Ming

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Ming (Chin., ‘light-bearing’).
1. Taoist enlightenment. According to Lao-tzu, it is attained by realization and acceptance of the return of all things to their proper root (fu). It is to live according to Tao, as rhythm and return.

2. The celestial mandate in Confucianism, the will of heaven (t'ien). Subsequently it came to mean the constraints in the universe which set limits on human action because they are non-negotiable (e.g. what might be called ‘natural laws’).

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