by Chuang Tzu
Chuang Tzu said, ‘I was so concerned with my body that I forgot my self. It was like looking into cloudy water, thinking it was really clear. Furthermore, I heard my Master say once, “When associating with the locals, act like a local.” So I went out walking in the park at Tiao Ling and forgot my own self. A strange jackdaw touched my forehead, then settled in a copse of chestnut trees and there forgot its own true being. The forester thought I was to blame. This is why I’m miserable.’
Yang Tzu was travelling to Sung and stopped for the night at an inn. The innkeeper had two concubines, one beautiful, the other ugly. The ugly one was given all consideration, while the beautiful one was made to serve. Yang Tzu asked why this was, and a young boy from the inn said, ‘The beautiful one knows her beauty, so we don’t think of her as beautiful. The ugly one realizes her ugliness and therefore we don’t think of her as ugly.’
Yang Tzu said, ‘My followers, remember this! If you act rightly but unselfconsciously, you will be universally loved!’
CHAPTER 21
Tien Tzu Fang
Tien Tzu Fang was in attendance on the Marquis Wen of Wei,82 and he frequently referred to Chi Kung. Marquis Wen said, ‘This Chi Kung, is he your master?’
‘No,’ said Tzu Fang, ‘but he comes from the same region as I do. In discussing the Tao with him I find he is often spot on, which is why I refer to him.’
‘Is it the case, then, that you have no master?’ said Marquis Wen.
Tzu Fang said, ‘I have.’
‘Who then is your master?’
‘Master Shun from the Eastern Wall,’ said Tzu Fang.
‘Then why have you never praised this great master?’
‘He is indeed a man of Truth,’ said Tzu Fang, ‘having the appearance of a man but the expanse of Heaven. He is empty and his being is Truth; he is pure and holds all things. He greets those without the Tao with a proper manner, and they are enlightened, their conceits are dissolved. How could I present his thoughts?’
Tzu Fang left, and Marquis Wen sat profoundly shaken for the whole day and didn’t say a word. He then summoned his ministers and said to them, ‘How distant from us is the nobleman of complete Virtue! I used to believe that the words of the sages and the actions of benevolence and righteousness were the most perfect we could achieve. I have now heard of the teacher of Tzu Fang and my body is all at sixes and sevens, I don’t want to move, my mouth is shut and I don’t want to talk. That which I was studying has turned out to be a thing of straw. The whole state of Wei really is a weight on me!’
Wen Po Hsueh Tzu was travelling to Wei, when he stopped in the state of Lu. A citizen of Lu asked to see him, but Wen Po Hsueh Tzu said, ‘Certainly not. I have heard that these noblemen of the Middle Kingdom are clear about the principles of ritual but foolish in their understanding of people’s hearts. I do not wish to see him.’
He duly arrived in Wei but as he returned home he passed once more through Lu, and the citizen appeared again, asking to see him. Wen Po Hsueh Tzu said, ‘He asked to see me before, now he’s trying again. Obviously, he cares enough to say something to me.’
He went out to see the citizen and came back moaning softly. The next day he saw him again and again returned with a low moan. His servant asked, ‘Why is it that, when you see this visitor, you come back moaning?’
He replied, ‘I have said before, “These people of the Middle Kingdom are clear about the principles of ritual, but foolish in their understanding of people’s hearts.” Each time I see this visitor his coming forward and withdrawing is so precise it might have been calculated on a compass or set-square. His appearance is first like a dragon, then a tiger. He argues with me as if he was my son, and tries to give me advice like my father, which is why I am sighing.’
Confucius went to see him but did not say a word. Tzu Lu said, ‘Sir, you have wished to visit Wen Po Hsueh Tzu for a while, yet when you saw him you didn’t say a word. Why?’
‘As soon as I saw him, I could see the Tao,’ said Confucius. ‘There was no need to say anything.’
Yen Yuan said to Confucius, ‘Master, when you stroll, I stroll. When you stride, I stride. When you gallop, I gallop. But when you break into a headlong rush that leaves nothing but dust behind, I just stand and stare after you in astonishment.’
‘Hui, what are you talking about?’ said the Master.
‘Master, when you stroll, I stroll; when you speak, I speak. When you stride, I stride; when you contrast, I also contrast. When you gallop, I gallop; when you speak of the Tao, I also speak of the Tao. But when I say you break into a headlong rush and leave the dust behind you and I just stand and stare, I mean you do not even need to speak to be believed, everyone salutes your universality and your lack of prejudice; even though you have no official status, people are inspired to follow you. I simply do not understand how this is.’
‘Ah ha!’ said Confucius. ‘So we must enquire into this! There is no greater sadness than the death of the heart – beside which the death of the body is secondary. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and all forms of life are guided by this. All beings that have eyes and feet await the sun and then do what is necessary. When it rises, they come out; when it sets, they disappear. This is certain for all forms of life. They have to await their time of death; they have to await their time of birth.
‘Having been given this prescribed shape, I hold to it unchangingly and in this way I wait for the end. I exist, acted upon by others both day and night without end, and I have no idea when I shall end. Obviously I am here in this particular shape and I understand my destiny, but not what has happened beforehand. This is how I am, day after day.
‘I am sharing my ideas with you, and here we are side by side and you don’t understand me. This is a shame! You can see the part of me that I have shown you, but that is no longer relevant – yet you still hunt for it as if it were. This is like looking for a horse after the sale is over. I am of the greatest service to you when I forget you, and you are of the greatest service to me when you forget me. Given this is so, why get so upset? It is my former self that you forget, and what I retain is what cannot be forgotten.’
Confucius went to see Lao Tzu and found him washing his hair. He had spread it out over his shoulders to dry. He stood there without moving, as if no one else existed in the world. Confucius stood quietly and then, after a while, quietly came into his vision and said, ‘Were my eyes dazzled, is this really you? Just now, Sir, your body was as still as an old dead tree. You seemed to have no thought in your head, as if you were in another world and standing utterly alone.’
‘I let my heart ponder upon the origin of beginnings,’ said Lao Tzu.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Confucius.
‘The heart may try to reason this out but doesn’t understand it, and the mouth may hang open but can’t find words to say. Still, I will attempt to describe this to you. Perfect yin is harsh and cold, perfect yang is awesome and fiery. Harshness and coldness emanate from Earth, awesomeness and fieriness emanate from Heaven. The two mingle and join, and from their conjunction comes to birth everything that lives. Maybe there is one who controls and ensures all this, but if so, then no one has seen any form or shape. Decay and growth, fullness and emptiness, at one time dark, at another bright, the changes of the sun and the transformation of the moon, these go by day after day, but no one has seen what causes this. Life has its origin from which it emerges and death has its place to which it returns. Beginning and end follow each other inexorably and no one knows of any end to this. If this is not so, then who is the origin and guide?’
‘I want to ask what it means to wander like this,’ said Confucius.
Lao Tzu said, ‘To obtain this is perfect beauty and perfect happiness, and to obtain perfect beauty and wander in perfect happiness is to be a perfect man.’
‘I would like to hear how this is done,’ said Confucius.
Lao Tzu replied, ‘Creatures that eat grass are not put out by a change of
pasture. Creatures that are born in the water are not put out by a change of water. They can live with a minor change, but not with a change to that which is the most significant. Joy, anger, sadness and happiness do not enter into their breasts. All under Heaven, all forms of life, come together in the One. Obtain the One and merge with it and all your four limbs and hundred joints will become just dust and ashes. For death and birth, ending and beginning are nothing more than the sequence of day and night. Then you will never be disturbed in your contentment by such trifles as gain and loss, for example, good fortune or bad! Those who ignore the status of authority, casting it aside like so much mud, they know that their own self is of greater significance than any title. The value of your self lies within and is not affected by what happens externally. The constant transformation of all forms of life is like a beginning without end. What is there in this to disturb your heart? Those who comprehend the Tao are freed from all this.’
‘Master,’ said Confucius, ‘your Virtue is like that of Heaven and Earth, but even you have to resort to these perfect words to guide you. Who amongst the great men of antiquity could have lived this out?’
Lao Tzu replied, ‘I certainly do not. The flowing of the stream does nothing, but it follows its nature. The perfect man does the same with regard to Virtue. He does nothing to cultivate it, but all is affected by its presence. He is like the height of Heaven: natural; or the solidity of Earth, the brightness of sun and moon: all natural. There is no need to cultivate this!’
Confucius came out and commented upon all this to Yen Hui: ‘When it comes to comprehending the Tao I am about as significant as a fly in vinegar! Had the Master not revealed things to me, I would never have understood the great unity of Heaven and Earth.’
Chuang Tzu went to see Duke Ai of Lu. Duke Ai said, ‘There are many learned scholars in Lu but few of them study your works, Master.’
Chuang Tzu said, ‘Lu has few learned ones.’
Duke Ai said, ‘There are men wearing the dress of learned scholars throughout the state of Lu. How can you say there are few?’
Chuang Tzu said, ‘I have heard that those learned ones who wear round caps on their heads, know the seasons of Heaven; those who wear square shoes know the shape of the Earth; those who tie semi-circular disks to their belts deal perfectly with all that comes before them. But a nobleman can follow the Tao without having to dress the part. Indeed, he might wear the dress but not understand the Tao at all! Should my Lord not be sure on this point, why not issue an order of state saying, “Any wearing the dress but not practising the Tao will be executed!”’
This is exactly what Duke Ai did, and five days later throughout the kingdom of Lu not a single learned one wore the dress! Only one old man wore the dress of the learned and stood at the Duke’s gate. The Duke immediately called him in and discussed the affairs of the kingdom with him, and though they went through a thousand issues and tens of thousands of digressions, the old man was never at a loss.
Chuang Tzu said, ‘So, in the whole kingdom of Lu there is just this one man who is among the learned ones. How can you claim there are many?’
Po Li Hsi83 did not allow thoughts of fame and fortune to enter his heart. Instead, he looked after cattle, and his cattle prospered. Seeing this, the Duke Mu of Chin forgot Po Li Hsi’s servile state and he turned over the running of the government to him. Shun of the Yu84 family did not allow death nor birth to enter his heart, and this is how he could influence others.
Ruler Yuan of Sung wanted a map drawn up and so the artists flocked to him. They received their materials and instructions and formed up in line, licking their pencils and grinding their ink. There were so many that half had to remain outside. One artist arrived late, insolently and without any concern for speed. Having received his instructions and materials, he did not join the line, but went off to his own studio. The ruler sent someone to see what he was up to. He found him with his robe off, sitting cross-legged and almost naked. The ruler said, ‘Splendid, this is indeed a true craftsman!’
King Wen85 was touring the sights of Tsang and he saw an old man fishing. However, his fishing was not real fishing. He was not fishing as if he had to fish for any good reason, but just because he fished. King Wen wanted to summon him to take over governing the kingdom, but he was worried that such an action would upset his great ministers, uncles and cousins. He tried to erase the matter from his mind, but he could not bear the thought that all his people, all one hundred families, would be deprived of such a gift from Heaven. The next morning he summoned his great ministers and said, ‘Last night I dreamed that I saw a man of quality, bearded and with a dark complexion, riding a dappled horse, half of whose hooves were red. This man ordered me, “Pass your government over to the old man of Tsang and the woes of your people will be healed!”’
The great ministers were certainly impressed and said, ‘It was the late king, Your Majesty.’
King Wen said, ‘Let us ask the diviner.’
The great ministers said, ‘It is the command of the late King. Your Majesty should not doubt this, so there is no need for a diviner!’
So in due course the King handed over the government to the Old Man of Tsang. However, all the old order and regulations persisted unchanged and no new laws were sent out. Three years later King Wen toured his kingdom. He found that the officers in the districts had broken down the gates of the different groups and dispersed them, that the chiefs of the departments no longer bragged about their positions, and that no one brought illegal weights or measures into the country. The district officials had destroyed the fortified places and scattered those within, because they identified with those above them. The chiefs of departments sought no special honours, because they saw even the most mundane task as an honour. With no different weights and measures, the princes were no longer in two minds whether to use the official ones.
King Wen appreciated the true worth of having found a great teacher, and, facing north, he asked him, ‘Could this government be extended to all the Earth?’ The Old Man of Tsang looked confused and gave no answer. The next morning he gave orders with a distracted look, and by night he was gone and was never heard of again.
Yen Yuan asked Confucius about this. ‘King Wen wasn’t really up to it, was he? What was all that stuff about a dream?’
Confucius said, ‘Silence, don’t say a word! King Wen knew what he was about. Let there be no criticism of him! He only used the dream to extract himself from his difficulty.’
Lieh Yu Kou was displaying his skills at archery to Po Hun Wu Jen. He drew his bow fully back and placed a bowl of water upon his elbow. The arrow flew from his bow and no sooner had it gone than a second arrow was there and fired, followed by a third at the ready. And all this time he stood still as a statue.
Po Hun Wu Jen said, ‘This is indeed the archery of an archer, not the non-archery of an archer. Let us go to the top of a high mountain, climbing up the rocks until we come to the edge of a drop eight hundred feet deep. Could you shoot then?’
So they set off, to the top of a high mountain, scrambling over the rocks, until they reached a drop of eight hundred feet. Here Wu Jen turned round and walked backwards towards the drop until his feet were half over the edge, whereupon he bowed to Yu Kou and asked him to join him. Yu Kou fell to the ground, sweat pouring from him, drenching him to his feet.
Po Hun Wu Jen said, ‘The perfect man can stare at the azure Heavens above, or go down into the Yellow Springs below, or journey away to the eight ends of the cosmos, without affecting his spirit and original breath. Now here you are grovelling and your eyes agog. In such a state of mind, if you were to take aim, you would be in great danger!’
Chien Wu said to Sun Shu Ao, ‘Sir, three times you were appointed Prime Minister without showing any enthusiasm and three times you were dismissed without showing any distress. To begin with I really didn’t believe this. But now I see you, nose to nose, I see how calm and unruffled you are. Sir, have you some special influence o
ver your heart?’
Sun Shu Ao said, ‘Do I really exceed others? When I was offered the post, I did not feel I could refuse. When the post was withdrawn, I did not feel I could stop it. Neither having nor losing affect who I am, so there was no point in looking miserable. Do I really exceed others? I did not know where the glory lay, in the job or in me. If it is in the prime ministerial post, then why should it mean anything to me? If in me, then what did it have to do with being Prime Minister? With all these questions, I have decided just to wander in the four directions. What leisure do I have to speculate about whether my position is high or low?’
Confucius heard about this and said:
‘He is a true man of the past:
the wise could not follow his words;
the charming ones cannot make him follow them, nor the aggressive force him to do their will.
Neither Fu Hsi nor the Yellow Emperor could have made him be their friend.
Death and birth are momentous times but they do not affect him;
how much less do fame and fortune!
The spirit of one such as he can sail across the great mountain Tai
without the slightest difficulty,
enter into the deepest troughs of the ocean and not be wet,
or fill the lowest position without any anxiety.
He is filled with Heaven and Earth,
and the more he gives to others, the more he has.’
The King of Chu and the Lord of Fan were sitting together. Three of the King of Chu’s servants came to report that the state of Fan had been destroyed. The Lord of Fan said, ‘Fan’s destruction does not deter me from preserving what is most significant. I say, “If the destruction of Fan is not sufficient to make me lose what I most value, then the preservation of Chu is not enough to ensure the preservation of what I should preserve. Viewed this way, Fan has not begun to be destroyed and Chu has not begun to be preserved.’