The Book of Chuang Tzu (Penguin) Page 9
Hu Tzu said, ‘I just appeared to him as hitherto unrevealed potential. I presented myself as not knowing who is who, nor what is what. I came flowing and changing as I willed. That’s why he bolted.’
As a result of this, Lieh Tzu realized that he had so far learnt nothing real, so he returned home. For three years he did not go out. He cooked for his wife and tended the pigs as if they were humans. He showed no interest in his studies. He cast aside his desires and sought the truth. In his body he became like the ground itself. In the midst of everything he remained enclosed with the One and that is how he remained until the end.
Do not hanker for fame.
Do not make plans.
Do not try to do things.
Do not try to master knowledge.
Hold what is but do not hold it to be anything.
Work with all that comes from Heaven, but do not seek to hold it.
Just be empty.
The perfect man’s heart is like a mirror.
It does not search after things.
It does not look for things.
It does not seek knowledge, just responds.
As a result he can handle everything and is not harmed by anything.
The Emperor of the South Sea is known as Change. The Emperor of the North Sea is called Dramatic. The Emperor of the Centre is called Chaos. Change and Dramatic met every so often in the region of Chaos. Chaos always treated them kindly and virtuously. Change and Dramatic said, ‘Everyone has seven orifices so they can see, hear, eat and breathe. Chaos does not have these. Let us bore some holes into him.’ Each day they bored a hole into Chaos… but on the seventh day Chaos died.
CHAPTER 8
Webbed Toes
The big toe being webbed with the other toes, or an extra finger, may both be quite natural, but they do not spring from virtue. Swellings and tumours certainly arise from the body, but do not spring from what is natural. There are many acts of kindness and justice and they are often associated with the five vital organs.34 But this is not the correct way according to the Tao (the Way) and Te (Virtue). In fact, webbed feet are simply useless extra pieces of skin; an additional finger is useless. So to associate these with the five vital organs is to confuse the use of kindness and justice. It places too much emphasis on hearing and sight. So heightened visual perception will cause confusion in distinguishing the five colours. One will be overwhelmed by interesting designs and dazzled by the bright and luminous shades of blue and yellow. As a result, it will be like Li Chu the keen-sighted. And doesn’t an extraordinary faculty for hearing lead to confusion about the five notes, and excessive use of the six tones created by metal, stone, silk and bamboo together with the huang chung and ta lu pipes. As a result, it will be like the music master Kuang.
The result is that someone like this misuses the power of Virtue and destroys his inner self in a quest for fame and fortune, leading everything under Heaven to follow his music in pursuit of the unobtainable – is this not so? This results in Tseng and Shih.35 A great skill in debate leads to the construction of arguments like a builder using bricks, or a netmaker working with string. He makes his arguments circular and his heart delights to go into pointless nitpicking debate about similarity and divergence. He goes slogging on uphill still spouting nonsense – is this not so? This results in Yang and Mo.36 As a result, all of these types of people walk a complex road, with little to do with the correct Tao, the true path of all the world.
One on the true path does not lose his innate given nature.
To such a man that which is united presents no problem;
That which is divided is all right;
What is long is not too long;
That which is short is not too short.
The duck’s legs for example are short, but trying to lengthen them would cause pain.
The legs of a crane are long, but trying to shorten them would produce grief.
What nature makes long we should not cut,
nor should we try to stretch what nature makes short.
That would not solve anything.
Perhaps then, benevolence and righteousness are not an inherent part of human nature? For look how much anxiety is suffered by those who wish to be kind.
If one toe is united to another by extra skin, trying to separate them will only cause tears. Likewise, if you try to bite off the extra finger, this will provoke screams: of these two, one has more, the other less, but the distress they cause is the same. The benevolent person of today looks at the evils of society with distressed eyes, while people who are not benevolent uproot their proper inborn nature and rush after wealth and honour. The conclusion, therefore, is that benevolence and righteousness are not part of the true nature of humanity! From the Three Dynasties37 onwards they have created such trouble and nuisance for everyone.
When a template or plumb line is used, or a compass and set-square, in order to get things right, this involves cutting away parts of what is naturally there. When cords or buckles, glue or varnish are used, this means we affect the original Virtue. Likewise, the bending and pauses in the rituals and music, or the smiles and happy face of benevolence and righteousness, are meant to hearten everyone, but they ignore the inbuilt principles of existence. Everything has its innate nature.
Given this, then, what is curved is not curved by the use of a template nor made straight by using a plumb line. It is not rounded by using a compass, nor made square by using a set-square; not made adhesive through glue and varnish, nor bound together by ropes and bands. Then everything under Heaven is made as it is by the ways of nature, without understanding why or how. Everything achieves what is intended, but does not understand why or how. Both today and in the ancient past it has always been so, and nothing can affect this. There is no point in holding to benevolence and righteousness, like a mixture of glue and varnish, ropes and bands, as a means of trying to journey in the Tao and Te – the Way and Virtue – for this merely confuses everything under Heaven.
A minor deception alters the sense of purpose. A major deception alters the very nature of a thing. How is it that I can be so certain this is so? Ever since the time of the ruler Shun,38 who began to teach about benevolence and righteousness, everything under Heaven has been troubled and distorted by this and everything under Heaven has never ceased rushing about trying to live up to this. Is this not because benevolence and righteousness have changed our basic nature? I will try and explain what I mean by this. Ever since the Three Dynasties, and on down to today, everything under Heaven has had its innate nature affected by others. The mean or petty person has been willing to risk his very body for gain. The scholar risks his own self for fame. The senior officials risk their lives for their families. The sage risks his very self for everything under Heaven. All of these different types, with differing claims to fame, have all damaged their innate nature and risked their lives in the same way.
For example, a slave boy and girl: the two of them were out, each looking after their sheep, but they lost the sheep. Ask the slave boy what happened – the fact is, he was holding his bamboo strips and reading; ask the slave girl what happened – the fact is, she was playing a game. These two were doing different things, but they both lost the sheep.
Po Yi39 died for the sake of fame at the bottom of Shou Yang mountain, Robber Chih40 died for gain on top of the Eastern Heights. These two both died in different ways but the fact is, they both shortened their lives and destroyed their innate natures. Yet we are expected to approve of Po Yi and disapprove of Robber Chih – strange, isn’t it? In situations like this world-wide, if someone makes sacrifices for reasons of benevolence and righteousness, people call such a person a nobleman, a gentleman; if someone makes such sacrifices for wealth and power, then people call such a person a mean and petty man! The action of sacrifice is one and the same, yet we call one a gentleman and the other a petty man! In terms of sacrificing his life and harming his true nature, Robber Chih and Po Yi did the same. So why should we make a d
ifference of one being a noble gentleman and the other a mean, petty person?
Those who apply themselves to benevolence and righteousness may travel the same path as Tseng and Shih, but I would not call them wise. Those who apply themselves to the five flavours may travel the same path as the chef Yu Erh, but I would not call them wise. Those who apply themselves to the five colours may travel the same path as Li Chu, but I would not call them very bright. My description of wisdom has nothing to do with benevolence and righteousness, it is to do with being wise in one’s own virtue, nothing more. My description of being wise has nothing to do with benevolence and righteousness, it is that one should be led by one’s innate nature, nothing more. When I talk about having good hearing, I don’t mean just listening, but listening to yourself. When I talk about good eyesight, I don’t mean just looking, but looking at yourself. The fact is that those who do not see themselves but who see others, who fail to get a grasp of themselves but who grasp others, take possession of what others have but fail to possess themselves. They are attracted to what others enjoy but fail to find enjoyment in themselves. In such cases, whether he be Robber Chih or Po Yi, such a person is just as deceived and just as wrong. What I am ashamed of is of failing the Tao and Te – the Way and Virtue – so I don’t try to elevate myself through acts of benevolence and righteousness, nor to sink down into useless and idiotic ways.
CHAPTER 9
Horses’ Hooves
Horses have hooves so that their feet can grip on frost and snow, and hair so that they can withstand the wind and cold. They eat grass and drink water, they buck and gallop, for this is the innate nature of horses. Even if they had great towers and magnificent halls, they would not be interested in them. However, when Po Lo41 came on the scene, he said, ‘I know how to train horses.’ He branded them, cut their hair and their hooves, put halters on their heads, bridled them, hobbled them and shut them up in stables. Out of ten horses at least two or three die. Then he makes them hungry and thirsty, gallops them, races them, parades them, runs them together. He keeps before them the fear of the bit and ropes, behind them the fear of the whip and crop. Now more than half the horses are dead.
The potter said, ‘I know how to use clay, how to mould it into rounds like the compass and into squares as though I had used a T-square.’ The carpenter said, ‘I know how to use wood: to make it bend, I use the template; to make it straight, I use the plumb line.’ However, is it really the innate nature of clay and wood to be moulded by compass and T-square, template and plumb line? It is true, nevertheless, that generation after generation has said, ‘Po Lo is good at controlling horses, and indeed the potter and carpenter are good with clay and wood.’ And the same nonsense is spouted by those who rule the world.
I think that someone who truly knows how to rule the world would not be like this. The people have a true nature, they weave their cloth, they farm to produce food. This is their basic Virtue. They are all one in this, not separated, and it is from Heaven. Thus, in an age of perfect Virtue the people walk slowly and solemnly. They see straight and true. In times such as these the mountains have neither paths nor tunnels, on the lakes there are neither boats nor bridges; all life lives with its own kind, living close together. The birds and beasts multiply in their flocks and herds, the grass and trees grow tall. It is true that at such a time the birds and beasts can be led around without ropes, and birds’ nests can be seen with ease.
In this time of perfect Virtue, people live side by side with the birds and beasts, sharing the world in common with all life. No one knows of distinctions such as nobles and the peasantry! Totally without wisdom but with virtue which does not disappear; totally without desire they are known as truly simple. If people are truly simple, they can follow their true nature. Then the perfect sage comes, going on about benevolence, straining for self-righteousness, and suddenly everyone begins to have doubts. They start to fuss over the music, cutting and trimming the rituals, and thus the whole world is disturbed. If the pure essence had not been so cut about, how could they have otherwise ended up with sacrificial bowls? If the raw jade was not broken apart, how could the symbols of power be made? If the Tao and Te – Way and Virtue – had not been ignored, how could benevolence and righteousness have been preferred? If innate nature had not been left behind, how could rituals and music have been invented? If the five colours had not been confused, how could patterns and designs have occurred? If the five notes had not been confused, how could they have been supplanted by the six tones? The abuse of the true elements to make artefacts was the crime of the craftsman. The abuse of the Tao and Te – Way and Virtue – to make benevolence and righteousness, this was the error of the sage.
Horses, when they live wild, eat grass and drink water; when they are content, they entwine their necks and rub each other. When angry, they turn their backs on each other and kick out. This is what horses know. But if harnessed together and lined up under constraints, they know to look sideways and to arch their necks, to career around and try to spit out the bit and rid themselves of the reins. The knowledge thus gained by the horse, and its wicked behaviour, is in fact the fault of Po Lo.
At the time of Ho Hsu,42 people stayed where they were, not knowing anything else; they walked but did not know where they were going; filled themselves with food and were happy slapping their bellies to show their contentment. This was what the people had. Then came the sage. He brought the cringing and grovelling of the rituals and music and infected all under Heaven with his offer of benevolence and righteousness, which he said would comfort the hearts of all.
As a result the people desired and longed for knowledge, and warred against each other to gain the advantage. Nothing could stop them. All this was the fault of the sage.
CHAPTER 10
Broken Suitcases
To guard yourself against thieves who slash open suitcases, rifle through bags and smash open boxes, one should strap the bags and lock them. The world at large knows that this shows wisdom. However, when a master thief comes, he simply picks up the suitcase, lifts the bag, carries off the box and runs away with them, his only concern being whether the straps and locks will hold! In such an instance, what seemed like wisdom on the part of the owner surely turns out to have been of use only to the master thief!
I will try to explain what I am saying. What the world at large calls a wise man, is he not really just someone who stores things up for the master thief? Likewise, isn’t the one they call a sage just a guardian of the master thief’s interests?
How do I know all this?
Long ago in the state of Chi, all the little towns could see each other and the cockerels and dogs called to each other. Nets were cast and the land ploughed over an area of two thousand square miles. Within its four borders, ancestral temples were built and maintained and shrines to the land and the crops were built. Its villages and towns were well governed and everything was under the guidance of the sage. However, one morning Lord Tien Cheng killed the ruler and took his country. But was it just his country he took? He also took the wisdom of the laws of the state, created by the sages. So Lord Tien Cheng earned the title of thief and robber, but he was able to live out his days as secure as Yao or Shun had done. The smaller states dared not criticize him and the larger states did not dare attack. So for twelve generations his family ruled the state of Chi. Is this not an example of someone stealing the state of Chi and also taking the laws arising from the wisdom of the sages and using them to protect himself, although he was both robber and thief?
I will try to explain this. What the world at large calls someone of perfect knowledge, is this not in fact the person who stores up things for a great thief? Those commonly called sages, are they not responsible for securing things for the great thief?
How do I know all this?
Long ago Lung Feng was executed, Pi Kan was torn apart, Chang Hung was ripped open, and Tzu Hsu was smashed to pieces.43 Good men though these four were, they could not escape their terrible
ends. A member of Robber Chih’s gang asked him, ‘Is there a Tao for the thief?’ Chih replied, ‘What profession is there without its Tao? The robber works out what is worth stealing: this shows he is a sage; his courage is shown by being the first to break in; his righteousness is shown by being last to leave; his understanding is shown by deciding whether the raid is possible; his benevolence is shown by his dividing the spoils equally. Without these five attributes, no one in the world could become such a great thief.’ Considering all this, it is clear that good men do not arise without following the Tao of the sages and therefore that Robber Chih had to also follow the sages’ Tao, or he could not have succeeded. But in this world, the good men are few and far between, while the bad are numerous. So it is that the sage brings little to the world but inflicts much harm. It is said, ‘When the lips have gone, the teeth get cold; the bad wine of Lu brought warfare to Han Tan.’44 When the sage is born, the great thief arises. Beat the sages and let the thieves and robbers go, then the world will be all right. When the rivers dry up, the valley is empty. When the hill is levelled, the pool is filled.
If the sage does not die, then great thieves will continue to arise. The more sages are brought forth to rule the world, the more this helps people like Robber Chih. Create weights and measures to judge by and people will steal by weight and measure; create balances and weights and people will steal by balances and weights; create contracts and legal agreements to inspire trust and people will steal by contracts and legal agreements; create benevolence and righteousness to ensure honesty and even in this instance benevolence and righteousness teach them to steal.
How do I know all this?
This one steals a buckle and he is executed, that one steals a country and he becomes its ruler. Yet it is at the gates of rulers that benevolence and righteousness are professed. Surely this is a case of the wisdom of the sages, benevolence and righteousness being stolen? So people rush to become great robbers, to seize estates, stealing benevolence and righteousness, and taking all the profits of the weights and measures, balances and weights, contracts and legal arguments. Try to prevent them with promises of the trappings of power, they don’t care. Threaten them with execution, and this doesn’t stop them. For by profiting those like Robber Chih, whom none can stop, the sage has made a great mistake.