Daoxing

The first sense concerns the Dao rather than an individual being. Descriptions emphasize its naturalness and purity. Here daoxing names a characteristic of the Dao itself; it does not refer simply to a person's temperament or moral character.

The second sense brings the concept into the world of particular beings. Dao-nature is understood to be present throughout existence as an expression of the Dao. It is not a visible bodily feature or a separate object hidden inside each being, but a way of explaining their underlying relation to the Dao.

This account gives Dao-nature a role in religious cultivation. Beings possess it, yet confused understanding and disturbances can obscure their awareness of it. Realization is therefore described as the disclosure of a nature already present. Having Dao-nature and fully realizing it are distinct in this account of spiritual attainment.