something mysterious. This same character is used in

　　   combination with several others throughout the text:

　　   "the  profoundly  dark  mirror  (hsuan-lan) " or the

　　   inmost  heart/mind  (10);  "profoundly  dark  virtue

　　   (hsuante)," the most  deeply  rooted  of all virtues

　　   (51,65); "the profoundly dark female (hsuan-p'in), "

　　   embodying the Taoistically prioritized yin force (6)

　　   ;  "the profoundly dark union (hsuan-t'ung)" between

　　   ourselves and Tao(56,65).

　　　　  Furthermore, since this is a piece  of silk that

　　   has been dyed, one might  read this, hermeneutically

　　   speaking, as a spurious process.  The mystery is not

　　   really inherent in Tao any more than the darkness is

　　   inherent  to the  silk.  Tao  is  mysterious  to  us

　　   because  we have  artificially  distanced  ourselves

　　   from  it,  inducing  a  sense  of  estrangement  and

　　   alienation.  We have  mystified  it by our unnatural

　　   attempts  to make it conform to language  and logic.

　　   On the other  side of the gateway, when the barriers

　　   of   language　　 have   been   surmounted,   "subtle

　　   enlightenment (wei-ming)" awaits (chapter 36). It is

　　   precisely　　 this   something   else   that   defies

　　   expression, except by poetic indirection.

　　　　  The Buddhists  found  their  natural  allies  in

　　   the Taoist  camp.  The collaboration  began  with  a

　　   borrowing   of  Taoist   terminology   to  translate

　　   Buddhist  concepts  into  the  Chinese  intellectual

　　   context, culminating in the birth of a new school:

　　　　  Zen may.. be regarded as the fullest development

　　　　  of Taoism  by wedding  it to congenial  Buddhist

　　　　  insights  and the powerful  Buddhist  impulse of

　　　　  apostolic  zeal.  If  Buddhism  is  the  father,

　　　　  Taoism  is the mother of this prodigious  child.

　　　　  But there can be no denying that the child looks

　　　　  more like the mother than the child.(21)

　　　　　　　　　　　　  P.355

　　   Neo-Taoist  Currents in Liu I-ch'ing's  New Tales of

　　   the World (Shih-shuo Hsin-yu)

　　   The   cultural   encounter   will   and   increasing

　　   adaptation   of  Buddhism  in  Chinese  intellectual

　　   circles  is recorded  in the pages of Liu I-ch'ing's

　　   classic  collection  of anecdotes, New Tales  of the