The Book of Chuang Tzu (Penguin) Read online

  Shortly after, Master Yu fell ill. Master Ssu went to visit him and Yu said, ‘How great is the Maker of All! He has made me deformed. My back is like a hunchback’s, and all my organs are on top while my chin is lost in my navel and my shoulders rise up above my head and my topknot points to Heaven!’ His yin and yang were in disarray. However, his heart was calm and he was not worried. He limped to a well and looked in at his reflection and said, ‘Goodness me! The Maker of All has made me completely deformed!’

  ‘Do you dislike it?’ asked Master Ssu.

  ‘Not really, why should I? For example, perhaps my left arm will become a cockerel and then I shall be able to tell the time at night. Maybe, eventually, my right arm will become a crossbow and then I can hunt a bird and eat it. Possibly my bottom will become wheels and my soul will be a horse which I shall climb upon and go for a ride. After all, I wouldn’t then need any other vehicle again! I obtained life because the time was right. I will lose life because it is time. Those who go quietly with the flow of nature are not worried by either joy or sorrow. People like these were considered in the past as having achieved freedom from bondage. Those who cannot free themselves are constrained by things. However, nothing can overcome Heaven – it has always been so. So why should I dislike this?’

  Later Master Lai fell ill. Gasping and heaving, he lay close to death. His wife and children were mourning around him. Master Li came to see him and Master Lai said, ‘Hush, get out! Do you want to disrupt the processes of change?’

  Leaning against the doorway Li commented,

  ‘How great is the Maker of All!

  What will you be made into next?

  Where will you be sent?

  Will you come back as a rat’s liver?

  Or will it be as a pest’s arm?’

  Master Lai said,

  ‘When a mother and father tell a child to go somewhere,

  be that east, west, south or north, the child obeys.

  Yin and yang are the mother and father of humanity.

  They have brought me close to death

  and if I disobey this would be just perversity.

  My death is not their problem!

  The cosmos gives me form, brings me to birth,

  guides me into old age and settles me in death.

  If I think my life good, then I must think my death good.

  A good craftsman, casting metal,

  would not be too pleased with metal that jumped up and said,

  “I must be made into a sword like Mo Yeh.”31

  Now, given that I have been bold enough

  to take on human shape already, if I then said,

  “I must be a human, I must be a human!”,

  the Maker of All would view me somewhat askance!

  If Heaven and Earth are like a furnace and Nature is the craftsman,

  then is it possible he could send me anywhere that was not appropriate?

  Peacefully we die, calmly we awake.’

  Masters Sang Hu, Meng Tzu Fan and Chin Chang, three good friends, said to each other,

  ‘Who can be together without any being together,

  or collaborate with others without any collaboration?

  Who can ascend to Heaven, ride the clouds, journey through the infinite,

  and forget about existence for ever and ever?’

  The three men looked at each other and smiled, agreeing in their hearts with one another and becoming firm friends.

  Some time later Master Sang Hu died. Before he was buried, Confucius heard of his death and sent Tzu Kung to participate in the rituals. On arrival, Tzu Kung found one of the dead man’s friends was making up songs while the other played a lute. Together they sang,

  ‘Woe! Sang Hu! Woe! Sang Hu!

  You have returned to the true form,

  while we are still but men!’

  Tzu Kung hurried forward and said, ‘Is it really seemly and proper to sing before a dead body?’

  The two men looked at him, laughed and said, ‘What does a man like this know about proper ceremony?’

  Tzu Kung went back to Confucius, told him what had happened, and asked, ‘What kind of people are they? They are uncouth and pay no heed to their external appearance. They sing in the presence of a dead body without any change of face! There is no appropriate title for them. What kind of people are they?’

  Confucius said, ‘They go beyond the human world, while I travel within. That beyond and that within can never meet. It was a mistake to send you to join the mourning. They have truly become one with the Maker of All and now wander as the original breath of Heaven and Earth. They view life as a grotesque tumour, a swelling they inhabit. They view death as the removal of this growth. Since they see life like this, they simply do not consider whether death or birth comes first. They view their bodies as just so many collected different pieces. They forget their liver and gall and ignore their ears and eyes. They begin and cease without knowing what is beginning or ceasing. Unaware, they wander beyond the mundane world and stroll in the world of non-action. Why should they have to worry about proper conduct just to please ordinary people?’

  ‘In that case, Master,’ said Tzu Kung, ‘why do you conform to convention?’

  ‘I am one punished by Heaven,’ said Confucius. ‘Nevertheless, this is what I will share with you.’

  ‘Can you tell me a little more?’ said Tzu Kung.

  ‘Fish enjoy water, humans enjoy the Tao. Enjoying water, the fish stick to the pond and find all they need to survive there. Enjoying the Tao, people do nothing and their lives are fulfilled. The saying goes that fish forget about each other in the pond and people forget each other in the Tao.’

  Tzu Kung said, ‘May I ask about the man alone?’

  ‘The man alone is only alone when compared to others, but he is alongside Heaven. It is said that the mean-minded man of Heaven is a nobleman amongst ordinary people and the nobleman is a mean-minded man of Heaven.’

  Yen Hui asked Confucius, ‘When Meng Sun Tsai’s mother died, he cried without tears, there was no distress in his heart. When he mourned, there was no sorrow. Although he was deficient on these three points, nevertheless he is renowned throughout the state of Lu for his excellence as a mourner. Is it possible to obtain such a reputation, even when there is nothing to substantiate it? I find this very surprising.’

  ‘Master Meng Sun Tsai did what was right,’ said Confucius. ‘He was far beyond mundane understanding. He could have restricted his actions even more but that was not really feasible. Nevertheless, he did cut out a great deal. Meng Sun Tsai does not know how he came to be born, nor how he will die. He just knows enough not to want one or the other. He doesn’t know why he should continue, he just follows what happens without understanding! As we are all in a process of change, how can we know what unknown thing we will be changed into? As what we are changing into has not yet happened, how can we understand what change is? Perhaps you and I are in a dream from which we are yet to awake! In Meng Sun Tsai’s case the body changes but this does not affect his heart. His body, housing his soul, may be affected, but his emotions are not harmed. Meng Sun Tsai alone has awoken. People cry, so he cries. He considers everything as his own being. How could he know that others call something their own particular self? You dream you are a bird and rise into the Heavens. You dream you are a fish and swim down deep into the lake. We cannot tell now if the speaker is awake or asleep. Contentment produces the smile; a genuine smile cannot be forced. Don’t struggle, go with the flow and you will find yourself at one with the vastness of the void of Heaven.’

  Yi Erh Tzu went to visit Hsu Yu, who asked him, ‘In what way has Yao been helpful to you?’

  Yi Erh Tzu said, ‘Yao said to me, “Practise benevolence and justice. Speak up for what is right and against what is wrong.” ’

  Hsu Yu said, ‘So why have you troubled yourself to visit me? Master Yao has already branded on you the practice of benevolence and justice and mutilated you with the distinction be
tween right and wrong. So how can you now expect me to help you meander alone in freedom and aimlessness, enjoying things as they happen through the process of change?’

  ‘Maybe that is so,’ said Yi Erh Tzu, ‘but I’d like to find some small corner for myself.’

  Hsu Yu said, ‘No, it can’t be done! If you have been blinded, it is impossible to appreciate beauty of face or form. Eyes with no pupils cannot see the beauty of fine, coloured silks.’

  Yi Erh said, ‘Wu Chuang paid no attention to her looks; Chu Liang ignored his strength; the Yellow Emperor disregarded his wisdom – all these were transformed by being worked upon. How can you know that the Maker of All will not remove the mark of my branding, heal my mutilation and, having thus restored me, enable me to follow you as my teacher?’

  ‘Well!’ said Hsu Yu. ‘You never know. I will just tell you the basic outline of the teachings.

  ‘Oh my Master, oh my Master!

  He judges all life but doesn’t believe himself to be a judge.

  His blessings extend to all life, but he doesn’t see himself as blessed.

  Older than antiquity, yet not old.

  Overarching Heaven, carrying Earth and forming all things, he is no craftsman.

  It is through him that I wander.’

  Yen Hui said, ‘I’m getting better.’

  Confucius said, ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I have forgotten kindness and justice.’

  ‘Fine, but that is not enough.’

  On another occasion, they met again and Yen Hui said, ‘I’ve improved.’

  Confucius said, ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I have forgotten rituals and music.’

  ‘Good, but that is still not enough.’

  On another occasion they met and Yen Hui said, ‘I’m getting better.’

  Confucius said, ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I can sit right down and forget everything.’

  Confucius was certainly disturbed by this and said, ‘What do you mean by sit right down and forget?’

  Yen Hui replied, ‘My limbs are without feeling and my mind is without light. I have ignored my body and cast aside my wisdom. Thus I am united with the Tao. This is what sitting right down and forgetting is.’

  Confucius said, ‘If you are one with the great Way, then you no longer have preferences. If you are one with the cosmos, you are transformed. If this is what you have done, then I would like to follow you.’

  Masters Yu and Sang were friends. It happened to rain for ten days, and Master Yu said, ‘Master Sang may be in trouble!’ So he packed some food to take to him. Arriving at Master Sang’s door he heard strange noises and someone playing a lute, singing,

  ‘Oh Father! Oh Mother! Oh Heaven! Oh humanity!’

  It sounded as if the singer’s voice was about to break and the singer was rushing to finish the verse. Master Yu entered and said, ‘Master, why are you singing like this?’

  He said, ‘I was trying to work out what has reduced me to this. My father and mother wouldn’t want me to be so poor, surely? Heaven treats all alike. Earth supports all alike. Heaven and Earth wouldn’t wish me poor, would they? I seek to know who has done this, but I can’t find an answer. When you come down to it, it must be simply fate.’

  CHAPTER 7

  Dealing with Emperors and Kings

  Yeh Chueh questioned Wang Ni. Four times he raised a question and four times he said he did not know. Yeh Chueh started jumping around in great excitement and went off to inform Master Pu Yi.

  Master Pu Yi said, ‘Have you only just discovered this? The noble ruler Shun32 was not equal to the noble ruler Tai.33 Noble ruler Shun tried to use benevolence to bind the people to him. This certainly worked, but he was unable to escape into being aware of no-man. Noble ruler Tai slept the sleep of innocence and awoke in calm collectedness. Sometimes he believed himself to be a horse, other times he might believe he was an ox. His wisdom was utterly true, his Virtue was profoundly real. He never came into awareness of no-man.’

  Chien Wu went to visit the eccentric Chieh Yu, who asked him, ‘What did Chung Shih say to you recently?’

  Chien Wu replied, ‘He said to me that the nobleman who has authority over people should set a personal example by proper regulations, law and practices. The corollary of this will be that no one will disobey him and everyone will be transformed as a result.’

  Eccentric Chieh Yu said, ‘That would ruin Virtue. If someone tries to govern everything below Heaven in this way, it’s like trying to stride through the seas or cut a tunnel through the river or make a mosquito carry a mountain. When a great sage is in command, he doesn’t try to take control of externals. He first allows people to do what comes naturally and he ensures that all things follow the way their nature takes them. The bird flies high in the sky and thereby escapes from the risk of being shot with arrows. The mouse burrows down under the hill of the spirits and thus escapes being disturbed. Don’t you even have as much understanding as these two creatures?’

  Tien Ken was travelling to the south of Yin Mountain. He reached the river Liao, where he met the Man without a Name and said to him, ‘I wish to ask you about governing everything under Heaven.’

  The Man without a Name said, ‘Get lost, you stupid lout! What an unpleasant question! I am travelling with the Maker of All. If that is too tiring, I shall ride the bird of ease and emptiness and go beyond the compass of the world and wander in the land of nowhere and the region of nothing. So why are you disturbing me and unsettling my heart with questions about how to rule all below Heaven?’

  Tien Ken asked the same question again. The Man without a Name replied,

  ‘Let your heart journey in simplicity.

  Be one with that which is beyond definition.

  Let things be what they are.

  Have no personal views.

  This is how everything under Heaven is ruled.’

  Yan Tzu Chu went to visit Lao Tzu and he said, ‘Here is a man who is keen and vigilant, who has clarity of vision and wisdom and who studies the Tao without ceasing. Such a person as this is surely a king of great wisdom?’

  ‘In comparison to the sage,’ said Lao Tzu, ‘someone like this is just a humble servant, tied to his work, exhausting himself and distressing his heart. The tiger and the leopard, it is said, are hunted because of the beauty of their hides. The monkey and the dog end up in chains because of their skills. Can these be compared to a king of great wisdom?’

  Yang Tzu Chu was startled and said, ‘May I be so bold as to ask about the rule of a king who is great in wisdom?’

  Lao Tzu said,

  ‘The rule of a king who is great in wisdom!

  His works affect all under Heaven, yet he seems to do nothing.

  His authority reaches all life, yet no one relies upon him.

  There is no fame nor glory for him but everything fulfils itself.

  He stands upon mystery and wanders where there is nothing.’

  In Chen there was a shaman of the spirits called Chi Hsien. He could foretell when people would die and be born; he knew about good fortune and failure as granted by Heaven; he knew about happiness and distress, life and its span, knowing the year, month, week and day, as if he were a god himself. As soon as the people of Cheng saw him coming, they would run away. Lieh Tzu went to see him and was fascinated by him. Coming back to Hu Tzu, he said, ‘I used to believe, Master, that your Tao was perfection. Now I have found something even better.’

  Hu Tzu said, ‘What I have shown you is the outward text of my teaching, but not what is central. How can you think you have grasped my Tao? If you have hens but no cockerel, how can you have eggs? You flaunt your Tao before the world. This is why this man can read your fortune. Bring this shaman to me and let us meet.’

  The next day Lieh Tzu brought the shaman to visit Hu Tzu. And as he left Hu Tzu’s house with Lieh Tzu, the shaman said, ‘Oh dear! Your Master is dying. There’s virtually no life left – he has maybe a week at most. I saw a st
range sight – it was like wet ashes!’

  Lieh Tzu went in again, weeping so copiously that tears soaked his coat, and told Hu Tzu what had been said. Hu Tzu said, ‘I made myself appear like the earth. I was as solid as the mountain, showing nothing to him. He probably perceived me to be a closed book, apparently without virtue. Bring him again if you can.’

  The next day Lieh Tzu came again with the shaman to see Hu Tzu. As they went out, the shaman said to Lieh Tzu, ‘How lucky for your Master that he has met me. He is getting better. Indeed he is truly alive. Life is flowing again.’

  Lieh Tzu went back in and commented on this to Hu Tzu. Hu Tzu said, ‘I made myself appear to him like Heaven, without fame or fortune on my mind. What I am wells up in me naturally. He saw in me the full and natural workings of life. Bring him again if you can.’

  The next day they came again to see Hu Tzu. As they went out, the shaman said to Lieh Tzu, ‘Your Master is never the same. I cannot grasp the fortune shown in his face. If he returns to some constancy then I will come and see him again.’

  Lieh Tzu went back in and reported this to Hu Tzu. ‘I showed him myself as the great Void where all is equal,’ said Hu Tzu. ‘He almost certainly saw in me the harmony of my innate forces. When water moves about, there is a whirlpool; where the waters are calm, there is a whirlpool; where the waters gather, there is a whirlpool. There are nine types of whirlpool and I have shown him just three. Bring him back again if you can.’

  The next day they both came again to see him. However, before he had even sat down, the shaman panicked and ran off. Hu Tzu said, ‘Follow him!’

  Lieh Tzu ran after him. But he could not catch up with him. Coming back to Hu Tzu, he said, ‘He has gone, I’ve lost him. I couldn’t catch him.’