Chuang Tzu Translated by Nina Correa (2)

Zhuangzi Translated by Nina Correa

Zhuangzi Chapter 22: Knowledge Wanders North

Translated by Nina Correa

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Knowledge wandered north along the banks of Dark Water, then climbed a hill at Yin Fen and happened to come upon Without Words To Express.
Knowledge said these words to Without Words To Express:

“I’d like to ask you some questions. What should I think about and what should I contemplate in order to understand Dao? Where should I live and what lifestyle should I pursue in order to be secure with Dao? Who should I join up with and which path should I follow in order to connect with Dao?”

He asked these three questions, but Without Words To Express didn’t respond to any of them. It wasn’t that he chose not to answer, but he didn’t know the answers.

Since Knowledge didn’t get any answers, he reversed directions and went south to White Water and climbed up the banks to Sly Conclusions where he found Warped Lunatic. Knowledge spoke up and asked Warped Lunatic the same questions.

Warped Lunatic said:
“Ooh! I know the answers and I’ll explain it all to you.”

But in the middle of his sentence, he forgot what he wanted to say. Since Knowledge didn’t get any answers, he reversed directions again and went to the Emperor’s palace, got an audience with Huang Di and asked him the same questions.

Huang Di said:
“Without thinking and without contemplating you can begin to understand Dao. Without a place to live and without a specific lifestyle you can begin to be secure with Dao. Without joining up with anyone and without selecting a particular path you can begin to connect with Dao.”

Knowledge asked Huang Di:
“You and I can understand these things, but the other two don’t have this understanding. Which is right?”

Huang Di said:
“It’s Without Words To Express who’s actually right. Warped Lunatic seems to have a handle on it, but you and I aren’t even close yet. Since one who knows doesn’t speak and one who speaks doesn’t know, a sage teaches without using words. Dao can’t be acquired by seeking after it, and virtue can’t be achieved through force. Benevolence can cause certain actions, righteousness can be practiced unfairly, and rituals can have the appearance of puppetry.

“Therefore it’s been said: ‘Lose Dao and fall back on virtue; lose virtue and fall back on benevolence; lose benevolence and fall back on righteousness; lose righteousness and fall back on rituals.’ Someone who gets to the point of performing rituals glorifying Dao brings about chaos.

“Therefore it’s been said: ‘The actions of someone who becomes like Dao decrease every day. They keep decreasing and decreasing again to the point that there’s no reason to take actions. Not purposefully taking action, yet never without acting.’

“Now, for what’s already come into being to want to go back to its roots has to be a difficult thing to do! That can only be easy for someone who’s a great person! Birth follows death, and death creates birth. Who could really understand when the order of things is put that way? When a person is born it’s due to the gathering together of a vital energy. When it’s gathered together in that way a person is born, and when it’s eventually dispersed again the person dies. Since death and birth both follow each other, what do we have to be concerned about? In this all living things are united. What makes one situation beautiful is because of its spirit and wonder. What makes another situation hateful is because of its stink and putrefaction. What’s stinking and rotten will keep transforming into what has spirit and wonder. What has spirit and wonder will keep transforming into what’s stinking and rotten.
“Therefore it’s been said: ‘Complete integration is merely the unification of the vital energy in the world.’

Therefore, a sage values the unification.”

Knowledge responded to Huang Di, saying:
“When I asked these things to Without Words To Express, he didn’t answer me. Not only didn’t he give me an answer, but he didn’t even know the answer to my questions. When I asked Warped Lunatic, he got to the middle of a sentence and stopped short. Not only didn’t he tell me what he wanted to, but he’d forgotten what he was going to say. Then when I asked you about it, you knew the answers. Why did you say you weren’t even close?”

Huang Di said:
“Without Words To Express was genuinely correct because he truly didn’t know. Warped Lunatic seemed to get it because he’d forgotten about it. You and I ended up not even being close because we think we have some understanding.”

Warped Lunatic heard about this conversation, and determined that Huang Di certainly had a way with words.

The heavens and earth have great beauty, but no words. The four seasons have clearly defined patterns, but no debates. All living things have basic principles, but no explanations. A wise person begins with the beauty of the heavens and earth and arrives at the principles of all living things. That a perfected person doesn’t interfere and a great sage doesn’t initiate is called observing from the viewpoint of the heavens and earth. Now they, through spiritual clarity, have reached perfection and gone through hundreds of changes. Things continuously go in a circle of death and birth so nothing knows where their roots are. This has been prescribed for all living things since they first came into existence at the beginning of time. The six directions can be aligned with a measuring stick, but no one has yet been able to leave their own point of reference. The tiniest hair on a newly sprouted stalk of wheat waits for something to bring it to fruition. In the whole world there’s nothing that doesn’t sink at times and float at other times, throughout their entire lives with no apparent reason for it. Through darkness and lightness the four seasons keep moving along, each getting their own turn. The heart can become so dark at times it seems to vanish, but it still exists. Things may be so smeared and blurred that they lose their outer shapes, but the spirit is still there. All living things keep receiving sustenance although they might not realize it. This is called the basis of the root – to be able to observe from the viewpoint of the heavens!

Nie Que (Cracked and Missing Teeth) asked Bei Yi about Dao.

Bei Yi said:
“If you align your body and unify your vision, the harmony of the heavens will arrive. If you assimilate your knowledge and unify your limitations, spirit will come into your being. Virtue will become beautiful to you, and Dao will become your resting place. You’ll see things in a childlike way like a newborn calf, and won’t need to ask why anything is the way it is.”

Before he had finished speaking, Nie Que had fallen fast asleep.
Bei Yi gave a great sigh of joy and went away singing:
“With a form like a dried up skeleton,
“A heart like dying embers,
“Straightforward in his genuine knowledge,
“Not having a reason to show self-restraint,
“Caught in the twilight without a mind,
“And can’t even carry on a discussion.
“What kind of person is this?”

Shun asked his assistant:
“Can Dao be obtained and possessed?”
“You don’t even possess your own body, so how could you obtain and possess Dao!”
Shun said:
“If I don’t even possess my own body, who does possess it?”
“Your form fell to you from the heavens and earth. You don’t possess your life either, as it fell to you from the harmonious union of the heavens and earth. You don’t possess your character and destiny either, as they fell to you by the arrangements of the heavens and earth. You don’t possess your children or grandchildren either, as they fell to you like extensions from your body from the heavens and the earth. Therefore, we go about without knowing where we’re headed, stay in one place without knowing what keeps us there, and eat without knowing what makes it flavorful. The power of the heavens and earth is the brightest vital energy there is, so what is there that could be obtained and possessed?”

Kong Zi (Confucius) asked of Lao Dan (Laozi):
“While we’re sitting here sharing this leisurely afternoon, I’d like to ask you about how to connect to Dao.”

Lao Dan said:
“Even out your perspective, scatter what’s soaked your mind, bathe in pure white snow until you’ve purified your spirit, and smash to pieces your knowledge. Dao is obscure and difficult to describe in words! But since you asked, I’ll give you some of the essential points:
“The brightly shining is born from dusky darkness;
“The species that exist were born from what was formless;
“Pure spirit was born from Dao;
“The source of all forms was born from essence;
“And all living things use their forms to give birth to others.

“As a result, those with nine apertures are born from the womb, and those with eight apertures are hatched from an egg. They arrive without any indications of what they should do, and go forth without sensing any boundaries; without having doors to pass through or rooms to enclose them, simply heading off tentatively in all directions. Seeing everything as an open invitation, their four limbs are strong, their senses are acute and attentive, and their eyes and ears are fresh and bright. They use their minds for the intended purpose without worrying about it. They respond to other things without partiality.

“The heavens cannot but be high. The earth cannot but to be expansive. The sun and moon cannot but to follow their courses. All living things cannot but prosper. In this way they’re all connected to Dao. Moreover, gathering all this information doesn’t make anyone knowledgeable and arguing against it doesn’t make anyone wise, so the sage just lets it all go! That which has received benefits doesn’t try to gain more benefits, and that which has been decreased doesn’t try to decrease itself further – that’s what the sage holds close to his heart.
“Like the waves in the ocean it churns downward to the deepest depths and rises high to the top of a crest where it seems to end but then falls back down and starts all over. It can transport the weight of all things and leaves nothing behind.

“Then there’s the Dao of the cultured person, which is exclusionary and expects all the other living things to support him and not be deficient. That’s their Dao!

“Most people are in some middle territory, opposing darkness and opposing lightness, in a place somewhere between the heavens and the earth, straightening up for the time being to become humans waiting to return to their ancestors. From the viewpoint of a root, what it’s produced is things that chatter until they become hoarse and simply blabber. Whether they have a long life or a short one, how much time separates them? In the scheme of things, it’s no more than an instant, so how could anyone determine whether Yao or Jie was right or wrong?

“Fruit and the plants they grow from have set patterns to follow. People in human relationships, although difficult at times, find a way to adjust to each other. When a sage encounters something, she doesn’t try to avoid it, and when something passes her by she doesn’t try to grasp on to it. To adapt and respond, that’s virtue. To spontaneously respond, that’s Dao. This is what the emperors joyfully held up, and where the kings started out.

“A person’s life on this earth is like viewing a white colt through a crack in the wall – it appears suddenly then vanishes. Bursting forth vigorously, there’s nothing that doesn’t come into being that way. Sluggish and vacant, there’s nothing that doesn’t go back down into the earth in that way. What went through a transformation to be born also goes through a transformation when it dies. All living things mourn their loss, and human beings likewise feel sadness in their hearts. They’re released from the sheath of the heavens, and dropped out of the bag of the heavens. By allowing the threads to unravel and be yielding, the hun and po emerge and the body is left behind. Only then can one pass on to infinity.
(Note: It was believed that within a person’s body were two spiritual souls: the po and the hun. The po is the animalistic nature, while the hun is the spiritual nature. At death, the po was supposed to return to the earth and the hun was supposed to return to the heavens.)

“What started out formless takes on a form, and what has a form eventually becomes formless. This is something everyone can understand, and they don’t have to put much effort into figuring it out. And yet, this is something everyone keeps on discussing. If someone has gotten the gist of it, then they don’t need to discuss it further. If they keep discussing it, then they haven’t gotten the gist of it.

“Having sharp vision won’t make it any clearer, and debating about it doesn’t get to its secrets. Dao can’t be heard about, so you might as well block up your ears to what’s being said. This is said to be a great achievement.”

Dong Guo Zi asked of Zhuangzi:
“Where is this thing we call Dao?”

Zhuangzi said:
“There’s no place it isn’t.”

Dong Guo Zi said:
“I hope you can tell me more than that.”

Zhuangzi said:
“It exists in crickets and ants.”
“How could it be in anything as low as that?”
“It exists in common weeds.”
“Could it exist any lower than that?”
“It exists in tiles and bricks.”
“It couldn’t exist any lower than that?”
“It exists in shit and piss.”

When Dong Guo Zi didn’t respond, Zhuangzi said:
“Your questions didn’t really touch on the substance of the matter. When Inspector Huo asked the superintendent of the market why he stepped on the fattened pigs, he told him that the further down his foot went the more he found out about the pig. If you keep pondering about where it can’t possibly be, you’ll never be rid of looking for more things where it can’t be. Perfect Dao seems to be right, and so do expansive words. ‘Entirely’, ‘everywhere’ and ‘all’ are three different words for the same reality. They point out the unity of all things.

“Let’s go swimming in the womb of nothingness, where our conversations can fit together like dove-tailed joints without coming to a stressful end. Let’s go do nothing! Scattering our words like placidly sprinkling water! Indifferent as pure essence! Tuned in and leisurely! Our aspirations will have already become vacant, and as we move on we won’t know where we’ll end up. We’ll pace back and forth like galloping horses in a immense open space, and as great understanding enters us we won’t feel any sense of exhaustion. Things in relation to one another are joined without boundaries, but things do have certain boundaries, so it’s said that things are restricted by those boundaries. There are no boundaries that can restrict and boundaries are non-restrictive. There are terms like ‘fullness and emptiness’ and ‘submission and aggression.’ What becomes full or empty is neither full nor empty. What becomes submissive or aggressive is neither submissive nor aggressive. What becomes introverted or extroverted is neither introverted nor extroverted. What becomes accumulated or scattered is neither accumulated nor scattered.”

A He Gan (Family Man Sweet Lotus) and Shen Nong were both studying under Lao Long Ji (Old Lucky Dragon). After closing his door, Shen Nong had rested his head in his arms on the table and was taking a nap.

At noon A Hen Gan opened the door and entered saying:
“Lao Long has died!”

Shen Nong, leaning on the table, grabbed hold of his cane and stood up , then he threw his cane to the ground and laughed, saying:
“Heaven (a fond reference to his Master as “his heaven”) knew how low, ignorant, disrespectful and arrogant I am, so he abandoned me and died. Now it’s all over! My Master hasn’t left a trace for me of his wild words now that he’s dead!”

Overhearing this, Yan Gang Diao said:
“Someone who has the essentials of Dao has gentlemen from all over the world trying to attach themselves to him. Even those who know as little as what could fit on the head of a pin about Dao still know to take their wild words with them when they die. How much more so would someone who had the essentials of Dao!

“Look for it, but it’s without a shape;
“Listen for it, but it makes no sound.

“These are the things people say about it, calling it dark and obscure. That’s how they discuss what’s Dao and what’s not Dao.”
At that point, Tai Qing (Extremely Pure) asked of Wu Qiong (Infinity):
“Do you understand about Dao?”

Wu Qiong replied:
“No, I don’t.”

He asked the same question of Wu Wei (Non Action), and Wu Wei said:
“I understand Dao.”

“Since you understand Dao, can you elaborate on it?”
“Yes, I can.”
“Then, what can you tell me about it?”

Wu Wei said:
“What I understand about Dao is that it can as easily be held in high regard as looked down upon. It can as easily be restrained as dispersed. That’s about all the explanation I can give about Dao.”

Tai Qing repeated these words to Wu Shi (Without Beginning), and asked:
“Being as Wu Qiong says there’s nothing to understand, and Wu Wei says there is, which of them is right and which is wrong?”

Wu Shi said:
“To not know is profound. To know is superficial. To know there is nothing to understand reaches to the heart of the matter. To think there is something to understand remains on the surface.”

At that point Tai Qing turned his face toward the sky and heaved a great sigh then said:
“To know there is nothing to understand is knowing, but to think there is something to understand is not knowing! Who can realize that they don’t understand what they think they know?”

Wu Shi said:
“Dao can’t be heard about, as what’s heard about is contradictory. Dao can’t be observed, as what’s observed is contradictory. Dao can’t be spoken about, as what’s spoken about is contradictory. If you recognize its shape, that shape isn’t its shape. Dao can’t be regarded as something that can be named.”

Wu Shi said:
“One who responds to questions about Dao doesn’t understand Dao. Although one might have questions about Dao, they won’t find out about it that way. Dao can’t be questioned, and there aren’t any answers to the questions. Question what can’t be questioned and there’ll be no end to the questioning. Answer what there are no answers for and the answers will never get to the heart of it. If one doesn’t get to the heart of it and keeps on asking questions, they’ve missed the most splendid things to observe in the universe around them and know nothing of the great beginnings within them. On top of that, they wouldn’t be able to wander through the Kunlun Mountains or swim in the Great Void (universe).”

Guang Yao (Bright as Sunshine) asked of Wu You (Nonexistent):

“Master, do you exist? Or don’t you exist?”

Guang Yao didn’t receive an answer, and he wondered who was looking out from beneath the form in front of him with those sunken eyes and blank stare. All day long he watched him but saw nothing, listened for some sound but heard nothing, and poked at him but didn’t get a reaction.

Guang Yao said:
“Excellent! To come across someone who’s able to reach this perfection! I can conceive of the idea of non-existence from my place in existence, but I can’t conceive of the idea of nonexistence from within the realm of nonexistence. And when it comes to the nonexistent existing, who could engage in that kind of perfection!”

The blacksmith who forged harness buckles for the Grand Marshall of the Hunt was eighty years old but didn’t make the slightest mistake in his work.

The Grand Marshall asked:
“What great skill you have! How do you do it?”

“I just keep doing what I do best. When I was twenty years old I really enjoyed forging buckles, and didn’t pay attention to much of anything else. Whatever wasn’t a buckle didn’t interest me.”

By using this method of ignoring things that weren’t useful to him, he was able to make use of what he did for a long time. How much further could a person go if there was nothing that wasn’t useful to them! Would there be anything that wouldn’t prop them up?

Ran Qui (Slowly Seeking) asked of Zhong Ni (Confucius):
“Can we know anything about what it was like before there was a heaven and earth?”

Zhong Ni said:
“Indeed. Things are the same now as they were back then.”

Ran Qui was at a loss as to what to ask next, so he left.

Returning the next day he asked:
“Yesterday I asked you if we can know anything about what it was like before there was a heaven and earth. You said: ‘Indeed. Things are the same now as they were back then.’ Yesterday it made sense to me, but now I’m confused. Can I ask you what you meant by what you said?”

Zhong Ni said:
“Yesterday it made sense to you because your spirit at that time was open to receiving it. Now you’re confused because you’re trying to use your non-spiritual side to analyze it. There is no past. There is no present. There is no beginning. There is no end. Could there be future generations if there hadn’t already been previous generations?”

Before Ran Qui could come up with an answer, Zhong Ni said:
“Never mind! No need to respond to the minor details. Don’t use life to bring life to what’s dead, and don’t use death to kill off what’s alive. Are we just waiting around for death and birth to occur? It’s all intrinsically connected. Are the heavens and earth what brought life to things? Things produced things, not non-things. When the first things came into being, something had to precede them, but whatever it was, things are here. And there will be things endlessly. That a sage’s love for others goes on just as endlessly is taken from this concept.”

Yan Yuan asked of Zhong Ni (Confucius):
“I’d like to ask you to explain something I heard you say: ‘There’s nothing to be offered, and there’s nothing to be received.’ Can you tell me how to float in that way?”

Zhong Ni said:
“People in ancient times adapted themselves on the outside, but didn’t change on the inside. Nowadays people change on the inside, but don’t adapt themselves on the outside. Someone who adapts to things retains an inner unity that doesn’t change. How to be adaptable but not change? How to connect with others and float on the wind with them? By agreeing to seek nothing more than that.”

The clansman Shi of Wei (King Hui) had his large garden, while Huang Di had his small garden. The clansman You of Yu (King Shun) had his palace, while Tang (King Cheng Tang) and Wu (King Wu Ding) had their small rooms.

Those who were deemed to be special people, like the teachers of the Confucians and Mohists, caused a differentiation in ideologies between what was right and what was wrong so people started getting into heated arguments about it. These arguments between people are even worse today! A sage dwells with other things and doesn’t harm them. Since he doesn’t harm things, then things aren’t able to harm him. Only someone who is without an intention to do any harm becomes able to connect with others and offer and receive from them.

A mountain and a forest join together. A river bank and the soil beside it join together. That’s what makes us happy and delighted! But as soon as the happiness starts to wane, sorrow comes along. When sorrow and happiness come, we can’t ward them off. When they go we can’t stop them. It’s so sad that people nowadays only want to stick to things as they are and not allow for variations. They know how to react when they’re treated in a certain way, but don’t know how to react when they’re not treated in that way – doing what they can do but not being able to do what they can’t do. Since they’re without understanding and without ability, they get trapped into believing what others tell them is unavoidable. Being weighed down with the task of doing what others tell them is unavoidable, how could that not also heap sadness on them! Words arrive and words depart. Actions arrive and actions depart. If preconceived knowledge becomes the standard for understanding, then superficiality prevails!

Zhuangzi Chapter 23: Geng Sang Chu

Translated by Nina Correa

There was a man who worked for Lao Dan (Laozi) named Geng Sang Chu (Pruner of the Mulberry Grove) who was interested in achieving Lao Dan’s Dao. He went off to the north to live in a mountainous area called Wei Lei. He dismissed those manservants who were able to express their knowledge, and sent away those maids who were supportively benevolent. He embraced and brought into his home those who were sluggish, and employed those who were restrictive and haughty. After three years there was an extremely fruitful harvest in Wei Lei.

The people in Wei Lei said to each other:
“When Geng Sang Zi first arrived, we thought he acted very strange. Now we can see that when we sized him up by his daily behavior he seemed totally inadequate for anything, but evaluating him by what’s happened over the years, he’s provided us with more than enough. Maybe he’s truly a sage! Why don’t we all make him the invoker of blessings from the dead and honor him as our god of the harvests?”

(Note: The ancient Chinese believed by making sacrifices to their dead ancestors they would be able to ensure bountiful crops.)

When Geng Sang Zi got wind of this, he turned to the south and looked very uncomfortable. His disciples thought this was an odd way to be acting.

Geng Sang Zi said:
“Why do you think it’s so odd for me to feel this way? In spring the air gushes forth and the herbs begin to sprout, then by autumn a multitude of treasures can be found. As spring progresses into autumn, how could all of this not happen? Dao already set up this progression. I’ve heard that a perfected person resides comfortably like a corpse within the environment of his own room, whereas the common people rush about in a flurry without having a clue where they’re going. Now, the citizens of Wei Lei are secretly plotting because they want to hold me up as some sacrificial cup to their gods, as though I was truly worthy of being their go-between. Am I to be such a guiding light for them? Then I’d be going against Lao Dan’s words.”

His disciples said:
“That’s not so. In an ordinary irrigation ditch a few feet across a huge fish wouldn’t be able to turn its body around, but a salamander could maneuver itself that way. In the terrain of a hill only a few feet high a large animal couldn’t hide its bulk, but a sly fox finds it quite suitable. Furthermore, to respect the virtuous and reward the capable is to promote what’s good and beneficial. This has been done since the times of Yao and Shun, and it’s even more appropriate for the people of Wei Lei to do so! You also must go along with it!”

Geng Sang Zi said:
“Listen closely, my little ones. If an animal so large that it could hold a chariot in its mouth left the borders of the mountains, it couldn’t avoid the disaster of being caught up in hunting nets. If a fish so large that it could swallow a boat washed up on the shore, it would suffer the stings of ants. Therefore, birds and animals have no objection to being up in the heights, and fish and turtles don’t object to being down in the depths. Those who wish to keep their bodies in tact during their lives hide themselves away, and have no objection to being unrecognized and insignificant. Furthermore, as for the two men you mentioned, what was so great about them that you praise and commend them? The basis of their debates was comparable to chiseling out holes in a wall then filling them in with a thick hedge, sorting through which hairs needed to be combed, and counting out how many grains of rice to cook. How could they have been so superficial as to believe that would be enough to benefit society! If those who are virtuous are promoted, then people will stomp each other down in an effort to get there. If those who are intelligent are given appointments, then people will steal knowledge from each other. One who makes these types of assessments would never be able to sort through humanity. People get so involved in trying to gain personal benefits that a son would kill his father and a servant would kill his master. They would think it’s perfectly fine to steal in broad daylight and tunnel through the walls of a house in the afternoon. I’m telling you that this great state of chaos had to have started with Yao and Shun, and the branches growing from it will extend for thousands of generations. After a thousand generations there will still be people who view each other as food.”

Nan Rong Chu (Honorably Escaped from the South) sat up abruptly where he was sitting and said:
“For someone like me who’s gotten on in years, what undertaking can I depend on to get to the state you’re talking about?”

Geng Sang Zi said:
“Keep your body whole and embrace your life, without worrying about what you’ll eventually achieve. If you do this for three years, then you’ll be able to approach the state I’m talking about.”

Nan Rong Chu said:
“Since my eyes are part of my body I don’t think of them as being strange, yet someone who’s blind can’t even see themselves. Since my ears are part of my body I don’t think of them as being strange, yet someone who’s deaf can’t even hear themselves. Since my brain is part of my body I don’t think of it as being strange, yet someone who’s crazy isn’t satisfied with themselves. Bodies all have their own particular shapes which rule them, yet things perhaps try to make separations that aren’t there? I’m striving to bring them back together, and I think I’ll be able to accomplish that. Now you tell me: ‘Keep your body whole and embrace your life, without worrying about what you’ll eventually achieve.’ Now all I can think about doing is putting a lot of effort into achieving this Way you’ve told me about!”

Geng Sang Zi said:
“I’ve done my best to explain these ideas to you. It’s been said that honeybees can’t bring to maturity the larva of silkworms. Small chickens from the state of Viet can’t roost and hatch swan eggs, but larger chickens from the state of Lu can. Chickens are chickens, but their natural virtues are not the same. Each of them has certain abilities but don’t have other abilities, and their talents rest simply on whether they’re large or small. Now my talents are small, too small to be able to help you with the change you’re seeking. Why don’t you travel south and go see Laozi?”

Nan Rong Chu packed up his bags with provisions and in seven days and seven nights arrived at Laozi’s home.

Laozi said:
“Have you come from Geng Sang Chu’s place?”

Nan Rong Chu said:
“Yes!”

Laozi said:
“Why did you bring so many people with you?”

Nan Rong Chu got a shocked expression on his face and turned around to look behind him.

Laozi said:
“You don’t know what I mean, do you?”

Nan Rong Chu bowed respectfully, then turned his face ashamedly upward and sighed, saying:
“At this point since I don’t know how to answer your question, I’ve also lost my ability to ask you anything.”

Laozi said:
“What are you talking about?”

Nan Rong Chu said:
“If I don’t know anything then people would say I’m as dumb as wood. If I do know something, on the contrary, I’d turn myself into a nervous wreck. If I’m not benevolent then I’d cause harm to other people, but if I am benevolent, on the contrary, I’d stress out my own body. If I’m not righteous then I’d distress others, but If I am righteous, on the contrary, I’d wreak havoc on my own individuality. How can I escape from all this? It’s those three concepts that are bothering me. That’s why Chu suggested I come ask you about them.”

Laozi said:
“When I looked you directly in the eyes, it was because I was trying to get into your mind. Now that you’ve spoken, you’ve confirmed what I thought. You’re so caught up in looking for someone to tell you what to do that you seem like one who’s abandoned their parents in revolt and is desperately searching for something else in a vast ocean. You’re truly a lost person! You’re so frustrated and disappointed that you want to go against your own essential nature, but you haven’t been able to find a way to do that. How pathetic!”

Nan Rong Chu asked to please be shown to his room, where he tried to invoke what was good and dispel what was bad within him. After ten days he was still agitated, so he went again to speak with Laozi.

Laozi said:
“You’ve been spending time cleansing yourself, haven’t you? You seem much fresher, but beneath all that moisturizer you still harbor some hatred. One who’s got so many distractions coming at them from the outside that they can’t deal with them will turn off to what’s inside. One who’s so bound up inside by their own personal distractions that they can’t deal with them will turn off to what’s outside. If someone has both internal and external distractions coming at them at the same time, they can’t possibly grasp Dao and De, and even less would they be able to allow Dao to blossom on its own and go with it!”

Nan Rong Chu said:
“If a person in the village feels sick and he consults with the village doctor, giving a description of what’s ailing him, chances are the sick person won’t get any sicker. It seems like the more I learn about great Dao from those in a position to know, even though I drink down the medicine, I just keep getting sicker. All I really want to learn about is a method for keeping myself alive for as long as possible.”

Laozi said:
“The best method for keeping yourself alive is to be able to embrace unity! And not to ever lose it! To be able to recognize good or bad luck without having to consult a tortoise shell or yarrow stalks (methods of foretelling the future). To be able to know when to stop. To be able to know when the end has been reached. To be able to give up on looking to others but seek what you’re looking for within yourself. To be able to be free and unrestrained in your behavior. To be able to act like a fool. To be like a newborn child. A newborn can scream all day long but his throat won’t get hoarse, as he’s perfectly attuned. He can hold tightly on to something all day long without losing his grip, as he’s joined so closely with his virtue. He can stare at something all day long without averting his eyes, as he’s not partial to one particular external thing. He moves about without knowing where he’s headed, or can stay in one place without knowing why. He meanders and wanders along with all sorts of things as though they were sailing on the same wave. These are the methods for keeping yourself alive.”

Nan Rong Chu said:
“So, that’s all there is to being a perfected person?

“No. This is only a description of how one can melt the iceberg and be released from it. The abilities of a perfected person include being able to share with others the food from the earth and the pleasures from the heavens. He doesn’t experience profit or disadvantage from his interactions with people or things, finds no one to blame for what happens, doesn’t plot or scheme with others, nor does he get embroiled in the affairs of others. He goes toward things with wide-eyed openness and arrives as though he were a fool. These are descriptions of methods for keeping yourself alive.”

“So, this is the ultimate?”

“Not quite. I told you earlier: ‘Be like a newborn child.’ A newborn child moves about without knowing why, and goes places without knowing where he’s headed. His body seems like a branch on a withered tree and his mind seems like dead ashes. Being like that, there’s no sense of misfortune overcoming him or waiting for good fortune to arrive. Without experiencing either misfortune or good fortune, what calamities could happen to him!”

Someone who’s peacefully settled in the cosmos emits a heavenly glow. One who emits a heavenly glow still appears to be a human to others. One who allows others to have their own perceptions of her can only flow along with them. One who’s constantly flowing in that way is freely accepted by others and is assisted by the heavens. Being freely accepted by others is called being the heavens’ adult. Being assisted by the heavens is called being the heavens’ child.

A scholar studies what isn’t able to be learned. A practicer practices what isn’t able to be performed. A debater argues what isn’t able to be disputed. Knowledge which stops at the point of what can’t be known is the ultimate knowledge! Anyone who hasn’t reached this point will surely be defeated by the heavens’ potters wheel.

If you’ve got a body that works properly, a mind and life that isn’t filled with hidden anxieties, and reached a place where you have respect for what’s inside of you, but lots of bad things still keep happening to you, it’s a matter of destiny and not due to other people. At that point if you can’t find a way to slide on successfully, then you’ll never reach the heights of your inner possibilities. The heights of inner possibilities can be maintained, but if you don’t know what you’re maintaining, you won’t be able to maintain it. If you can’t look at yourself honestly and allow that to come forth, then everything that comes out of you will seem inappropriate. If you enter into that realm but choose not to spend much time there, then you have even more to lose. When something bad is manifested from deep within them people try to grab hold of it and punish themselves for it. When something bad is kept within and not faced, then demons will come and do the punishment. The clearer the person, the easier it is to clear out the demons, and only then can anything actually be done.

Someone who’s intent on what’s inside of herself engages in other things with anonymity. Someone who’s more concerned with her exterior aspires to eventually have more than she could possibly need. One who engages in things with anonymity, although viewed as ordinary, has a bright glow. One who aspires to eventually have more than she could possibly need, is only viewed as a person who deals in material things – people can see she’s struggling to move forward even though she acts like she’s already on top of the ladder. One who combines with things to the utmost will find that things will come to her. One who combines with things only temporarily will find that she won’t be able to endure her own body let alone other people. One who can’t endure others is without intimacy. One who is without intimacy simply tries to use others. Of weapons which can cause harm none is more savage than willful aspirations – even Mo Ye (a famous ancient Chinese double edged sword) is inferior to it. Of invaders there’s nothing more intense than Yin and Yang, and there’s no place in this world to escape them. Neither Yin nor Yang are thieves, but it’s the mind that makes it appear to be so.

Dao circulates freely through this division, both in construction and destruction. What’s hated about division is that it’s something which requires preparation. What’s hated about the idea of being prepared is that one is always trying to prepare themselves for something. Therefore, when something leaves and isn’t replaced by something else, its ghostly image is still seen. When something that’s gone is still held on to, that’s called holding on to what’s died. If something that’s been completely extinguished is still thought to be real, that’s the realm of ghosts – making a determination that one could use what has a shape to create an image for what has become formless!

It emerges without having a source. It enters without having to create a hole to slip through. It grows to maturity without being provided a place to dwell. It keeps growing without any apparent roots or sprouting buds, enters without having to create a hole to slip through, yet becomes a solid mass. What’s become a solid mass without having been provided a place to dwell is the universe. What grows continuously without any apparent roots or sprouting buds is infinity.

There’s life and there’s death, just like there’s emerging and there’s retreating. What keeps retreating and emerging without having a shape that can be visualized is called the heavens gate. The heavens gate doesn’t have an existence as we recognize existence. All things emerge from non-existence. What exists isn’t able to use their existence to give rise to existence, but must emerge from non-existence, and non-existence can only be non-existence. The sage holds this in a private place within her.

The people in ancient times reached some sort of understanding. What understanding did they reach? They had a belief that there wasn’t really a beginning to anything. That’s as far as they got, the limit to their knowledge, and they couldn’t add much more to it than that. Next there came a belief that things came from somewhere, they were born then lost their lives, and what died went back to where it came from. Next it was said that in the beginning there was no existence whatsoever, then things were created and eventually just died off. So, non-existence became the head, life became the essential organs, and death became the buttocks. Whoever realizes that there isn’t one thing that stands guard over life and death can make a friendship within themselves with all of them. These three perspectives, although having some dissimilarities, were accepted by the world at large. People in the states of Zhao and Jin were noted for their family affiliations (royalty). The Jia clan (house of Chu) was noted for the land it controlled. There isn’t just one thing (that can stand guard).

Life is filled with unclarity that can be oppressive. To try to sort it all out and get to the bottom of it is called “shifting perspectives.” We might try to use words to explain what “shifting perspectives” is, but there really aren’t any words that can express it, since it isn’t something that can actually be understood. When a pig is gutted at the Winter Sacrifice, the intestines can be removed from the edible flesh, but you’d keep an eye out for the parts that might have been missed. When looking around a house you might want to move into, you’d take a tour through the living quarters and temple, but you’d also look for the hidden things the seller might not want you to see. This is choosing to use “shifting perspectives.”

Maybe I can explain a little more about “shifting perspectives.” To take life as your foundation and knowledge as your teacher is to keep riding around in circles making determinations of right and wrong. That results in naming and categorizing everything based on those types of thoughts, which can really affect your own nature and cause you to expect others to play their parts in your drama. You might even go so far as to feel that dying for your cause would be some sort of reward. Behaving like that promotes the idea that knowledge is useful but foolishness is useless – seeing persistence as noteworthy and withdrawal as disgraceful. “Shifting perspectives” – now that would allow people to see how right the musings of both the cicada and the dove were at the same time. There’s no differentiation between them.

(Note: This might be a reference to Zhuangzi Chapter 1, when the cicada and dove were laughing at the great Peng bird who had to fly at such a high altitude.)

If you stepped on a stranger’s foot in the marketplace, then you’d humbly apologize. If it was a close friend, then you’d give them a comforting hug. If it was a close relative, then there’d simply be a silent understanding.

Therefore it’s been said: “Perfect courtesy makes no specific requirements on people. Perfect righteousness has nothing to do with things. Perfect understanding has no need for scheming. Perfect benevolence is impartial. Perfect trust shuns rewards.”

Uproot the stubbornness of the will. Dismiss the absurdity of the mind. Leave behind straining your virtue. Pass through the barriers to Dao.

Being esteemed, gathering up wealth, showing off, subjugating others, seeking notoriety and looking for personal profits – these six reflect the stubbornness of the will.
Keeping up appearances, making expansive gestures, using dominating facial expressions, trying to control through preaching, showing aggressive attitudes and trying to get attention – these six reflect the absurdity of the mind.

Aversion, cravings, obsession, retribution, self-pity and excessive stimulation – these six reflect strains on virtue.

Rejection, conformity, forceful capture, sacrifice, smug knowledge and overpowering skills – these six are reflections of barriers to Dao.

When these four sets of six don’t loiter in the middle of your chest, then you wouldn’t be so mixed up. Not being so mixed up, then calmness would overcome you. With calmness comes clarity. With clarity comes emptiness. With emptiness comes a feeling that there’s nothing that needs to be done, yet there’s nothing that doesn’t get done.

Someone with Dao respectfully obeys their virtue. Someone with a full life brightens their virtue. Someone who’s natural lives a life of substance. Motivation that’s caused by being natural is what’s meant by getting things done. Acting like a puppet in a false way is missing the whole thing. Knowledge of this can be taken hold of and used to provoke plans and schemes, but knowledge of this can’t really be understood in that way because you’d always be glancing around for signposts about what to do next. If motivation arises because there’s no alternative to doing something, that’s a sign of virtue. If motivation arises with no consideration for anything other than one’s own self, that’s being controlling. These descriptions seem like opposites, but actually they’re both involved with flowing along with a particular current.

Yi was adept at hitting directly in the middle of a tiny target, but was inefficient at getting others to stop praising him. A sage is adept at blending with what comes from the heavens, but inefficient at blending with what comes from people. To be adept at blending with what comes from the heavens and be comfortable with dealing with what comes from people – only a perfected person would be able to do that.

An insect is only capable of being an insect, as an insect is only capable of following the heavens. A perfected person hates the heavens, hates people’s perceptions of the heavens, and even more so the intellectual ramblings about the heavens that comes from people like us!

If a lone sparrow flew near Yi, Yi would try to get hold of it, and he might be able to. If the world were to become a cage, then a sparrow wouldn’t have a chance for escape. There is, therefore, the story about how Tang ensnared Yi Yin due to his being a good cook. Duke Mu of Qin ensnared Bai Li Xi when he was presented with five sheep skins.

Therefore, we can see that it isn’t unusual for someone to come to like being caged, and they can be grabbed hold of without much effort.

Someone who’s shrouded into obeying the many mandates placed upon him seeks blame or praise outside of himself. An insignificant person who flutters in the breeze can scale the highest heights without fear since he’s lost the concepts of death and life. When answering by rote without considering if it will be beneficial to others, then one becomes a forgetful person. Being a forgetful person is considered to be acting like a heavenly person! Therefore, when they’re respected, they don’t warmly embrace that. When they’re insulted, they don’t get angry. They’re only in tune with the harmony of the heavens, so they act spontaneously. If expressions of anger don’t cause anger then anger is expressed without fury! If actions are expressed without consideration of them being actions, then the actions which are expressed are non-actions! If you wish to be calm, then equalize your energy. If you wish to be spiritual, then follow your heart. If through your actions there’s a desire to be of service, then go along with what you have no choice but to do. The kind of person who goes along with what they have no choice but to do is close to the Dao of the sage.