by Chuang Tzu
‘Fish can live in water quite contentedly, but if people try it, they die, for different beings need different contexts which are right and proper for them. This is why the ancient sages never expected just one response from the rest of the creatures nor tried to make them conform. Titles should not be over-stretched in trying to capture reality and ideas should be only applied when appropriate, for this is not only sensible, it will bring good fortune.’
Lieh Tzu was following the Tao and one day he was eating by the roadside and saw a one-hundred-year-old skull, which he pulled clear of the weeds and addressed, saying, ‘Just you and I know that you never died nor were you ever born. Does this distress you? Do I really enjoy myself?’
Where does everything come from? From the water come creeping plants, from the water’s edge comes Frog’s Robe, this gives birth to Hill Slippers, and these in turn produce Crow’s Feet, and Crow’s Feet become maggots, and the leaves become butterflies. The butterflies change and become insects to be found below the stove, which are similar to snakes and are called Chu To. A thousand days later they become birds called Dried Old Bones. From the spit of the Dried Old Bones comes a type of bug and these bugs turn into Vinegar Drinkers. Other bugs are born from the Vinegar Drinkers and Huang Shuang insects are born from Chiu Yu insects, which themselves are born from Mou Jui maggots, and Mou Jui maggots are born from Rotting maggots, which themselves are born from Sheep’s Groom. Sheep’s Groom comes together in intercourse with bamboo that has not put forth any shoots for years and they give birth to Green Peace plants. These give birth to leopards, leopards give birth to horses, horses give birth to humans, humans eventually sink back to what was in the beginning. All the multitudes of life arise from the mystery of beginning and return there.
CHAPTER 19
Grasping the Purpose of Life
If you have grasped the purpose of life there is no point in trying to make life into something it is not or cannot be.
If you have grasped the purpose of destiny, there is no point in trying to change it through knowledge.
If you wish to care for your body, first of all take care of material things, though even when you have all the things you want, the body can still be uncared for.
Since you have life, you must first of all take care that this does not abandon the body. However, it is possible for the body to retain its life, but still not be sustained. Birth cannot be avoided, nor death be prevented. How ridiculous! To see the people of this generation who believe that simply caring for the body will preserve life. But if caring for the body is not sufficient to sustain life, why does the world continue to do this? It may be worthless, but nevertheless it cannot be neglected, we are unable to avoid it.
If someone wishes to stop doing anything to sustain the body, they are advised to leave this world, for by leaving they can be free from any commitments, and, being free from commitments, they can be virtuous and peaceful. Being virtuous and peaceful, they can be born again like others and, being born again, they approach close to the Tao. But why is it such a good idea to leave the troubles of this existence and to forget the purpose of life? If you leave the troubles of existence, your body will not be wearied; if you forget life, your energy will not be damaged. Thus, with your body and energy harmonized, you can become one with Heaven. Heaven and Earth are the father and mother of all life. Together they create a form, apart they create a beginning. If body and energy are without fault, this is known as being able to adapt. Strengthened and again strengthened, you come back again to assist Heaven.
Master Lieh Tzu asked gatekeeper Yin, ‘Only the perfect man can walk underwater and not drown, can walk on fire without burning, and can pass over the multitude of forms of life without fear. I would like to ask, how does the perfect one do this?’
Gatekeeper Yin replied, ‘It is because he preserves his original breath and this has nothing to do with knowledge, work, persistence or bravery. Sit down, and I will tell you all about it.
‘Everything has a face, forms, sounds and colour: these are just appearances. How is it possible that this thing and that thing are separated from each other? Indeed, why should any of them be viewed as truly the first of all beings? They are just forms and colours, and nothing more. However, everything arises from what is formless and descends into that which is changeless.
‘If you grasp and follow this, using it to the full, nothing can stand in your way! It means being able to reside within limits which have no limit, be secluded within boundaries which have no beginning, ramble to where both the beginning and the end of all life is; combine the essential nature, nourish the original breath, harmonize Virtue and, by following this path, commune with the origin of all life. Someone like this guards his unity with Heaven, his spirit is without fault, and thus nothing can get inside and attack him!
‘If a drunk falls out of his carriage, even if the carriage is going very fast, he will not die. He is just the same as others, bone and joints, but he is not injured, for his spirit is united. Since he does not realize he was travelling, he has no idea that he has fallen out, so neither life nor death, alarm nor fear can affect him, and he just bumps into things without any anxiety or injury.
‘If it is possible to stay united through being drunk on wine, just imagine how much more together one could be if united with Heaven! The sage retreats to the serenity of Heaven, as a result nothing causes him harm. Even someone who is out for revenge does not break his opponent’s sword. Nor does someone get cross with a tile that just fell on him, no matter how upset he is. Instead, we should recognize that everything under Heaven is united. Thus it is possible to get rid of chaos, violence and warfare and of the rigours of punishment and execution, for this is the Tao.
‘Do not hearken to the Heavenly in humanity, but listen to the Heavenly in Heaven, for paying attention to Heaven’s Virtue is life-giving, while attending to humanity damages life. Do not cast aside the Heavenly, and do not ignore the human aspect: then the people will draw closer to the realization of Truth!’
Confucius was travelling to Chu and he went through the heart of a forest, where he saw a hunchback trapping cicadas, using a sticky pole with such ease that it seemed as if he used his hands. ‘Sir, what skill!’ said Confucius. ‘Do you have the Tao?’
‘Indeed, I have the Tao. The first five to six months I learned how to balance two balls on top of each other on a pole, and when they did not fall, I knew I could catch a few cicadas. Next I practised with three balls, and when they did not fall, I knew I could catch one cicada in ten. Next I practised with five balls, and when they did not fall, I knew I could catch cicadas very easily. I brace my body as if it were a straight tree trunk and stick out my arms like a pole. Never mind how vast Heaven or Earth are, or the vast numbers of the multitudes of living beings, I concentrate my knowledge on catching cicadas. Never tiring, never leaning, never being aware of any of the vast number of living beings, except cicadas. Following this method, how could I fail?’
Confucius turned and said to his followers, ‘His will undivided and his spirit energized, that is how I would describe this hunchbacked gentleman!’
Yen Yuan commented on Confucius, saying, ‘I was crossing the gorge at Chang Shan and the boatman guided the boat with real verve. I said to him, “Can one study how to guide a boat?” He said, “Indeed. Someone who can swim well will have no trouble. If someone can dive under water, he may not have seen a boat before but he will know what to do.” I asked him what this meant, but he could not say, so I am asking you: what do his words mean?’
‘A good swimmer learns quickly,’ said Confucius, ‘because he knows how to ignore the water. Someone who can swim under the water may indeed have never seen a boat, but he regards the waters as though they were dry land, and the overturning of a boat as nothing more serious than a waggon turning over. So he too learns quickly. All forms of life can be overturning or sliding downwards right in front of his eyes, but he is not affected, nor does it disturb his inner calm, so t
here is nothing bad that can disturb him! In an archery competition, you shoot as skilfully as possible, hoping to win. If you compete to win decorated buckles, you are concerned with your aim. If you compete for gold, it can make you very nervous. Your skills are the same in all these cases, but because one of these is more significant than the others, this puts external pressure on you. To pay too much attention to such external things makes you thoughtless about the internal things.’
Tien Kai Chih went to see Duke Wei of Chou, and the Duke asked him, ‘I hear Chu Hsien is studying life. As Chu Hsien’s companion, what have you heard of this, Sir?’
Tien Kai Chih replied, ‘I just sweep the courtyard and guard the gate, so how could I have heard anything about it?’
‘Master Tien, don’t be so modest,’ said Duke Wei. ‘I want to hear more.’
‘Well,’ said Kai Chih, ‘I have heard the Master say, “Someone who sustains life is definitely like a shepherd who watches for the stragglers and brings them into line.” ’
‘What does this mean?’ said Duke Wei.
‘In Lu they had Shan Po, who dwelt in the caves, drank nothing but water and was not interested in profit like the rest of the people,’ said Tien Kai Chih, ‘and for seventy years he lived like this and had the complexion of a girl. Then, sadly, he encountered a fierce tiger which killed and ate him. You have Chang Yi, who knocked on all the doors of the wealthy and powerful, never missing an opportunity to visit. He continued like this for forty years, then caught a fever, became sick and soon died. Po took care of what was internal and a tiger devoured his externals, while Yu took care of his external image and the illness destroyed him from the inside. These two masters did not manage to keep their herd together.’
Confucius said, ‘Don’t hide inside, don’t come out and shine like yang, but hold steadfastly to the middle ground. Follow these three rules and you will be known as one of the truest. When people are about to set out on a dangerous journey, if they hear that one person in ten has been killed, then fathers, sons, elder and younger brothers will all warn them to be careful and they will not set off until they have an armed escort. That is wise, isn’t it? People should really worry about what truly worries them, the thoughts that come when they are lying awake in bed or at table eating and drinking. But they don’t understand these warnings – what an error!’
The priest of the ancestors looked into the pigsty and said, ‘What’s so bad about dying? I fatten you up for three months, then I undergo spiritual discipline for ten days, fast for three days, lay out the white reeds, carve up your shoulders and rump and lay them on the place of sacrifice. Surely you’re OK with that, aren’t you?’
It is, however, true to say that from the perspective of the pig it would be better to eat oats and bran and stay there in the pigsty. It is also true that, looking at this from my perspective, I’d like to be honoured as an important official while alive and, when I die, be buried with a horse-drawn hearse, lying upon a bed of feathers. I could live with that! From the pig’s point of view, I wouldn’t give a penny for such a life, but from my point of view, I’d be very content, though I wonder why I perceive things so differently from a pig?
Duke Huan73 was out hunting in the fields, accompanied by Kuan Chung74 as his driver, when they saw a ghost. The Duke grabbed Kuan Chung’s hand and said, ‘Kuan Chung, what do you see?’ He replied, ‘I don’t see anything.’
The Duke returned home, fell ill, got worse, and for a number of days did not venture out. A scholar of Chi called Huang Tzu Kao Ao said, ‘Sire, you are harming yourself, for the ghost does not have the evil to harm you! When the original breath within is scattered and will not reunite, then weakness follows. If it goes up but will not come down, it makes a man bad-tempered. If it goes down but will not come up, it makes a man very forgetful. If it goes neither up nor down, but centres upon the body, at the heart, then illness comes.’
‘Is it certain that ghosts exist?’ asked Duke Huan.
‘There are such things,’ he replied. ‘The hearth has one,75 the store has one. The pile of rubbish outside the walls has one. The northeast under the eaves has two; the north-west under the eaves has one. In the water there is one; in the hills there is another. The mountains have their own, as do the meadows and the swamps.’
‘Can I ask you what a swamp ghost looks like?’ said the Duke.
‘The swamp ghost is as big as a wheel rim, as high as a carriage axle, wears a purple gown, a fur hat and is hideous, as such things usually are. Hearing the sound of a waggon or thunder, it holds its head and rises. To see this creature means you will become a dictator.’
Duke Huan was absolutely delighted and laughed, and he said, ‘So that is the man I saw!’ Then he sat up, tidied himself and even before the day ended, though he did not realize it, he was better.
Chi Hsing Tzu was raising game birds for the King.
Ten days later he asked, ‘Are the game birds ready?’ ‘Not yet,’ said Chi Hsing Tzu, ‘I need to work on their arrogance and control their spirit.’
Ten days later the King asked again, and he said, ‘Not yet, they glare easily alarmed.’
Ten days later the King asked again, and he said, ‘Not yet, they glare about them and I need to control their spirit.’
Ten days later the King asked again and Chi Hsing Tzu told him, ‘Good enough. A cock nearby can crow and they are not disturbed: if you saw them from afar, you’d think they look like wood. They have harmonized their Virtue, and other cocks will not challenge them, but run away.’
Confucius was sightseeing in Lu Liang, where the waterfall is thirty fathoms high and the river races along for forty miles, so fast that neither fish nor any other creature can swim in it. He saw one person dive in and he assumed that this person wanted to embrace death, perhaps because of some anxiety, so he placed his followers along the bank and they prepared to pull him out. However, the swimmer, having gone a hundred yards, came out, and walked nonchalantly along the bank, singing a song with water dripping off him.
Confucius pursued him and said, ‘I thought you were a ghost, but now I see, Sir, that you are a man. I wish to enquire, do you have a Tao for swimming under the water?’
He said, ‘No, I have no Tao. I started with what I knew, matured my innate nature and allow destiny to do the rest. I go in with the currents and come out with the flow, just going with the Tao of the water and never being concerned. That is how I survive.’
Confucius said, ‘What do you mean when you say you started with what you knew, matured your innate nature and allow destiny to do the rest?’
He said, ‘I was born on the dry land and feel content on the land, where I know what I know. I was nurtured by the water, and felt safe there: that reflects my innate nature. I am not sure why I do this, but I am certain that this is destiny.’
Woodcarver Ching76 carved a piece of wood to form a bell support, and those who saw it were astonished because it looked as if ghosts or spirits had done it. The Marquis of Lu saw it, and asked, ‘Where does your art come from?’
‘I am just a woodcarver,’ Ching replied. ‘How could I have “art”? One thing is certain, though, that when I carve a bell support, I do not allow it to exhaust my original breath, so I take care to calm my heart. After I have fasted for three days, I give no thought to praise, reward, titles or income. After I have fasted for five days, I give no thought to glory or blame, to skill or stupidity. After I have fasted for seven days, I am so still that I forget whether I have four limbs and a body. By then the Duke and his court have ceased to exist as far as I am concerned. All my energy is focused and external concerns have gone. After that I depart and enter the mountain forest, and explore the Heavenly innate nature of the trees; once I find one with a perfect shape, I can see for certain the possibility of a bell support and I set my hand to the task; if I cannot see the possibility, I leave it be. By so doing, I harmonize the Heavenly with Heaven, and perhaps this is why it is thought that my carvings are done by spirits!’
Tung Yeh Chi was showing his driving skills to Duke Chuang. He drove up and down holding a straight central line like a plumb line, and turned to left and right with the grace of a curve drawn with a compass. Duke Chuang was impressed, and felt that no one could do better, so he commanded him to do a further hundred circuits.
Yen Ho came by and went in to see the Duke, saying, ‘Chi’s horses are almost worn out.’ But the Duke said nothing. Shortly after, the chariot broke down and the Duke said, ‘Sir, how did you know this would happen?’ Ho replied, ‘The strength of the horses was spent but he urged them on. That’s why I said they would collapse.’
Workman Chui could draw as straight as a T-square or as curved as a compass, because his fingers could follow the changes and his heart did not obstruct. Thus his mind was one and never blocked. The feet can be forgotten when you walk in comfortable shoes. The waist can be forgotten when your belt fits comfortably. Knowledge can forget yes and no, if the heart journeys contentedly. Nothing changes inside, nothing proceeds from outside, if you respond to what occurs in a contented way. By starting with what is contented, not undergoing that which is disturbing, it is possible to know the contentment of forgetting what contentment is.
There was a man called Sun Hsiu who came to the gate of Master Pien Ching Tzu to call upon him, and said, ‘I used to live in the countryside and no one I ever met said that I didn’t behave properly, nor did anyone I met say that, when confronted with problems, I didn’t display fortitude. However, when I worked in the fields, the crops were never good, and when I worked for the ruler, things didn’t go well in the world. Therefore, I have been expelled from the countryside and exiled from the court, yet what is the nature of my offence against Heaven? How did this misfortune become my destiny?’