《老子指歸》是嚴遵注《老》之書,他以《老子》各章節之思想要旨為本,為文闡發對《老子》思想的理解,進而建構出屬於自己的思想體系。嚴遵發揮道家「道法自然」的思想,強調道體虛無。道性自然、萬物自化,萬物自化,由人道契合天道的觀點,重新詮釋道家思想,影響自是深遠。本文將就《指歸》的思想內容,作以下幾個面向的探討:一、「虛無」以言「道體」,說明道為一切事物存在與超越的本根;二、闡釋道德、神明、太和以玉天地的宇宙生成原理;三、指出《指歸》在道家的「自然無為」觀念下而有萬物自生自化的思想;四、道之發用言無欲保德,存神全身以人道相入與無為而治的政治哲學等;並期待因著這些探究,說明《指歸》所蘊有的豐富思想內涵及其影響。
Absolute Lao Zi is Yen Zun's annotations of Lao Zi, where he explicates his understanding of Lao li based on the themes found within and constructs his own philosophical system. Yen Zun uses the idea of ”nature of Tao”--with emphases on the nothingness of Tao as reality, the nature of Tao, and the flourishing of the world in harmony with nature--and re-interpret Taoist thoughts from the perspective that the way of man should be conjunct with the way of heaven; the power of his influence is certainly profound. This paper is intended to explore the followings issues in terms of the thoughts in Absolute Lao Zi: first, the ”Shf- Wu” of Tao as reality shows that Tao is fundamental to the being and transcendence of world; second, it is to explain the generative principle of Tao Te, divinity, harmony and the cosmos; third, it is to point out that Absolute Tao Te advocates the self-generation of the world within the Taoist framework of Wu wei; fourth, the function of Tao is to advocate the reduction of desires and the preservation of virtue, as well as the conservation of spirit and life, to form a political philosophy of humanism and Wu wei. It's expected that these explorations can illustrate the rich meanings embedded in Absolute Tao Te and the great impact it makes.