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Zhuangzi Chapter 1 ~ Carefree Roaming |
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In an unexplored area in the far north, there was a fish whose name was Kun. The Kun was so big that no one could figure out how many feet across it was. It transformed into a bird whose name was Peng. No one could figure out how many feet across its back was. When it burst into flight, its wings seemed to hang in the sky like clouds. This bird had the capacity to make its move to an unexplored area in the far south where the sky was like a large lake. From Qi Xie's "Tales of the Supernatural" (a book of legends and myths): Xie wrote: "On the Peng's migration to the unexplored south, it beat against the water for a thousand miles. It spiraled upward like a cyclone for thirty thousand miles. It traveled for six months before it stopped to rest. Horses went wild. Dust and dirt flew everywhere. The creatures on the earth had their breath taken away by all that wind blowing everywhere." The sky is one shade of blue. Is that its original color? No matter how far it extends, is it without an end? Might the sky appear the same when looking down from above? If water doesn't accumulate to create enough depth, then it wouldn't be able to hold up a large boat. Spill a cup of water into a crack on the kitchen floor, then a mustard seed could float on the water like a boat. Try to float the cup in the same amount of water and it would stick to one spot, as the water is too shallow and the boat is too big. If enough wind hasn't accumulated to be forceful, then it wouldn't be able to support large wings. At a height of thirty thousand miles the wind is unhindered by what's below and only there can the wind reach full force. With the blue sky above the Peng's back, and nothing in its way to hinder it, only then can it chart a path to the south. A cicada and a young dove laugh together while saying: "We decide to take off and fly to see what we can find in the branches of elm trees. Sometimes we don't reach them, and tumble back to the ground to land. What's the point of going up to thirty thousand miles to try to get to the south?" Go for a three mile hike in the woods, and your stomach will still be full. Go for a thirty mile hike, and you might need to stay overnight and prepare food. Go for a thousand mile hike, and for three months you'd have to find food. What do those two creatures think they know! Restricted knowledge isn't as good as expansive knowledge. Having few experiences isn't as good as having many experiences. How do we know this is so? A morning mushroom doesn't have any concept of the phases of one moon's monthly cycle. A cricket doesn't have any concept of the changes of the seasons. Their experiences are limited. South of the state of Chu there's a fabled elf for whom spring lasts five hundred years and autumn lasts five hundred years. In ancient times there was a gigantic tree for whom spring lasted eight thousand years and autumn lasted eight thousand years. And Peng Zu (a legendary man who is said to have lived for eight hundred years) even today is considered special for his long life. Everyone wants to match him - doesn't that cause them much grief! Tang's questions to Ji (one of his wise ministers) were about this point: "In the far north where nothing grows there's an unexplored sea that seems like a lake in the sky. In it is some sort of fish that's a thousand miles wide, and no one knows its length. It's been given the name Kun. There's some sort of bird that's been given the name Peng. Its back is like Mount Taishan, and it has wings that hang down like clouds in the sky. It can spiral upward like a cyclone for thirty thousand miles, cut through the floating clouds having only the blue sky above its shoulders, and then set a course for the south as it heads for the southern wilderness. A scolding quail laughingly asks: 'Where's it going? I jump and leap as I rise, but then fall back down after only a couple of feet. I hover between the low bushes and plants, which is also a method of flying. Then where does it think it's going?' " This is the debate between what's small and what's large. Therefore, a person might have the knowledge to run an office, to run a business in a small town, to cater to a famous person, or campaign to run for political office. At least, that's the opinion they have of themselves. Yet Song Rong Zi (a philosopher who taught simple living) is still laughing at them. If the whole world praised him, he wouldn't think he made any headway. If the whole world opposed him, he wouldn't think he'd lost any ground. He was comfortable with accepting the difference between what was within him and how he was perceived from the outside. He'd gotten rid of the idea of arguing about the differences between honor and dishonor. He didn't evaluate his future life on those things. Even now, he still isn't seen as someone who really established anything. Lie Zi could travel on the wind as though he was comfortably driving a chariot for fifteen days before returning. Those who could reach that kind of bliss are rare. Even though in that way he could dispense with walking, to some extent he had to wait for something. What if a person could ride on the course of the sky and the earth, and manage the six disagreeable energies, traveling without becoming exhausted - that would show how awful it is to have to depend on anything! So it's been said: A perfected person is without a sense of self. A spiritual person is without a sense of achievement. A wise person is without a sense of entitlement. Yao tried to give over the world to Xu You, saying: "When the sun and moon come out, yet the light bulbs keep on burning, doesn't their brightness seem unnecessary! When the rain starts pouring, and yet one keeps watering the plants, doesn't all that work just create a swamp! A ruler can just stand aside when the whole world is peacefully governed. Since any opinions I come up with seem to be coming from a statue, I don't even know what I'm doing here. Please take over the world." Xu You replied: "You, sir, govern the world, so the world is already governed. If my opinions mirrored yours, then wouldn't I just be like your mouthpiece? A mouthpiece simply goes along with what's already ordained. Would any opinions I came up with on my own become subject to your approval? A wren makes its nest deep in the trees, only occupying one branch. A small furry animal drinks from the river, but only enough to slake his thirst. Return to the comfort of being king. You might want to give me the world, but it wouldn't be of any use to me! If a proper chef isn't in charge of the kitchen, there'd only be a corpse left around to accept gratitude for the wine and prepared food." Jian Wu asked of Lian Shu: "I heard something from Jie Yu that sounds really great but impractical. He rambled on but none of it made any sense. I was surprised and horrified by what he said. It seemed like empty talk that went nowhere. It was like it was just meant to make him appear to know something, but had nothing to do with what people actually go through in their lives." Lian Shu asked: "What did he say?" Wu replied: "He said there's a holy man living in the Miao Gu She mountains. His skin is like ice and snow - as soft and tender as a young maiden. He doesn't eat what others eat, but inhales the wind and drinks the dew. He rides on the clouds, holding the reins of a flying dragon, and travels beyond the four seas. His spirit is so concentrated that he can keep illness away from other creatures and make sure there's a rich harvest every year. I think he's nuts and don't believe a word he says." Lian Shu said: "No wonder. A blind person can't participate in looking at paintings and tapestries. A deaf person can't participate in listening to chimes and drums. Can't the mind, as well as the body, experience deafness and blindness? So, knowledge can be affected that way as well. Those words of his seem to have a gentle feminine approach. A person like that, with those virtues, would side with all living creatures - seeing them as all the same. This generation thrives on disorder - abuse and manipulation are what matter in the world! No living thing would harm a person like that. A great flood sent down from the sky wouldn't drown him. A great flow of molten lava coming down from a mountain wouldn't burn him. Even though his dust, dirt and debris could be used to make a model for Yao and Shun, who would want to take on that job? "A merchant from the state of Song brought some badges and medals which he thought could be useful for various purposes to the people in the state of Yue. The people from Yue shaved their heads and tattooed their bodies, so they had no place to put the badges. Yao ruled all the people in the world and governed the four seas. He went to see the four respected Masters in the Miao Gu She mountains, in a remote and obscure area north of the Fen River. While he was there, he mourned for the rest of the world." Hui Zi said to Zhuangzi: "The King of Wei gave me the seeds from a huge gourd. I managed to get the seeds to sprout, and the fruit on the plants grew to about seventeen cubic feet (about the size of a washing machine). When they're filled with any liquid they're strong enough, but too heavy for me to pick up. I sliced through them trying to make ladles, but they ended up so shallow they wouldn't hold anything. It's not that they weren't impressive for their size, but I couldn't find any use for them, so I threw them away." Zhuangzi replied: "Sir, you're very awkward when it comes to finding a use for large things. There was a guy in Song who invented a salve that could cure chapped hands. For generations it was used by those who were employed at washing and bleaching silk. A visitor heard about it, and asked to buy the recipe for a hundred pieces of gold. The people of the community got together to discuss the proposition and said: 'We've been washing and bleaching silk for generations, not getting more than a few pieces of gold for all our effort. Now in one day we can sell this recipe for a hundred pieces of gold. Let's please give it to him.' The visitor got it, and went to tell the King of Wu. Since the state of Yue was having difficulties at the moment, the King of Wu made him a commander in the army. That winter they went into battle at sea with the people of the state of Yue, and utterly defeated Yue's armies, so he was given a large piece of land in the conquered territory along with a title. The ability to prevent chapped hands is one thing. Perhaps it can be used to gain a title; perhaps it can be used by those who wash and clean silk. There are different ways it can be useful. Now, you have gourds that measure about seventeen cubic feet. Why not consider them as huge vats in which you could float down rivers and lakes, instead of worrying that they're too flat to contain anything? Well, sir, it seems that you've grown up with fluff in your brain!" Hui Zi said to Zhuangzi: "I have a large tree people call the Ailanthus. Its huge trunk is covered with so many knotty lumps that a carpenter's measuring tools couldn't find the middle of it. Its small branches are so bent that a carpenter's ruler couldn't measure them. It stands there spreading out in so many directions that a woodsman wouldn't even take notice of it. Just now, sir, you used words that are so big and useless most people would ignore them." Zhuangzi replied: "Sir, haven't you ever watched a lone bobcat or weasel? It stays low to the ground, crouching down, waiting for something to unwittingly stroll by. Jumping up high in all directions, not being able to avoid what is above or below, preoccupied with a sense of invulnerability, it then gets snared and dies in a hunter's net. Then there's the adult yak, which seems to be as big as a cloud in the sky. It's really huge! Yet it can't even catch a mouse. You, sir, have a large tree, and are worried that it's useless. Why not transplant the tree from your own neighborhood into the vast wilderness. There you could pace back and forth next to it while doing nothing. Without a care in the world, you could lie down under it and go to sleep. Neither an ax nor hatchet would threaten its existence. It would be out of harm's way. What's truly useless should be able to get some peace and quiet!" | Zhuangzi Translation | Glossary/Index A to N | Glossary/Index P to Z | ZZ Links | | Return Home | Laozi's Dao De Jing | Your Dao De Jing | Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) | Links | Meditation | Dao (Tao) is Open Forum | Book List | Other Stuff | |
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