Ebook: The Sky Beyond the Walls - A Chinese Philosophy of the Way

The philosophical tradition of ancient China is both extremely rich and varied, offering mankind different visions of the universe, which complement the other traditions that arose in other lands and other eras. One of these is the “philosophy of the way,” which focuses on leading man to live in accordance with the “way of the sky,” which is the course of the heavens, the path taken by the flow of nature. Another, which has been heavily influenced by the first, is the Chinese Chan tradition, better known by its Japanese name: Zen. Both of these have often been associated with religion, either the religious “Daoism” that was derived from the work of the philosophers of the way or Buddhism, but far from myths and dogmas, religiosity and esotericism, their root represent natural philosophies, based on an experience of nature.

What the philosophy of way offers is a path of liberation from the things that stand between man and the whole of nature, that is, the all-encompassing sky. Things of the earth, the materials things that man accumulates, often enslave him. They form a wall that becomes a prison, and his life is devoted to its edification and protection. Things of the world, that is, the products of man’s mind, can also be part of this wall, leading him to think that the lens through which he sees nature represents nature itself. Finally, things of the sky, that is, the way he represents the essence of the whole of nature and being as “spiritual things” transcending his own experience: “gods,” “spirits,” or “Buddhas,” may lift man up and give him a better view of the whole of the sky, but they may also hide it from him. Man must therefore cease to hold on to these things to experience the truth of nature and embrace the way of the sky.

The present book represents a roadmap, based on the work of the philosophers of the way and the Chinese Chan tradition, meant to lead to an awareness of the nature of the yoke of things and liberation from it. Not meant to be a theoretical treatise on Eastern philosophy, it rather represents an invitation to a practice: a transformation of man’s relationship with the things that are part of his life and an experience of the way of the sky.