by Chuang Tzu
Confucius replied, ‘It is. As it was in the past, so it is now.’
Jan Chiu got no further and left. The next day he saw Confucius again and said, ‘Yesterday I asked if it’s possible to know anything of what there was before Heaven and Earth and you said, Master, “It is. As it was in the past so it is now.” Yesterday that seemed fine to me, but now it seems problematic. What does all this mean?’
Confucius said, ‘Yesterday it was clear to you, because your spirit was ready for such an answer. Now it is problematic because you are no longer responding in the spirit, are you? There is no past, nor present, no beginning and no end. Is it possible to say that you had grandsons and sons before you had grandsons and sons?’
Jan Chiu did not answer. Confucius said, ‘Enough, don’t try to answer! Don’t use life to give birth to death, don’t use death to bring death to life. Do death and life depend upon each other? They are both held within the One. What was there before Heaven and Earth, was it a thing? That which creates things each in their own way is not a thing. Things that are produced cannot come before things that produce them because these already exist. Likewise, they were produced by things existing before them, and so on through time. The sage’s love of humanity never ends and is based on this way of seeing.’
Yen Yuan asked Confucius, ‘Master, I have heard you say that you should not welcome anything in, nor move out to greet anything. I would like to know how this is done.’
Confucius said, ‘The people of old didn’t change inwardly in the midst of external changes. Today people change inwardly but pay no attention to the externals. To note the changes around but not to change oneself is not to change. Where is change to be found? Where is there no change? How can one be affected by changes of the external? One needs to hold back from others.
‘Hsi Wei had his park and the Yellow Emperor his garden. The Lord Shun had his palace and Tang and Wu had their manors. Then amongst the noblemen there were those such as the teachers of the Literati and the Mohists whose teachings caused people to begin considering what was right and what was wrong and arguing with each other, and the present day is even worse! Sages, in their dealings with others, do them no harm; those who do no harm cannot themselves be harmed. Only the person who does no harm can welcome others in or go out to meet them.
‘The mountains and forest delight! The hills and valleys delight! However, this delight of mine ends and sadness comes. When sadness and joy come, I cannot prevent them. When they go, I cannot stop them. How distressing that the people of this world are but rest-houses for things. They know what they encounter but they do not know what they do not encounter. They know how to do the things they know, but not how to do those things they do not know. Not knowing, not doing, this is what traps humanity. Still some people attempt to escape from the inevitable. This is how it goes! Perfect speech is no speech; perfect action is no action. To know only what is known is a tragedy.’
CHAPTER 23
Keng Sang Chu
One of the followers of Lao Tzu was Keng Sang Chu, who had grasped something of Lao Tzu’s teaching of the Tao. He went north and settled at the mountain of Wei Lei. He dismissed those servants of his who were brisk and efficient. He sent away any of his concubines who were kind and benevolent. Into his home he took the off-hand and rude, and employed the indolent and aggressive. Three years later Wei Lei had become a very prosperous place. The people of Wei Lei said to each other, ‘When Master Keng Sang came here, we were frightened of him. Now, if we think about it day to day, there doesn’t seem to be sufficient for everyone, but if we reckon him by the years, we can see there is more than enough to go round. It is possible that he really is a sage! Perhaps we should revere him as our priest before the dead and put all our altars of the grain and earth under his command.’
Master Keng Sang heard this, but he turned his face to the south and was certainly not pleased. His followers were perplexed by this. Master Keng Sang said, ‘My followers, why do you think this is strange? When the life-giving breath of spring emerges, the plants begin to come to life, and then in autumn they produce their multitudes of fruits. Do spring and autumn do this of their own volition? They just follow Heaven’s Tao. I have heard that the perfect man lives without effort within the confines of his house, leaving the different peoples to their own wild and unthinking ways. Now these busybodies of Wei Lei in their arrogant ways want to present their offerings to me and make me one of their leaders, as if I were really some kind of standard for others! This is why I am annoyed, because I remember the words of Lao Tzu.’
His followers said, ‘Surely not. In ditches eight to sixteen feet wide the big fishes can’t turn around, but the minnows and eels can. On a hill just six or seven feet high the big animals don’t have space to hide themselves, but the cunning fox finds it perfect. Honour should be shown to the worthy and offices given to those who are capable, with preference shown to the good and thoughtful. In the past Yao and Shun behaved like this, so why shouldn’t the people of Wei Lei! Master, let them do this!’
Master Keng Sang said, ‘Come here my little ones! If a creature large enough to swallow a carriage whole leaves its mountain, it cannot avoid the dangers of being trapped in the net. If a fish great enough to swallow a boat whole is left stranded by the loss of water, it can fall prey even to the ants. This is why birds and creatures don’t care how high they go to escape, nor do fish and turtles care how deep they go to escape. In the same way, those people who wish to preserve their bodies and lives are concerned only with how to hide away, and don’t mind how remote their place of hiding is.
‘Regarding the two masters you mentioned, what was so great about them as to be worthy of special mention? Their nit-picking philosophies make them like people who go around poking holes in walls and fences and sowing wild seeds in these places. They are like balding men contemplating combing their hair, or like a cook who counts each grain of rice before cooking! They take painstaking care, but to what end? They are useless to the world! If people of worth are elevated, there will be chaos as people fight to be promoted. If you choose people on the basis of their knowledge, then the people will try to steal this from each other. None of this makes the people any better. Indeed, what happens is that the people become more ambitious for gain. A son will kill his father for it and a minister will kill his ruler. People will steal in broad daylight and break down walls in the middle of the day. I say to you, the roots of all this great trouble will be found to have begun with Yao and Shun, and the consequences of this will remain for a thousand generations. A thousand generations later you will still have men who will eat each other!’
Nan Jung Chu sat upright on his mat looking perplexed and said, ‘How can someone as old as I am study to achieve the state of which you speak?’
Master Keng Sang said, ‘Keep your body in unity, hold on to life, don’t become too anxious. Do this for three years and you can achieve the state of which I have spoken.’
Nan Jung Chu said, ‘The eyes are a part of the body, I have never considered them to be anything other, but a blind person can’t see through his eyes. Ears are a part of the body, I have never considered them to be anything other, but a deaf person can’t hear through his ears. The heart is a part of the body, I have never considered it to be anything other, but the madman can’t experience feelings with his. The body is also part of the body, but my soul seems separated from it, because I try to find my self, but why can’t I find it? Now you say to me, “Keep your body in unity, hold on to life, do not become too anxious.” Despite all my attempts to understand your Tao, this goes in one ear and out the other.’
Master Keng Sang said, ‘That’s all I can say. There is a saying, mud daubers are incapable of changing into caterpillars. The fowl of Yueh cannot hatch goose eggs, but those of Lu can. It is not that the virtue of one kind of hen is better than that of another. That one can and the other cannot is to do with their size, big and small. My talents are limited and cannot effect a change i
n you, Master. So, Sir, why don’t you go south and see Lao Tzu?’
Nan Jung Chu gathered his provisions and set off, and after seven days and seven nights he arrived at the home of Lao Tzu.
‘Have you come from Chu?’ said Lao Tzu, and Nan Jung Chu replied, ‘I have.’
‘So, Sir, why have you brought this great crowd of other people with you?’ Nan Jung Chu spun round and looked behind him in astonishment.
‘Sir, don’t you understand what I am saying?’ said Lao Tzu.
Nan Jung Chu hung his head in shame and then looked up, sighed and said, ‘Now I can’t remember what to say in response and have therefore also forgotten what I was going to ask.’
‘What are you saying?’ said Lao Tzu.
‘Do I have any understanding?’ said Nan Jung Chu. ‘People will call me a fool. Do I understand? This just upsets me. If I am not benevolent, then I distress others. If I am benevolent, then I distress myself. If I am not righteous, then I harm others. If I am righteous, then I upset myself. How can I get out of all this? These three issues perplex me, so following Chu’s instructions I have come to ask you about them.’
Lao Tzu replied, ‘Just now I looked deep into your eyes and I could see what sort of a person you are. What you have just said convinces me I am right. You are bewildered and confused, as if you had lost your father and mother and were looking for them using a pole to reach the bottom of the sea. You are lost and frightened. You want to rediscover your self and your innate nature but you haven’t a clue how to set about this. What a sorry state you are in!’
Nan Jung Chu asked to be allowed to go into his room. He sought to develop the good and rid himself of the bad. After ten days of misery he came out and went to see Lao Tzu again.
‘I can see that you have been washing and purifying yourself thoroughly,’ said Lao Tzu, ‘but you are still impure despite the outward cleanliness. Something is stirring inside you and there is still something rotten within. Outside influences will press upon you and you will find it impossible to control them. It is wiser to shut the gate of your inner self against them. Likewise, when interior influences disturb you and you find it impossible to control them, then shut the gate of your self so as to keep them in. To struggle against both the outside and inside influences is more than even one who follows the Tao and its Virtue can control, so how much more difficult it is for one who is just starting out along the Tao.’
Nan Jung Chu said, ‘A villager fell ill and his neighbour asked how he was. He was able to describe his illness, even though he had never suffered from it before. When I ask you about the great Tao, it is like drinking medicine that makes me feel worse than before. I would like to know about the normal method for protecting one’s life, that is all.’
‘The basic way of protecting life – can you embrace the One?’ said Lao Tzu. ‘Can you hold it fast? Can you tell good from bad fortune without using the divination of the tortoise shell or the yarrow sticks? Do you know when to stop? Do you know when to desist? Can you forget others and concentrate upon your inner self? Can you escape lures? Can you be sincere? Can you be a little baby? The baby cries all day long but its throat never becomes hoarse: that indeed is perfect harmony. The baby clenches its fists all day long but never gets cramp, it holds fast to Virtue. The baby stares all day long but it is not affected by what is outside it. It moves without knowing where, it sits without knowing where it is sitting, it is quietly placid and rides the flow of events. This is how to protect life.’
‘So this is what it takes to be a perfect man?’ said Nan Jung Chu.
‘Indeed no. This is what is known as the melting of the ice, the dissolving of the cold. Are you up to it? The perfect man is as one with others in seeking his food from the Earth and his joy from Heaven. However, he remains detached from consideration of profit and gain from others, does not get embroiled in plots and schemes nor in grandiose projects. Alert and unceasing he goes, simple and unpretentious he comes. This indeed is called the way to protect life.’
‘So it is this which is his perfection?’
‘Not quite,’ replied Lao Tzu. ‘Just now I asked you, “Can you become a little baby?” The baby acts without knowing why and moves without knowing where. Its body is like a rotting branch and its heart is like cold ashes. Being like this, neither bad fortune will affect it nor good fortune draw near. Having neither bad fortune nor good, it is not affected by the misfortune that comes to most others!’
One whose inner being is fixed upon such greatness emits a Heavenly glow. Even though he has this Heavenly glow, others will see him as just a man. Someone who has reached this point will begin to be consistent. Because he is consistent, people will unite with him and Heaven will be his guide. Those with whom people wish to unite are called the People of Heaven. Those whom Heaven guides are called Sons of Heaven.
Study is to study what cannot be studied. Undertaking means undertaking what cannot be undertaken. Philosophizing is to philosophize about what cannot be philosophized about. Knowing that knowing is unknowable is true perfection. Those who cannot grasp this will be destroyed by Heaven.
Draw on the generosity of life to sustain your body. Protect yourself from cares and you will give life to your heart. Revere what is central within and manifest it. Do this, and even if a multitude of evils befall you, they will be Heavenly in origin, not the works of fellow human beings. They will not overcome your serenity, they will not enter into your Spirit Tower.86 Your Spirit Tower has its guardian but unless you know this guardian, it will not guard you.
If you cannot see this sincerity within you and you try to manifest it, it will fail. You will be invaded by external influences and will be unable to rid yourself of them. Then, whatever you do will inevitably fail. If you act badly in full public view, then people will seize you and punish you. If you act badly by night, then you will be seized by ghosts and punished. Understand this properly, know how you stand with regard to both people and ghosts and then reflect on this alone.
Someone who focuses on the internal is not interested in fame.
Someone who focuses on the external is intent on gaining whatever he can.
The one who does things which bring no glory, shines brightly in all he does.
One who looks to make gains at any cost is just a trader.
Others see he is just standing on tiptoe, but he thinks he is above all others.
Someone who struggles to succeed gets worn out, while someone who doesn’t really mind can’t be possessed by such forces.
To exclude others is to show lack of concern and not to be concerned with others means that everyone is a stranger.
There is no weapon more lethal than the will – even Mo Yeh was inferior to it.
There are no greater adversaries than yin and yang, because nothing in Heaven or on Earth escapes them.
But it is not yin and yang that do this, it is your heart that makes it so.
The Tao is in all things, in their divisions and their fullness. What I dislike about divisions is that they multiply, and what I dislike about multiplication is that it makes people want to hold fast to it. So people go out and forget to return, seeing little more than ghosts. They go forth and, to be sure, they say they have laid hold of something, but it is in fact what we call death. They are killed off and gone, just like a ghost. It is only when the formed learns from the unformed that there is understanding.
There is something which exists, though it emerges from no roots, it returns through no opening. It exists but has no place; it survives yet has no beginning nor end. Though it emerges through no opening, there is something which tells us it is real. It is real but it has no permanent place: this tells us it is a dimension of space. It survives, but has no beginning nor end: this tells us it has dimensions of time. It is born, it dies, it emerges, it returns, though in its emergence and return there is no form to be seen. This is what we call the Heavenly Gate. The Heavenly Gate is non-existence, and all forms of life emerge from non-existence
. That which exists cannot cause things to exist. They all arise from non-existence. Non-existence is the oneness of non-existence. This is the hidden knowledge of the sages.
In former times people had a knowledge which was almost perfect. How nearly perfect? Some of them thought that in the beginning there was nothing and that the future brings nothing. There were others who believed that there was something in the beginning, and they saw life as decline and death as return, so they began to make divisions. Yet others said that at the beginning there was Non-Existence. Later there was life and with life there came immediately death. We believe non-existence to be the head, life the body and death the buttocks. Those who know that life and death are all One, we are all friends together. These three different perspectives, while diverging, belong to the same dynasty but are like the Chao and Ching families whose names show the line of succession and the Chu family whose name comes from its lands: they are not the same.
From the grime you have life, and when the grime is different in form, it is called different. You try to express this difference in words, though this is not a subject for words. But it is certain that this is not something you can understand. At the Winter Sacrifice you can indicate the intestines and the hooves of the sacrifice as being separate, yet they shouldn’t be viewed as separate sacrifices. When someone visits a house they are thinking of buying, they inspect the whole house, from the ancestor shrines to the toilets, evaluating each part separately but also as a whole.
I will try to describe this discernment. It is rooted in life and has knowledge as its teacher, and from there proceeds to debate right and wrong. For example, we have fame and fortune, with people thinking they can determine what is really important. People think that they are the model of propriety and therefore try to make others see them like this, even to the point of dying for their views. These kinds of people believe that being an official means you are wise, and not being an official means you are a fool. They consider success as meaning they are famous and failure as being a disgrace. The people of this generation who follow this method are like the cicada and the little dove: they agree because they are the same.