western slope
Of the Werewolf Mountain scale its peak, on which
The witches and shamans hold the yearly sabbath!
34
The World's Disorder
There is great disorder in the world
And the guilt of it is because
Of that fondness for knowledge.
Thus, it is that all men know
To seek for the knowledge
That they have not attained to;
And do not know to seek for that
Which they already have in themselves;
And that they know to condemn
What they do not approve in others,
And do not know to condemn
What they have allowed in themselves --
It is this which causes the world's disorder.
It is just as though above
The brightness of the sun and moon
Were darkened; as though beneath
The productive vigour of the hills
And streams were dried up; as if
In the mid the operation of four seasons
Were brought to an end, in which case
There wouldn't be a single wriggling insect,
Nor a plant that grows up,
Which would not lose its appropriate nature.
Great indeed is disorder produced
In the world by the love of knowledge.
From the olden times it has been so.
The plain and honest-minded men are neglected
While the plausible representations
Of the restless spirits are received with pleasure;
The quiet and unexciting methods
Of doing-no-ado is put away while pleasure
Taken in all ideas wordily expressed. Hence,
Each candidate for the high-ranking office
Should mark it well that it is garrulity of speech
Which puts the world in disarray and disorder.
35
WWW or the Way to Win the World
To win the world means to take the subtlest influence
Of Heaven and Earth and assist with them the growth
Of the five cereals for the better nourishment of people.
It also means to direct the operation of opposite forces,
So as to secure the comfort of all the human beings.
How should one proceed to accomplish these objectives?
According to governing the world, the vapours of clouds
Before they were collected, would descend in rain;
The herbs and trees would shed their leaves
Before they became yellow; the light of the sun and moon
Would hasten to extinction at sunset and at dawn. . .
The mind is that of a flatterer with one’s plausible words --
It’s not fit that should be told as the way to win the world.
36
Cultivation of Life
Once I went to seek an interview with a recluse
Who resided in his solitary hut with thatch walls
And straw roof, and who spread in it a mat of hay --
Ascetic life he lived. I found him lying down
With his head to the south. With an air
Of deferential submission, I stepped forth
On my knees, twice bowed low with my face
To the ground, and asked him a question, I said,
“I have heard that you, sir, are well acquainted
With the best way of life; so, I venture to ask
How one should rule the body, in order that
It may continue for a long time?” In a while
He quietly replied: “The bodily essence
Is always surrounded with the deepest obscurity;
Its highest reach is in darkness and silence;
There is nothing to be seen and nothing to be heard.
When it holds the spirit in stillness, then
The body itself will become perfectly correct.
Therefore, you must be still, you must be pure,
Not subjecting your body to toil, not agitating
Your vital force, then you may live for long.
When your eyes see nothing, and your ears hear nothing,
And your mind knows nothing -- your spirit
Will keep your body well, and the body will be in health.
Watch over what is within yourself, shut up all channels
And links that connect you with what is external to you
Because much knowledge is unsaved and puts obstacles
In your way to the Summit of the Supreme Brilliance
Where you come to the source of the bright
And expanding element; you will enter the Gate
Of the Deepest Obscurity where you come to the source
Of the darkness and repressing element. There Heaven
And Earth have their controllers; there the entities
Of Yin and Yang have their Sanctuaries.
Watch over and keep your body whole and all things
Will of themselves then give it their vigour.
Once you maintain the original unity of the elements,
You will dwell in the harmony of them. In this way
You have to cultivate your Self for one hundred years,
And your bodily shape will undergo then no decay.”
Upon hearing this, I bowed low twice with my head
To the very ground and said, “We have an example
Of what is called Heaven, but. . .” In no time
He interrupted me, saying, “I know, you want to ask
About the external manifestations of life. Come out,
And I will show you the heavenly way of life,
Which is something inexhaustible, and yet
People think it has an end; it is something unfathomable
And yet people think its extremity can be reached.
He who attains to it, if he is in a high position,
Will be one of Heaven's sons, and in a lower region,
Will be an ever-youthful Prince. One who fails
In attaining it, in one's highest attainment
Will see the light, but will descend to be of the earth.
From of old, all things are produced from Earth
And they all return to the ash and ground. Therefore,
I will leave you alone in order you enter the Gate
Of the Unending State to enjoy yourself wandering
In the Dale of Illimitable. You will blend your light
With that of the sun and the moon, and endure
While Heaven and Earth endure. If you agree with this
And adopt my conception for good, you will become
Integral with it forever; if you keep far apart from it,
Still, you will be unconscious of it; for you,
It may all die, and you will stay alone, of your own.
That is the whole point and profound secret
Of what is known as the Best Way of Being. . .”
37
Equality
When the sun and moon have come forth,
If illumination have not been put out,
Would it not be difficult for them
To send down their light sufficed to all?
When the seasonal rains are coming down,
And if we still keep watering the ground,
Would not our toil be labour lost
For all the good it will do?
Taking a position of responsibility,
Shall we not be doing so for the sake
Of fame and the name? But the name
Is but the guest of our reality;
So, shall we be playing the part
Of the guest instead of the host?
A tailor-bird makes its nest in the thicket,
But only using one single twig;
A mole drinks from the great volume
Of the ground waters, but only taking
What fills its stomach, and that's it.
To his kitchen, the scullions dare not
To leave their own stands and pots,
For taking the place of their boss. . .
He who does not plant himself
Deeply enough in the right position,
Has no chance to get on in life,
As his place in the world will definitely
Become indifferent to him,
Preventing him from success available
In accord with the Law of Equality.
38
A Weekly Cycle
A seven-day week is designated
As the five elements
Plus the sun and moon to intimate
Tuesday as the day of the superior
And therefore always warring Mars
That has a cardinal Fire classification;
Wednesday, as related to the god
Or the planet Mercury, representing
Virtuous waters of the Celestial Lake;
Thursday, as the giant Jupiter,
Associated with the flexible, supple
And everywhere penetrated Wood;
Friday, as the planet Venus which
Rises in the early morning to embody
The spirit of slightly demonic Metal;
Saturday, as the influential Saturn,
The kingdom of Earth with its peaks
High to the sky and immense dales;
Sunday, as the incomparable sun;
And Monday, as the mirror-like moon.
Without doubt, the central part herein
Pertains to Saturday, which is Sabbath,
And which have the upper hand to reign
All the rest elements and celestial bodies,
Whose influential part in our appointed lot
And everyday life cannot be ignored.
39
Relativity
One man once teased me, saying:
“I laugh at the way you compose
Your poems, sir, like a blind man
Who sings the praise of the sun!"
At that, I retorted: “A blind man
Is mostly diligent and searching;
So, how can a blind be afraid of
His bad fortune?” A blind man
Has no perception of the beauty
Of graceful and elegant figures,
Nor a deaf of the sound of tunes.
But is it only the bodily senses,
Of which deafness and blindness
Can be predicated? There is also
A similar defect in the intelligence;
And in these poetic lines of mine
An illustration in itself supplied.
Yes, eyes are all of the same form,
I do not know any big difference
Between them all, yet the blind,
Alas, have no power of eyesight.
Ears are also all of the same form;
I do not know any big difference
Between them all, yet the deaf,
Alas, have no power of hearing.
Minds are all of the same nature,
I do not know any big difference
Between them all, yet the mad
Cannot make the minds of others
Their own. My good
The Moon Pool Page 10