Teaching with Dao

173 Teaching with Dao DAVID HESSLER Mastering and teaching content is the beginning of the teacher’s responsibilities , but only the beginning. Afterwards comes the development of mastery in teaching. This paper examines how Daoist concepts and careful reading of the Daode jing in particular, can guide one towards optimal teaching practices. This means moving beyond the traditional goal of classroom instruction. “Education in the classroom is directed towards giving students knowledge and skills but it is not primarily concerned with developing a certain kind of personal character”(Hori, 1994, 7). However, the way of the teacher in the Daode jing is more focused on developing the inherent character of each student.1 Self-Doing One of the most famous lines in the Daode jing is daofa ziran 道法自然, which has been translated variously. To me, it has two complementary meanings, i.e., doing something of itself, and Dao follows inherent inclinations or tendencies. “Doing something of itself” is to undertake an action in accordance with, or in conformity to, what is called for by the subject and situation. Understanding the true essence of all things under Heaven is the basis for any one who truly wants to follow Dao 道 or “the Way,” but it also has some very practical applications to the profession 1 I have found very few if any articles to address the relationship between Daoist practice and effective teaching. Therefore, this paper presents an initial foray into a relatively untouched field, focusing on how to apply lessons from the Daode jing to classroom teaching. 174 / Journal of Daoist Studies 9 (2016) of teaching. After all, there are repeated references to the sage in the Daode jing. Understanding the truth of this passage can inform the way teachers construct their classroom environment and relationships with students. “Dao follows inherent inclinations or tendencies” means understanding the true reality of all things. Professor Wang Zhongjiang of Peking University, in his recently published book, Daoism Excavated (2015), has further enhanced our understanding of the expression daofa ziran with his insight that the closest literal translation, “Dao models itself on self-being” refers not to a property found in Dao, but to the “myriad things.” Professor Wang argues that Dao allows all things to develop into who, or what, they are by moving “in accordance with their selfbeing ” (2015, 136-137). Wang argues that Dao is like parents “giving birth to children and raising them without overly controlling them” (2015, 136). The relevant passage from the Daode jing is, “Dao gives birth to them [all things on earth] but does not own them” (ch. 53; 2015, 150). How can this inform classroom teaching? If Dao births and nurtures all beings, then they “continue to develop and manifest in life according to their particular unique characteristics, thereby fully realizing themselves” (2015, 151). This may be the key to better classroom teaching. A teacher who understands his profession can diagnose the difficulties of his students over the first few months of the academic year. Applying Wang’s concepts means that the next step is not to inform students of a diagnosis and expect change. Rather, the role of the teacher should be first to make a diagnosis , then foster conditions in the classroom to enable students to recognize their own self-being through a natural and organic process. The First Step The first step is for the teacher to develop practices to foster an understanding of himself through quieting the mind. This can be done through a variety of techniques but meditation, quiet sitting, or restorative yoga can be beneficial. As teachers learn to calm their minds, they gain the Hessler, “Teaching with Dao” / 175 awareness necessary to foster each student’s self-being. This concept can be of immense assistance to teachers, as I have personally experienced.2 Why is it so important for the teacher to reach a quieter state of mind? The Daode jing says, Attain the climax of emptiness, preserve the utmost quiet; As myriad things act in concert, I thereby observe the return. Things flourish, then each returns to its root. (ch. 16; Cleary 1994, 17) To understand one’s own self-being requires that we develop a stillness...