orld of 0rinci"le in the Former /eaven corres"onds with the &orld of Images in the Latter /eaven# The &orld of 0rinci"le gives rise to the Kast 4ediment, which is the Kital Dnergy that turns ac* toward the Frigin# In the same way, the &orld of Images em races inanimate things and "lants, which lead to the a""earance of animal and human life# Fnly from the human level is it "ossi le to accom"lish the return to the original Unity#

The use of the word "image" 2hsiang3 for the level of yin and yang is es"ecially interesting# In Neoconfucian thin*ing, all things in the realm of manifestation are images of "rinci"les# There are o vious "arallels here not only with the 1uranic doctrine of signs 2 yt3, ut also with the school of I n '!ra i, where the world of imagination "lays a central role, and where "image" or "imagination" 2khayl3 ecomes a designation for everything other than God#

!lthough 5iagrams . and = "ertain res"ectively to the !rc of 5escent and the !rc of !scent, the relationshi" etween the two diagrams is not o vious, ecause oth need to e read from to" down# The fact that 5iagram = in fact de"icts the !rc of !scent will only ecome clear when we reach 5iagram ,, which integrates the ma)or elements of the two diagrams into a circle#

In 5iagrams - and 9, Liu Chih outlines the unfolding of the human eing on the !rc of !scent# 5iagram - descri es the unfolding of the seed in the wom # Notice that the si% levels of develo"ment in the wom coincide e%actly with the si% stages of develo"ment in the macrocosm as de"icted in 5iagram =# Thus vital energy 2which is the Kast 4ediment3 is eBuivalent to the seed in the wom # Min and yang correlate with the tur id and the "ure# The four elements corres"ond to the four liBuids# /eaven and earth corres"ond to heart and ody# The &orld of Images A which consists of stone, metal, grass, and trees A correlates with the differentiation of the organs and faculties# Finally, the living *inds in the macrocosm corres"ond with s"iritual vitality, the last stage of develo"ment efore irth# 5iscussion of this sort of develo"ment in the wom was common in Islamic "hiloso"hy, and among the 4ufi authors *nown in the Chinese language, Nasafi has a good deal to say a out it#

5iagram 9 gives us si% stages of human develo"ment outside the wom , from irth to s"iritual "erfection# Notice that the discussion now has to do with the various attri utes and Bualities that ecome manifest in successive levels of the ascent toward God# !gain, this discussion was common among the $uslim "hiloso"hers and was ta*en for granted in much of 4ufi writing# 6Emi gives us famous e%am"les of this "evolution" of the human individual from the inanimate level to life in God# The asic stages, in Islamic terms, are inanimate, vegetal, animal, human, angelic, and divine# Liu Chih la els the si%th level "the nature of continuity", y which he means the con)unction of the "erfect human eing with the divine Frigin, or union with the First 0rinci"le# /ere again we meet the "air "su stance and function"# The "erfect human eing achieves great su stance and com"lete function A that is, the total reali8ation of human "otential# 5iagram , sums u" the circle of macrocosmic e%istence that results from the com ination of the Former /eaven and the Latter /eaven as illustrated in 5iagrams . through 9# &e see how

the macrocosm a""ears from su stance and descends down to the Kast 4ediment, which is identical with the Friginal Kital'Dnergy# Then the movement turns u"ward, through yin and yang, eventually leading to human eings, who alone have the ca"acity to re'esta lish a direct, unmediated lin* with 4u stance itself, that is, with the Fne Being# Notice that Liu Chih de"icts the universe in terms of twelve stages# Twelve, of course, is a cosmic num er A the months of the year, the signs of the 8odiac, the Chinese cycle of years#

5iagram ; illustrates the circle of e%istence in terms of the micro'''cosm rather than the macrocosm# Thus the original su stance of human eings is the nature of continuity, that is, union with God# Their root nature is their s"iritual su stance, and this gives rise to the seeds that are de"osited in the wom s# The various stages of descent from God lead to the a""earance of the heart, or the s"iritual side of the individual, and the ody, the cor"oreal sideL these two, you remem er, corres"ond with heaven and earth# The diagram then ma"s the various stages of microcosmic develo"ment# Fnly in the last ascending circle, the "nature of the s"iritual", is the human reality fully a""arent# Before that, human eings re"licate the various lower levels of creation in their odies and souls#

! great deal more might e said a out the cosmological relationshi"s that manifest the Fne Being# But I would e remiss if I did not refer to another central discussion in Liu Chih's oo*, and that is the role of the "ro"hets and the saints# In the writings of I n '!ra i and his followers, it is o vious that s"iritual "erfection cannot e achieved if human eings do not su mit themselves to guidance# In good Chinese fashion, Liu Chih calls the "ro"hets and saints "the sages and worthies"# /e devotes a good deal of his oo* to e%"laining their cosmic function and the essential role of guidance in the achievement of human "erfection# This is not the "lace to go into detail# Instead we can loo* at a diagram that illustrates in glo al fashion the corres"ondences etween the microcosm and the macrocosm and, at the same time, shows how the sages and worthies "lay roles in the very structure of the cosmos# The ty"e of thin*ing going on here, y the way, is not unrelated to I n '!ra i's detailed e%"lanation of the various sorts of ri%l al-ghayb A the men of the unseen world A es"ecially in Cha"ter ;= of the :ut&ht#

5iagram +, de"icts the &orld of 0rinci"le in detail# 6emem er that the &orld of 0rinci"le was shown in 5iagram . as the fifth level of the Former /eaven# It was "receded y 4u stance, Function, !ct, and $andate and it em races the "rinci"les of things and the "rinci"le of human nature# 5iagram +, un"ac*s these "rinci"les# In other words, it details the various archety"es in the !rc of 5escent that su seBuently give rise to the differentiation of oth things and human eings in the !rc of !scent# !t the very to", one circle rings together the "rinci"les of things and human nature# In other words, in their dee"est reality, the macrocosm and the microcosm go ac* to a single source# Notice that this first circle has two names# !s the "rinci"le of things it is called a-erh-shih# This word re"resents one of a do8en instances in which Liu Chih em"loys an !ra ic word# The original is 'arsh, that is, Throne# !ccording to the 1ur'an, the !ll'$erciful is sitting u"on the Throne, and I n !ra i ma*es a great deal of the Throne's association with the creative divine mercy# !ccording to Liu Chih, the Throne is called "the nature of the utmost sage" from the "oint of view of the microcosm# The "utmost sage" is $uhammad# 4o the Throne and the $uhammadan nature are one reality# This, of course, fits in "erfectly with the 1uranic verses that tell us that $uhammad was sent as a mercy for all the worlds# !t the very ottom of the diagram, the two sides meet in the Kast 4ediment, which re"resents universal matter or vital energy which gives rise to the !scending !rc, as we saw in 5iagram =#

Fn the left'hand side of the diagram, Liu Chih de"icts the macrocosm in terms of twelve descending stages# The first is ku-erh-hsi, that is, !ra ic kursi, the Footstool, where God "laces his two feet# !ccording to I n '!ra i, the two feet are mercy, and mercy mi%ed with wrath# Ne%t come the seven heavens in order A here I give them their Chinese names# In the &est, the "lanets are named for the Gree* gods, each of which is an archety"e for numerous cosmic "henomena# In *ee"ing with the cosmic imagery of Chinese religion A as o vious, for e%am"le, in the ' Ching A the Chinese names of the five "lanets other than sun and moon are derived from the five elements, and thus the corres"ondence etween heaven and earth is "lain in the very names of the "lanets# The four remaining levels in Liu Chih's diagram de"ict the four elements as familiar to Islamic and &estern thought A wind, fire, water, and earth# Fn the right'hand side, Liu Chih de"icts the descending levels of human "ossi ility# Notice that he first mentions three sorts of sages# /e "ro a ly has in mind the standard Islamic classification of the "ro"hets into three sorts A ulu'l-'a8m or ""ossessors of steadfastness", rusul or "messengers", and anbiy' or ""ro"hets"# Then he mentions five more human ty"es, giving us a total of eight human levels# These corres"ond with the Footstool and the seven heavens# In other words, they all "ertain to the heavenly world# It is the heavenly connection that differentiates human eings from other earthly creatures# Below the sages, we first have the "great worthies", that is, the great saints# Then we have two levels that seem to corres"ond with lesser saints# Those with *nowledge stand a ove those who are sim"ly "ure and u"right# Then we have "good "eo"le", who are "resuma ly the elievers, and finally "ordinary commoners", who are "resuma ly the un elievers in all their variety# Finally, the four lowest levels, corres"onding to the four elements, re"resent the various ty"es of individual creatures that "re"are the way for the human ma*e'u"# Notice that in this diagram, the higher em races the lower, ut the lower does not em race the higher# This is a asic "rinci"le in cosmological schemes# Thus, for e%am"le, stone on the right'hand ottom is the lowest level of individual e%istence in the world, and it is "resu""osed in all the other levels# $etal has the Bualities of stone, ut it also has something more su tle that differentiates it from stone# 4o also, at each level, the higher "ossesses the Bualities of the lower, ut it also has something else that gives it its su"eriority# The "great worthies", for e%am"le, have the Bualities of "urity, u"rightness, *nowledge, and something more# Liu Chih e%"lains this in Buite a it of detail in various "laces#

To conclude this discussion, let me Buote a few words from the final cha"ter of Liu Chih's 6oot Classic# In it, he descri es how the "erfect sages reach the stage of continuity and reintegrate the whole universe into the Fne# In this final cha"ter, he has e%"lained Being in terms of three levels of unity# This is illustrated in 5iagram @# The first is called the "6eal Fne"# It re"resents the undivided nature of oth su stance and function in the Fne Being# The second is the "Numerical Fne", and it is the function of the Fne 4u stance, a function that gives rise to the universe# The third level is the "Dm odied Fne", which is the function that rings things ac* to the Fne through human "erfection# !ll three ones are essentially the same Fne Being#H=I Thus we have 5iagram +<, showing that the final reali8ation is the same as the Frigin#

These are the final words of the 6oot ClassicJ The ;three< ones return to the Root Suchness* and hea5en and human are undi""erentiatedly trans"ormed+ The things and the ' return to the Real* and the Real ,ne circles back to the Real+ The things are not mutual obstacles and the human is not weary with desire+ The subtle meaning o" each is disclosed and seen here is the Root Suchness+ 'n the beginning was the Reality-(rinci(le and now is the Reality-guise+ =hen Reality-being and Reality-guise are seen* the seed and the "ruit are com(lete+ .3+>/2?14 +# ! version of this "a"er was originally "resented at the twentieth annual sym"osium of the 4ociety, entitled "The Unity of D%istenceJ I n '!ra i and /is 4chool" held at &orcester College, F%ford, ='- $ay .<<=# .# For more details on &ang'Tai'y(, Liu Chih, and 4ufism in the Chinese language, see my Chinese #leams o" Su"i Light0 =ang Tai-y's #reat Learning o" the !ure and Real and Liu Chih's @is(laying the Concealment o" the Real Realm 2!l anyJ 4UNM 0ress, .<<<3, which

includes a translation of Liu Chih's Chinese version of >7mi's Law'ih along with a new translation of the Law'ih itself y &illiam C# Chittic*# =# For a detailed e%"lication of the "three ones", see &ang Tai'y('s #reat Learning o" the !ure and Real, translated in Chinese #leams#