The Author and the Dao
Added 2023-05-16 08:08:09 +0000 UTCSo, several times now, I've had people ask me if I'm going to be talking about the Dao in this book (Unintended Cultivator) and presumably subsequent books in the series. I put together what I think is a fairly cogent answer to that question in a comment over on Royal Road, so I'm going to put it up here as well.
This is my take on including the Dao, at the moment. My personal understanding of Daoism is shallow. Like, I could probably give an adequate one-paragraph answer about what Daoism is in the sense of a Cosmic Dao that contains all things and, in some way, makes reality, and a personal dao that one follows to gain enlightenment about some specific facet of the greater Dao. I can even see the theoretical connection between pursuing a personal dao and driving spiritual cultivation.
The problem is that I don't have a good theoretical or personal understanding of the mechanics of that kind of enlightenment. I honestly have no idea how people go about pursuing a personal dao beyond what I've read in Xianxia-style novels. Sure, I could make something up, but I don't want to misrepresent a real-world philosophy/religion with living adherents. So, I'm steering clear of name-dropping the Dao in this novel.
However, I am not specifically steering clear of the idea that enlightenment of some kind drives cultivation forward. Things like self-reflection, contemplation of nature, general philosophical insights, insights in qi, and even insights into personal relationships will all potentially serve as fodder for enlightenment. So, there is/will be some of that hovering in the background of this novel, and it will likely become more prominent in future books.
