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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. | Zhuangzi Translation | Glossary/Index A to N | Glossary/Index P to Z | ZZ Links | ZZ Books | | 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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