Guan
Glossary: guan 观, 'to observe' — the Daodejing's word for contemplative seeing, from 'observing its subtleties' to 'observing the body with the body' — the gaze that the inner-contemplation classics inherit.
Guan (观, guān) — “to observe,” the contemplative gaze of the Daoist tradition. The Daodejing opens with it twice in one line — “observe its subtleties … observe its boundaries” (ch. 1) — and ch. 54 makes it the very organ of knowledge: “observe the body with the body, the family with the family, the world with the world. How do I know the world is so? By this.” Observation here is not inspection from outside but attunement from inside: you know the body as a body, by way of the body’s own quiet.
Usage note: guan is the root of neiguan — inner observation, the method the Neiguan Jing systematizes and the Song Daoshu identifies with zuowang (“inner observation is sitting in oblivion”). It is also the family name of the Buddhist 观 (as in vipaśyanā, insight practice, 观呼吸 — observing the breath); the borrowing runs from the classical Chinese word into Buddhist Chinese and back. This site renders it “observation,” adds “inner” where the object is interior, and flags Buddhist usage explicitly rather than merging the two lineages’ terms.
Sources
- Daodejing ch. 1: 'constantly without desire, observe its subtleties; constantly with desire, observe its boundaries' (常无欲以观其妙，常有欲以观其徼)
- Daodejing ch. 54: 'observe the body with the body, the family with the family... how do I know the world is so? By this' (以身观身...吾何以知天下然哉？以此)