The Way to the Way: Classical Daoist Apophatic Meditation as Effortless Practice
Entangled Religions December 2, 2025 DOI: 10.46586/er.14.2025.12555 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Daoist effortless meditation |
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation Mysticism |
| Keywords | Contemplation Connection principal bundle Association psychology Epistemology Aesthetics |
| Key points | Argues that Daoist effortless meditation is intimately connected to the concept of wúwéi and should be studied beyond mere technique, incorporating aesthetics, material culture, place, and spatiality. |
Abstract
The present article explores Daoist effortless meditation with particular attention to its association with the inner cultivation lineages of classical Daoism (ca. 350–ca. 90 BCE). In addition to discussing the technical specifics of the practice, including its intimate connection to wúwéi 無為 (lit., ‘without acting/doing’; non-action/effortlessness), consideration is given to related contemplative states and traits. The article also encourages readers and researchers to examine contemplative practice in general and meditation in particular beyond mere technique. Here one engages the associated aesthetics, material culture, place, spatiality, and so forth. The piece concludes with some reflections from a lived/living Daoist perspective.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |