Chuang Tzu: Mystic, Moralist, and Social Reformer quotes

They were free, for they were in perfect harmony with creation (p. 71). For them One and not One are One; God and Man. For they had attained to Tao, and Tao is greater than God. "

Before heaven and earth were, Tao was. It has existed without change from all time.

Spiritual beings draw their spirituality therefrom; while the universe became what we see it now. To Tao the zenith is not high, nor the nadir low; no point of time is long ago, nor by lapse of ages has it grown old" (p. 76).

In the northern ocean there is a fish, called the Leviathan, many thousand li in size. This leviathan changes into a bird, called the Rukh, whose back is many thousand li in breadth.

With a mighty effort it rises, and its wings obscure the sky like clouds.

At the equinox, this bird prepares to start for the southern ocean, the Celestial Lake.

But he who travels a hundred li must grind flour enough for a night's halt. And he who travels a thousand li must supply himself with provisions for three months. Those two little creatures,—what should they know?

Small knowledge has not the compass of great knowledge any more than a short year has the length of a long year.

How can we tell that this is so? The mushroom of a morning knows not the alternation of day and night. The chrysalis knows not the alternation of spring and autumn. Theirs are short years.

How can we tell that this is so?

The mushroom of a morning knows not the alternation of day and night.

The chrysalis knows not the alternation of spring and autumn. Theirs are short years.

That is, nourished upon the doctrines of inaction, the continuity of life and death, etc., which will be dealt with in later chapters.

Thus it has been said, "The perfect man ignores self; the divine man ignores action; the true Sage ignores reputation."

His—for the three are one—is a bliss "beyond all that the minstrel has told." Material existences melt into thin air; worldly joys and sorrows cease for him who passes thus into the everlasting enjoyment of a transcendental peace.

"Ever since you, sire, have directed the administration," replied Hsü Yu, "the empire has enjoyed tranquillity. Supposing, therefore, that I were to take your place now, should I gain any reputation thereby?

Besides, reputation is but the shadow of reality; and should I trouble myself about the shadow?

The tit, building its nest in the mighty forest, occupies but a single twig. The tapir slakes its thirst from the river, but drinks enough only to fill its belly. To you, sire, belongs the reputation: the empire has no need for me.

Supposing, therefore, that I were to take your place now, should I gain any reputation thereby? Besides, reputation is but the shadow of reality; and should I trouble myself about the shadow?

The tit, building its nest in the mighty forest, occupies but a single twig.

The tapir slakes its thirst from the river, but drinks enough only to fill its belly. To you, sire, belongs the reputation: the empire has no need for me.

"Why does the horizon hold me fast, with my joy and grief in this centre?"—Emerson.

There it would be safe from the axe and from all other injury; for being of no use to others, itself would be free from harm.

"

Argument:—Contraries spring from our subjective individuality—Identity of subjective and objective—The centre where all distinctions are merged in One—How to reach this point—Speech an obstacle—The negative state—Light out of darkness—Illustrations.

Tzŭ Ch'i of Nan-kuo sat leaning on a table. Looking up to heaven, he sighed and became absent, as though soul and body had parted.

Yen Ch'êng Tzŭ Yu, who was standing by him, exclaimed, "What are you thinking about that your body should become thus like dry wood, your mind like dead ashes? Surely the man now leaning on the table is not he who was here just now."

"Joy and anger, sorrow and happiness, caution and remorse, come upon us by turns, with ever-changing mood.

They come like music from hollowness, like mushrooms from damp.

Daily and nightly they alternate within us, but we cannot tell whence they spring. Can we then hope in a moment to lay our finger upon their very Cause?

"

Speech is not mere breath. It is differentiated by meaning.

Take away that, and you cannot say whether it is speech or not. Can you even distinguish it from the chirping of young birds?

But at this the monkeys were very angry, so the keeper said they might have four in the morning and three at night, with which arrangement they were all well pleased.

The actual number of the chestnuts remained the same, but there was an adaptation to the likes and dislikes of those concerned.

Such is the principle of putting oneself into subjective relation with externals.

"

Therefore what the true Sage aims at is the light which comes out of darkness.

He does not view things as apprehended by himself, subjectively, but transfers himself into the position of the things viewed. This is called using the light.

"

If there was a beginning, then there was a time before that beginning. And a time before the time which was before the time of that beginning.

"If there is existence, there must have been non-existence. And if there was a time when nothing existed, then there must have been a time before that—when even nothing did not exist.

"There is nothing under the canopy of heaven greater than the tip of an autumn spikelet. A vast mountain is a small thing. Neither is there any age greater than that of a child cut off in infancy. P'êng Tsu himself died young.

The universe and I came into being together; and I, and everything therein, are One.

"If then all things are One, what room is there for Speech? On the other hand, since I can utter these words, how can Speech not exist?

"

Perfect Tao does not declare itself. Nor does perfect argument express itself in words.

Nor does perfect charity show itself in act. Nor is perfect honesty absolutely incorruptible. Nor is perfect courage absolutely unyielding.

You are going too fast.

You see your egg, and expect to hear it crow. You look at your cross-bow, and expect to have broiled duck before you.

I will say a few words to you at random, and do you listen at random.

"

How do I know that love of life is not a delusion after all? How do I know but that he who dreads to die is not as a child who has lost the way and cannot find his home?

"The lady Li Chi was the daughter of Ai Fêng.

Those who dream of lamentation and sorrow wake to join the hunt. While they dream, they do not know that they dream. Some will even interpret the very dream they are dreaming; and only when they awake do they know it was a dream.

By and by comes the Great Awakening, and then we find out that this life is really a great dream.

Fools think they are awake now, and flatter themselves they know if they are really princes or peasants. Confucius and you are both dreams; and I who say you are dreams,—I am but a dream myself. This is a paradox.

Showing how two or more may be the phenomena of one.

Once upon a time, I, Chuang Tzŭ, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly.

I was conscious only of following my fancies as a butterfly, and was unconscious of my individuality as a man. Suddenly, I awaked, and there I lay, myself again.

I was conscious only of following my fancies as a butterfly, and was unconscious of my individuality as a man. Suddenly, I awaked, and there I lay, myself again.

Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man.

Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a barrier. The transition is called Metempsychosis.

Argument:—Life too short—Wisdom unattainable—Accommodation to circumstances—Liberty paramount—Death a release—The soul immortal.

My life has a limit, but my knowledge is without limit. To drive the limited in search of the limitless, is fatal; and the knowledge of those who do this is fatally lost.

In striving for others, avoid fame. In striving for self, avoid disgrace. Pursue a middle course. Thus you will keep a sound body, and a sound mind, fulfil your duties, and work out your allotted span.

Meaning that he saw them, so to speak, in sections.

And now I work with my mind and not with my eye.

When my senses bid me stop, but my mind urges me on, I fall back upon eternal principles. I follow such openings or cavities as there may be, according to the natural constitution of the animal. I do not attempt to cut through joints:

"Now, wild fowl get a peck once in ten steps, a drink once in a hundred. Yet they do not want to be fed in a cage.

For although they would thus be able to command food, they would not be free.

"

"The sages of old first got Tao for themselves, and then got it for others. Before you possess this yourself, what leisure have you to attend to the doings of wicked men? Besides, do you know what Virtue results in and where Wisdom ends?

Virtue results in a desire for fame; Wisdom ends in contentions.

In the struggle for fame men crush each other, while their wisdom but provokes rivalry. Both are baleful instruments, and may not be incautiously used.

"Let me tell you. If you can enter this man's domain without offending his amour propre, cheerful if he hears you, passive if he does not; without science, without drugs, simply living there in a state of complete indifference,—you will be near success.

It is easy to stop walking: the trouble is to walk without touching the ground.

As an agent of man, it is easy to deceive; but not as an agent of God. You have heard of winged creatures flying. You have never heard of flying without wings. You have heard of men being wise with wisdom.

So on festive occasions, the drinking which is in the beginning orderly enough, degenerates into riot and disorder. Festivity is pushed too far. It is in fact the same with all things: they begin with good faith and end with contempt.

From small beginnings come great endings.

"Speech is like wind to wave. Action is liable to divergence from its true goal. By wind, waves are easily excited. Divergence from the true goal is fraught with danger. Thus angry feelings rise up without a cause.

"

Speech is like wind to wave.

Action is liable to divergence from its true goal. By wind, waves are easily excited. Divergence from the true goal is fraught with danger. Thus angry feelings rise up without a cause.

"Here is a man whose disposition is naturally of a low order. To let him take his own unprincipled way is to endanger the State. To try to restrain him is to endanger one's personal safety.

He has just wit enough to see faults in others, but not to see his own.

I am consequently at a loss what to do."

"Don't you know the story of the praying mantis? In its rage it stretched out its arms to prevent a chariot from passing, unaware that this was beyond its strength, so admirable was its energy! Be cautious.

If you are always offending others by your superiority, you will probably come to grief.

"Do you not know that those who keep tigers do not venture to give them live animals as food, for fear of exciting their fury when killing the prey?

Thus do these trees by their own value injure their own lives. They cannot fulfil their allotted span of years, but perish prematurely in mid-career from their entanglement with the world around them. Thus it is with all things.

For a long period my aim was to be useless. Many times I was in danger, but at length I succeeded, and so became useful as I am to-day.

But had I then been of use, I should not now be of the great use I am. Moreover, you and I belong both to the same category of things. Have done then with this criticism of others.

O ferns, O ferns, wound not my steps! Through my tortuous journey wound not my feet! Hills suffer from the trees they produce. Fat burns by its own combustibility. Cinnamon trees furnish food: therefore they are cut down. The lacquer tree is felled for use.

All men know the use of useful things; but they do not know the use of useless things.

"

"A man," replied Confucius, "does not seek to see himself in running water, but in still water.

For only what is itself still can instil stillness into others.

"The grace of earth has reached only to pines and cedars;—winter and summer alike they are green. The grace of God has reached to Yao and to Shun alone;—the first and foremost of all creation.

Thus it is that virtue should prevail and outward form be forgotten.

But mankind forgets not that which is to be forgotten, forgetting that which is not to be forgotten.

This is forgetfulness indeed! And thus with the truly wise, wisdom is a curse, sincerity like glue, virtue only a means to acquire, and skill nothing more than a commercial capacity. For the truly wise make no plans, and therefore require no wisdom.

But what is a pure man?—The pure men of old acted without calculation, not seeking to secure results.

They laid no plans. Therefore, failing, they had no cause for regret; succeeding, no cause for congratulation.

And thus they could scale heights without fear; enter water without becoming wet; fire, without feeling hot. So far had their wisdom advanced towards Tao.

"The world-spirit is a good swimmer, and storms and waves cannot drown him."—Emerson.

The pure men of old slept without dreams, and waked without anxiety.

They ate without discrimination, breathing deep breaths. For pure men draw breath from their uttermost depths; the vulgar only from their throats.

Out of the crooked, words are retched up like vomit.

If men's passions are deep, their divinity is shallow.

The pure men of old did not know what it was to love life or to hate death. They did not rejoice in birth, nor strive to put off dissolution. Quickly come, and quickly go;—no more.

Such men are in mind absolutely free; in demeanour, grave; in expression, cheerful. If it is freezing cold, it seems to them like autumn; if blazing hot, like spring.

Their passions occur like the four seasons.

Each at its appointed time.

The boat is figurative of our mortal coil which cannot be hidden from decay.

But if you conceal the whole universe in the whole universe, there will be no place left wherein it may be lost.

The laws of matter make this to be so.

I think the caster would reject that metal as uncanny. And if a sinner like myself were to say to God, 'Make of me a man, make of me a man;' I think he too would reject me as uncanny.

The universe is the smelting-pot, and God is the caster.

I shall go whithersoever I am sent, to wake unconscious of the past, as a man wakes from a dreamless sleep."

"Fishes," replied Confucius, "are born in water. Man is born in Tao. If fishes get ponds to live in, they thrive.

If man gets Tao to live in, he may live his life in peace.

Without reference to the outward ceremonial of this world.

He knows not whether the end will come early or late. Passing into life as a man, he quietly awaits his passage into the unknown. What should the dead know of the living, or the living know of the dead?

Even you and I may be in a dream from which we have not yet awaked.

"Then again, he adapts himself physically,

"Besides, a man's personality is something of which he is subjectively conscious. It is impossible for him to say if he is really that which he is conscious of being.

You dream you are a bird, and soar to heaven. You dream you are a fish, and dive into the ocean's depths.

And you cannot tell whether the man now speaking is awake or in a dream.

"From the point of view of a truly wise man," replied Lao Tzŭ, "such a one would be a mere handicraftsman, wearing out body and mind alike.

The tiger and the pard suffer from the beauty of their skins.

The cleverness of the monkey, the tractability of the ox, bring them both to the tether. It is not on such grounds that a ruler may be accounted wise."

"The goodness of a wise ruler," answered Lao Tzŭ, "covers the whole empire, yet he himself seems to know it not. It influences all creation, yet none is conscious thereof.

It appears under countless forms, bringing joy to all things. It is based upon the baseless, and travels through the realms of Nowhere.

"

All of which may be summed up in the one word passivity. For the perfect man employs his mind as a mirror.

It grasps nothing: it refuses nothing. It receives, but does not keep.

And thus he can triumph over matter, without injury to himself.

From time immemorial this has always been so, without variation. Why then should charity and duty to one's neighbour be as it were glued or corded on, and introduced into the domain of Tao, to give rise to doubt among mankind?

Lesser doubts change the rule of life; greater doubts change man's nature.

How do we know this? By the fact that ever since the time when Shun bid for charity and duty to one's neighbour in order to secure the empire, men have devoted their lives to the pursuit thereof.

Horses have hoofs to carry them over frost and snow; hair, to protect them from wind and cold. They eat grass and drink water, and fling up their heels over the champaign.

Such is the real nature of horses. Palatial dwellings are of no use to them.

A Chinese Rarey, of somewhat legendary character.

But a strong thief comes who carries off the till on his shoulders, with box and bag to boot.

And his only fear is that the cords and locks should not be strong enough!

Therefore, what the world calls wit, simply amounts to assistance given to the strong thief.

But a strong thief comes who carries off the till on his shoulders, with box and bag to boot. And his only fear is that the cords and locks should not be strong enough!

Therefore, what the world calls wit, simply amounts to assistance given to the strong thief.

And I venture to state that nothing of that which the world calls wit, is otherwise than serviceable to strong thieves; and that nothing of that which the world calls wisdom is other than a protection to strong thieves.

How is this so?—

One man steals a purse, and is punished. Another steals a State, and becomes a Prince.

But charity and duty to one's neighbour are integral parts of princedom. Does he not then steal charity and duty to one's neighbour together with the wisdom of the Sages?

Argument:—The natural conditions of our existence require no artificial aids—The evils of government—Failure of coercion—Tao the refuge—Inaction the secret—The action of Inaction—Illustrations.

There has been such a thing as letting mankind alone; there has never been such a thing as governing mankind.

Letting alone springs from fear lest men's natural dispositions be perverted and their virtue laid aside. But if their natural dispositions be not perverted nor their virtue laid aside, what room is there left for government?

But try to cut and polish it,—'twill glow like fire or freeze like ice. In the twinkling of an eye it will pass beyond the limits of the Four Seas. In repose, profoundly still; in motion, far away in the sky.

No bolt can bar, no bond can bind,—such is the human heart.

"

Whereupon the latter continued, "Come, I will tell you.

That self is eternal; yet all men think it mortal. That self is infinite; yet all men think it finite.

Those who possess Tao are princes in this life and rulers in the hereafter. Those who do not possess Tao, behold the light of day in this life and become clods of earth in the hereafter.

He then prostrated himself, and desired to be allowed to interrogate the Vital Principle; but the latter said, "

I wander on without knowing what I want. I roam about without knowing where I am going.

I stroll in this ecstatic manner, simply awaiting events. What should I know?"

By the influence of your own perfection.

Rest in inaction, and the world will be good of itself.

Cast your slough. Spit forth intelligence. Ignore all differences. Become one with the infinite. Release your mind. Free your soul. Be vacuous. Be Nothing!

"Your Holiness," said the Spirit of the Clouds, as he prostrated himself and took leave, "has informed me with power and filled me with mysteries. What I had long sought, I have now found."

The men of this world all rejoice in others being like themselves, and object to others not being like themselves.

"The man, and still more the woman, who can be accused either of doing 'what nobody does,' or of not doing 'what everybody does,' is the subject of as much depreciatory remark as if he or she had committed some grave moral delinquency."

As for his body, that is in accordance with the usual standard. Being in accordance with the usual standard it is not distinguished in any way. But if not distinguished in any way, what becomes of the distinction by which he is distinguished?

Those who see what is to be seen,—of such were the perfect men of old. Those who see what is not to be seen,—they are the chosen of the universe.

Spiritual sight carries them beyond the horizon where natural vision stops short.

"He can see where all is dark. He can hear where all is still.

In the darkness he alone can see light. In the stillness he alone can detect harmony.

He can sink to the lowest depths of materialism. To the highest heights of spirituality he can soar. This because he stands in due relation to all things.

to find it, but without success.

Finally, he employed Nothing, and Nothing got it.

He did not employ Nothing to find it. He only employed Nothing.

The above episode is unmistakably spurious.

At the beginning of the beginning, even Nothing did not exist.

Then came the period of the Nameless.

"If the empire had all been under proper government," said the other, "what would there have been for the Great Yü to do? He was as ointment to a sore.

Only bald men use wigs; only sick people want doctors.

And the Sage blushes when a filial son, with anxious look, administers medicine to cure his loving father.

"

A man who knows that he is a fool is not a great fool.

A man who knows his error is not greatly in error. Great error can never be shaken off; a great fool never becomes clear-headed.

and they will roar with laughter. And likewise great truths do not take hold of the hearts of the masses.

And great truths not finding utterance, common-places carry the day.

Two earthen instruments will drown the sound of one metal one; and the result will not be melodious.

The repose of the Sage is not what the world calls repose. His repose is the result of his mental attitude. All creation could not disturb his equilibrium: hence his repose.

When water is still, it is like a mirror, reflecting the beard and the eyebrows.

It gives the accuracy of the water-level, and the philosopher makes it his model. And if water thus derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind?

When water is still, it is like a mirror, reflecting the beard and the eyebrows. It gives the accuracy of the water-level, and the philosopher makes it his model. And if water thus derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind?

The mind of the Sage being in repose becomes the mirror of the universe, the speculum of all creation.

Repose, tranquillity, stillness, inaction,—these were the levels of the universe, the ultimate perfection of Tao.

Keep to this in retirement, and the lettered denizens of sea and dale will recognise your power. Keep to this when coming forward to pacify a troubled world, and your merit shall be great and your name illustrious, and the empire united into one.

In your repose you will be wise; in your movements, powerful.

By inaction you will gain honour; and by confining yourself to the pure and simple, you will hinder the whole world from struggling with you for show.

The ultima ratio lies with the prince; representation is the duty of the minister.

Appeal to arms is the lowest form of virtue.

Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education. Ceremonies and laws are the lowest form of government. Music and fine clothes are the lowest form of happiness. Weeping and mourning are the lowest form of grief.

"

The snow-goose is white without a daily bath.

The raven is black without daily colouring itself. The original simplicity of black and of white is beyond the reach of argument. The vista of fame and reputation is not worthy of enlargement.

"The snow-goose is white without a daily bath.

The raven is black without daily colouring itself.

The original simplicity of black and of white is beyond the reach of argument. The vista of fame and reputation is not worthy of enlargement.

Your Six Canons are but the worn-out foot-prints of ancient Sages. And what are foot-prints? Why, the words you now utter are as it were foot-prints.

Foot-prints are made by the shoe: they are not the shoe itself.

"Fish-hawks gaze at each other with motionless eyes,—and their young are produced. The male of a certain insect chirps with the wind while the female chirps against it,—and their offspring is produced. There is another animal which, being an hermaphrodite, produces its own offspring.

"Fish-hawks gaze at each other with motionless eyes,—and their young are produced. The male of a certain insect chirps with the wind while the female chirps against it,—and their offspring is produced. There is another animal which, being an hermaphrodite, produces its own offspring.

Nature cannot be changed.

Destiny cannot be altered. Time cannot stop. Tao cannot be obstructed. Once attain to Tao, and there is nothing which you cannot accomplish. Without it, there is nothing which you can accomplish."

The male of a certain insect chirps with the wind while the female chirps against it,—and their offspring is produced. There is another animal which, being an hermaphrodite, produces its own offspring. Nature cannot be changed.

Destiny cannot be altered.

Time cannot stop. Tao cannot be obstructed. Once attain to Tao, and there is nothing which you cannot accomplish. Without it, there is nothing which you can accomplish."

It was the time of autumn floods. Every stream poured into the river, which swelled in its turbid course.

The banks receded so far from one another that it was impossible to tell a cow from a horse.

Then the Spirit of the River laughed for joy that all the beauty of the earth was gathered to himself. Down with the stream he journeyed east, until he reached the ocean. There, looking eastwards and seeing no limit to its waves, his countenance changed.

To which the Spirit of the Ocean replied, "You cannot speak of ocean to a well-frog,—the creature of a narrower sphere.

You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect,—the creature of a season.

You cannot speak of Tao to a pedagogue: his scope is too restricted. But now that you have emerged from your narrow sphere and have seen the great ocean, you know your own insignificance, and I can speak to you of great principles.

To which the Spirit of the Ocean replied, "

You cannot speak of ocean to a well-frog,—the creature of a narrower sphere.

You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect,—the creature of a season. You cannot speak of Tao to a pedagogue: his scope is too restricted.

"Not at all," said the Spirit of the Ocean. "

Dimensions are limitless; time is endless.

Conditions are not invariable; terms are not final. Thus, the wise man looks into space, and does not regard the small as too little, nor the great as too much; for he knows that there is no limit to dimension.

"Not at all," said the Spirit of the Ocean. "Dimensions are limitless; time is endless.

Conditions are not invariable; terms are not final.

Thus, the wise man looks into space, and does not regard the small as too little, nor the great as too much; for he knows that there is no limit to dimension.

"

What man knows is not to be compared with what he does not know.

The span of his existence is not to be compared with the span of his non-existence. With the small to strive to exhaust the great, necessarily lands him in confusion, and he does not attain his object.

"

A battering-ram can knock down a wall, but it cannot repair the breach.

This sentence has sorely puzzled all commentators.

"Tao is without beginning, without end. Other things are born and die. They are impermanent; and now for better, now for worse, they are ceaselessly changing form.

Past years cannot be recalled: time cannot be arrested.

The succession of states is endless; and every end is followed by a new beginning. Thus it may be said that man's duty to his neighbour is embodied in the eternal principles of the universe.

"

The life of man passes by like a galloping horse, changing at every turn, at every hour.

What should he do, or what should he not do, other than let his decomposition go on?"

To travel by land and not avoid the rhinoceros and the tiger,—this is the courage of hunters. When bright blades cross, to look on death as on life,—this is the courage of the hero.

To know that failure is fate and that success is opportunity, and to remain fearless in great danger,—this is the courage of the Sage.

Yu! rest in this. My destiny is cut out for me."

the four points are gone; he is engulphed in the unfathomable. For him east and west do not exist. Beginning with chaos, he has gone back to Tao; and yet you think you are going to examine his doctrines and meet them with argument!

This is like looking at the sky through a tube, or pointing at the earth with an awl,—a small result.

The area covered by an awl's point being infinitesimal.

"Begone!" cried Chuang Tzŭ. "

I too will wag my tail in the mud.

"

Chuang Tzŭ and Hui Tzŭ had strolled on to the bridge over the Hao, when the former observed, "

See how the minnows are darting about!

That is the pleasure of fishes."

I make true pleasure to consist in inaction, which the world regards as great pain. Thus it has been said, "

Perfect happiness is the absence of happiness;

The non-existence of any state or condition necessarily includes the non-existence of its correlate. If we do not have happiness, we are at once exempt from misery; and such a negative state is a state of "perfect happiness."

Yet where such things abound, the physical frame is not always nourished. For the preservation of life it is necessary that there should be no abandonment of the physical frame. Yet where the physical frame is not abandoned, life does not always remain.

Life comes, and cannot be declined.

It goes, and cannot be stopped. But alas! the world thinks that to nourish the frame is enough to keep life. And if indeed it is not enough, what then is the world to do?

Life comes, and cannot be declined.

It goes, and cannot be stopped.

But alas! the world thinks that to nourish the frame is enough to keep life. And if indeed it is not enough, what then is the world to do?

Mens sana in corpore sano.

Heaven and earth are the father and mother of all things.

When they unite, the result is shape. When they disperse, the original condition is renewed.

If they do not fall, I do not miss many cicadas. When I can balance three balls, I only miss one in ten; and when five, then it is as though I caught the cicadas with my hand.

My body is as motionless as the stump of a tree; my arms like dead branches.

Heaven and earth and all creation may be around me, but I am conscious only of my cicada's wings. How should I not succeed?"

When I can balance three balls, I only miss one in ten; and when five, then it is as though I caught the cicadas with my hand. My body is as motionless as the stump of a tree; my arms like dead branches.

Heaven and earth and all creation may be around me, but I am conscious only of my cicada's wings.

How should I not succeed?"

he will be nervous; if yellow gold, he will lose his wits.

His skill is the same in each case, but he is distracted by the value of his stake.

And every one who attaches importance to the external, becomes internally without resource."

"No," replied the old man; "I have no way. There was my original condition to begin with; then habit growing into nature; and lastly acquiescence in destiny. Plunging in with the whirl, I come out with the swirl.

I accommodate myself to the water, not the water to me.

And so I am able to deal with it after this fashion."

His fingers seemed to accommodate themselves so naturally to the thing he was working at, that it was unnecessary to fix his attention. His mental faculties thus remained ONE, and suffered no hindrance.

To be unconscious of one's feet implies that the shoes are easy.

To be unconscious of a waist implies that the girdle is easy. The intelligence being unconscious of positive and negative implies that the heart is at ease. No modifications within, no yielding to influences without,

To be unconscious of one's feet implies that the shoes are easy.

To be unconscious of a waist implies that the girdle is easy.

The intelligence being unconscious of positive and negative implies that the heart is at ease. No modifications within, no yielding to influences without,

In the first case there was no anger, in the second there was; because in the first case the boat was empty, and in the second it was occupied. And so it is with man.

If he could only roam empty through life, who would be able to injure him?

"

"

Straight trees are the first felled.

Sweet wells are soonest exhausted. And you, you make a show of your knowledge in order to startle fools. You cultivate yourself in contrast to the degradation of others. And you blaze along as though the sun and moon were under your arms;

"Straight trees are the first felled.

Sweet wells are soonest exhausted.

And you, you make a show of your knowledge in order to startle fools. You cultivate yourself in contrast to the degradation of others. And you blaze along as though the sun and moon were under your arms; consequently, you cannot avoid trouble.

"

The friendship of the superior man is negative like water.

The friendship of the mean man is full-flavoured like wine. That of the superior man passes from the negative to the affectionate. That of the mean man passes from the full-flavoured to nothing.

"The friendship of the superior man is negative like water.

The friendship of the mean man is full-flavoured like wine.

That of the superior man passes from the negative to the affectionate. That of the mean man passes from the full-flavoured to nothing. The friendship of the mean man begins without due cause, and in like manner comes to an end.

"It is poverty, not misery," replied Chuang Tzŭ. "

A man who has Tao cannot be miserable.

Ragged clothes and old boots make poverty, not misery. Mine is what is called being out of harmony with one's age.

"It is poverty, not misery," replied Chuang Tzŭ. "A man who has Tao cannot be miserable.

Ragged clothes and old boots make poverty, not misery.

Mine is what is called being out of harmony with one's age.

"Alas!" cried Chuang Tzŭ with a sigh, "how creatures injure one another.

Loss follows the pursuit of gain.

"

"What is there to prevent you from finding out?" replied Confucius. "There is no sorrow to be compared with the death of the mind.

The death of the body is of but secondary importance.

Cf. ch. ii, "The body decomposes, and the mind goes with it. This is our real cause for sorrow."

"What is there to prevent you from finding out?" replied Confucius. "

There is no sorrow to be compared with the death of the mind.

The death of the body is of but secondary importance.

What I admire in you is transitory. Nevertheless, why should you grieve?

Although my old self is constantly passing away, there remains that which does not pass away.

"

"He will do," cried the Prince. "

He is a true artist.

"

"Spoken knowingly" gives the only chance of bringing out what is here a forced play upon words.

The universe is very beautiful, yet it says nothing.

The four seasons abide by a fixed law, yet they are not heard. All creation is based upon absolute principles, yet nothing speaks.

The universe is very beautiful, yet it says nothing.

The four seasons abide by a fixed law, yet they are not heard.

All creation is based upon absolute principles, yet nothing speaks.

"

Light is born of darkness.

Classification is born of formlessness. The soul is born of Tao. The body is born of the vital essence.

"Light is born of darkness.

Classification is born of formlessness.

The soul is born of Tao. The body is born of the vital essence.

"Light is born of darkness. Classification is born of formlessness.

The soul is born of Tao.

The body is born of the vital essence.

"Light is born of darkness. Classification is born of formlessness. The soul is born of Tao. The body is born of the vital essence.

Existence springs from non-existence.

"Thus all things produce after their kind. Creatures with nine channels of communication are born from the womb. Creatures with eight are born from the egg.

"

Heaven cannot but be high.

Earth cannot but be broad. The sun and moon cannot but revolve. All creation cannot but flourish. To do so is their Tao.

"Heaven cannot but be high.

Earth cannot but be broad.

The sun and moon cannot but revolve. All creation cannot but flourish. To do so is their Tao.

"Heaven cannot but be high. Earth cannot but be broad.

The sun and moon cannot but revolve.

All creation cannot but flourish. To do so is their Tao.

"Heaven cannot but be high. Earth cannot but be broad. The sun and moon cannot but revolve.

All creation cannot but flourish.

To do so is their Tao.

"

Man passes through this sublunary life as a white horse passes a crack.

Here one moment, gone the next. Neither are there any not equally subject to the ingress and egress of mortality. One modification brings life; then another, and it is death. Living creatures cry out; human beings sorrow. The bow-sheath is slipped off;

"Not to know," replied No-beginning, "is profound. To know is shallow.

Not to know is internal.

To know is external."

"Not to know," replied No-beginning, "is profound. To know is shallow. Not to know is internal.

To know is external.

"

You have passed from "simple apprehension" to "judgment."

There is no past, no present, no beginning, no end.

To-day will be the yesterday of to-morrow.

"

The best language is that which is not spoken, the best form of action is that which is without deeds.

Then conformity and adaptation are not required.

"Come here, my children," said Kêng Sang Ch'u. "A beast big enough to swallow a cart, if it wanders alone from the hills, will not escape the sorrow of the snare.

A fish big enough to gulp down a boat, if stranded on the dry shore will become a prey to ants.

Therefore it is that birds and beasts love height, and fishes and turtles love depth. And the man who cares for himself hides his body. He loves the occult.

"When I saw you," said Lao Tzŭ, "I knew in the twinkling of an eye what was the matter with you. And now what you say confirms my view. You are confused, as a child that has lost its parents.

You would fathom the sea with a pole.

You are astray. You are struggling to get back to your natural self, but cannot find the way. Alas! alas!"

"To study this is to study what cannot be learnt. To practise this is to practise what cannot be accomplished. To discuss this is to discuss what can never be proved.

Let knowledge stop at the unknowable.

That is perfection. And for those who do not follow this, God will destroy them!

"

There is no weapon so deadly as man's will.

Excalibur is second to it. There is no bandit so powerful as Nature.

"There is no weapon so deadly as man's will. Excalibur is second to it.

There is no bandit so powerful as Nature.

The interaction of the Positive and Negative principles, which produces the visible universe.

In the whole universe there is no escape from it.

Yet it is not Nature which does the injury.

It is man's own heart.

In the whole universe there is no escape from it. Yet it is not Nature which does the injury.

It is man's own heart.

"Tao informs its own subdivisions, their successes and their failures. What is feared in subdivision is separation.

"

Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end.

There is existence without limitation; there is continuity without a starting-point. Existence without limitation is Space. Continuity without a starting-point is Time. There is birth, there is death, there is issuing forth, there is entering in.

"

Man's life is as the soot on a kettle.

Yet men speak of the subjective point of view. But this subjective point of view will not bear the test. It is a point of knowledge we cannot reach.

Your Highness is the ruler of a large State, and you oppress the whole population thereof in order to satisfy your sensualities. But your soul is not a party to this.

The soul loves harmony and hates disorder.

For disorder is a disease. Therefore I came to sympathise. How is it that your Highness alone is suffering?"

If schemers have nothing to give them anxiety, they are not happy. If dialecticians have not their premisses and conclusion, they are not happy. If critics have none on whom to vent their spleen, they are not happy.

Such men are the slaves of objective existences.

Those who attract the sympathies of the world, start new dynasties. Those who win the people's hearts, take high official rank. Those who are strong undertake difficulties. Those who are brave encounter dangers. Men of arms delight in war.

Thus, men are always doing something; inaction is to them impossible. They observe in this the same regularity as the seasons, ever without change.

They hurry to destruction, dissipating in all directions their vital forces, alas! never to return.

Chuang Tzŭ said, "If archers who aimed at nothing and hit something were accounted good shots, everybody in the world would be another Yi.

"

To share one's virtue with others is called true wisdom. To share one's wealth with others is reckoned meritorious.

To exhibit superior merit is not the way to win men's hearts. To exhibit inferior merit is the way. There are things in the State he does not hear; there are things in the family he does not see.

"To share one's virtue with others is called true wisdom. To share one's wealth with others is reckoned meritorious.

To exhibit superior merit is not the way to win men's hearts. To exhibit inferior merit is the way.

There are things in the State he does not hear; there are things in the family he does not see.

"

The sea does not reject the streams which flow eastward into it. Therefore it is immeasurably great.

The true Sage folds the universe in his bosom. His good influence benefits all throughout the empire, without respect to persons. Born without rank, he dies without titles. He does not take credit for realities.

"

A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker.

A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker. How much less in the case of greatness? And if doing great things is not enough to secure greatness, how much less shall it secure virtue?

"He who understands greatness in this sense, seeks nothing, loses nothing, rejects nothing, never suffers injury from without.

He takes refuge in his own inexhaustibility. He finds safety in according with his nature.

This is the essence of true greatness."

"

There is no difficulty in winning the people. Love them and they will draw near.

Profit them and they will come up. Praise them and they will vie with one another. But introduce something they dislike, and they will be gone.

"

The foot treads the ground in walking; nevertheless it is the ground not trodden on which makes up the good walk.

A man's knowledge is limited; but it is upon what he does not know that he depends to extend his knowledge to the apprehension of God.

"

The old country, the old home, gladden a wanderer's eyes. Nay, though nine-tenths of it be a howling wilderness, still his eye will be glad.

How much more to see sight and hear hearing, from a lofty dais suspended in their very midst!"

"Not so the rulers of to-day. They conceal a thing and blame those who cannot see it. They impose dangerous tasks and punish those who dare not undertake them.

They inflict heavy burdens and chastise those who cannot bear them. They ordain long marches and slay those who cannot make them.

"And the people, feeling that their powers are inadequate, have recourse to fraud. For when there is so much fraud about,

"Not so the rulers of to-day.

They conceal a thing and blame those who cannot see it. They impose dangerous tasks and punish those who dare not undertake them.

They inflict heavy burdens and chastise those who cannot bear them. They ordain long marches and slay those who cannot make them.

reached his sixtieth year, he changed his opinions. What he had previously regarded as right, he now came to regard as wrong.

But who shall say whether the right of to-day may not be as wrong as the wrong of the previous fifty-nine years?

Things are produced around us, but no one knows the whence. They issue forth, but no one sees the portal. Men one and all value that part of knowledge which is known.

Things are produced around us, but no one knows the whence. They issue forth, but no one sees the portal.

Men one and all value that part of knowledge which is known. They do not know how to avail themselves of the unknown in order to reach knowledge.

Is not this misguided?

"

Similarly, a mountain is high because of its individual particles. A river is large because of its individual drops.

And he is a just man who regards all parts from the point of view of the whole.

"

Thus, in regard to the views of others, he holds his own opinion, but not obstinately. In regard to his own views, while conscious of their truth, he does not despise the opinions of others.

"The four seasons have different characteristics, but God shows no preference for either, and therefore we have the year complete.

Nunc mihi, nunc alio, benigna.

He who obstinately views things from his own standpoint only, may be right in one case and wrong in another.

Just as in a great jungle all kinds of shrubs are found together; or as on a mountain you see trees and stones indiscriminately mixed,—so is what we call society."

The essence of each can be verified. There is regular movement forward, modified by deflection into a curve. Exhaustion leads to renewal. The end introduces a new beginning. This is the law of material existences.

The force of language, the reach of knowledge, cannot pass beyond the bounds of such material existences.

The disciple of Tao refrains from prying into the states after or before. Human speculation stops short of this."

"Let me explain.

The infinitely small is inappreciable; the infinitely great is immeasurable.

Chance and Predestination must refer to the conditioned. Consequently, both are wrong.

"Were language adequate, it would take but a day to fully set forth Tao. Not being adequate, it takes that time to explain material existences.

Tao is something beyond material existences. It cannot be conveyed either by words or by silence.

In that state which is neither speech nor silence, its transcendental nature may be apprehended."

"In spite of the highest wisdom, there are countless snares to be avoided; If a fish has not to fear nets, there are always pelicans.

Get rid of small wisdom, and great wisdom will shine upon you. Put away goodness and you will be naturally good.

A child does not learn to speak because taught by professors of the art, but because it lives among people who can themselves speak."

If a fish has not to fear nets, there are always pelicans. Get rid of small wisdom, and great wisdom will shine upon you. Put away goodness and you will be naturally good.

A child does not learn to speak because taught by professors of the art, but because it lives among people who can themselves speak.

"

"

You must understand the useless," replied Chuang Tzŭ, "before you can discuss the useful.

"For instance, the earth is of huge proportions, yet man uses of it only as much as is covered by the sole of his foot. By and by, he turns up his toes and goes beneath it to the Yellow Spring.

"

Man has for himself a spacious domain. His mind may roam to heaven.

If there is no room in the house, the wife and her mother-in-law run against one another. If the mind cannot roam to heaven, the faculties will be in a state of antagonism.

"

Ill-regulated virtue ends in reputation. Ill-regulated reputation ends in notoriety.

Scheming leads to confusion. Knowledge begets contentions. Obstinacy produces stupidity. Organised government is for the general good of all.

"Ill-regulated virtue ends in reputation. Ill-regulated reputation ends in notoriety.

Scheming leads to confusion. Knowledge begets contentions.

Obstinacy produces stupidity. Organised government is for the general good of all.

"The raison d'être of a fish-trap is the fish. When the fish is caught, the trap may be ignored. The raison d'être of a rabbit-snare is the rabbit. When the rabbit is caught the snare may be ignored.

The raison d'être of language is an idea to be expressed. When the idea is expressed, the language may be ignored.

But where shall I find a man to ignore language, with whom I may be able to converse?"

The raison d'être of a rabbit-snare is the rabbit. When the rabbit is caught the snare may be ignored. The raison d'être of language is an idea to be expressed. When the idea is expressed, the language may be ignored.

But where shall I find a man to ignore language, with whom I may be able to converse?

"

"You have an overbearing look," said Lao Tzŭ. "Who would live with such a man?

He who is truly pure behaves as though he were sullied. He who has virtue in abundance behaves as though it were not enough.

"

In summer I wear grass-cloth. In spring I plough and sow, toiling with my body. In autumn I gather in the harvest, and devote myself to rest and enjoyment. At dawn I go to work; at sunset I leave off.

Contented with my lot I pass through life with a light heart.

Why then should I trouble myself with the empire? Ah, Sir, you do not know me."

And the world of course laughs at them. Why?

Because they sacrifice the greater to get the less. But surely life is of more importance even than the prince's pearl!

Lieh Tzŭ was poor. His face wore a hungry look.

"I have heard," replied Yüan Hsien, "that he who is without wealth is called poor, and that he who learns without being able to practise is said to have something the matter with him.

Now I am merely poor; I have nothing the matter with me.

"

"Bravo! well said!" cried Confucius with beaming countenance. "

I have heard say that those who are contented do not entangle themselves in the pursuit of gain. That those who have really obtained do not fear the contingency of loss.

That those who devote themselves to cultivation of the inner man, though occupying no position, feel no shame. Thus indeed I have long preached. Only now, that I have seen Yen Hui, am I conscious of the realisation of these words."

"Therefore it is that by cultivation of the inner man there is no failure in Tao, and when danger comes there is no loss of virtue.

It is the chill winter weather, it is frost, it is snow, which bring out the luxuriance of the pine and the fir.

See Lun Yü, ix, 27.

At this Tzŭ Lu hastily seized a shield and began dancing to the music, while Tzŭ Kung said, "I had no idea of the height of heaven and of the depth of earth."

The ancients who attained Tao were equally happy under success and failure. Their happiness had nothing to do with their failure or their success.

Tao once attained, failure and success became mere links in a chain, like cold, heat, wind, and rain. Thus Hsü Yu enjoyed himself at Ying-yang, and Kung Poh found happiness on the hill-top.

The height and the beauty which you praise in me are legacies from my parents. Even though you did not praise them, do you think I should be ignorant of their existence?

Besides, those who flatter to the face speak evil behind the back.

Now all you have been saying about the great State and its numerous population simply means squaring me by offers as though one of the common herd. And of course it would not last.

"

A petty thief," replied Man Kou Tê, "is put in gaol. A great brigand becomes ruler of a State.

And among the retainers of the latter, men of virtue will be found.

"

Happiness," said Complacency, "is to be found in contentment. Too much is always a curse, most of all in wealth.

"The ears of the wealthy man ring with sounds of sweet music. His palate is cloyed with rich meats and wine. In the pursuit of pleasure, business is forgotten. This is confusion.

"

Having no use for the money he has collected, he still hugs it to him and cannot bear to part with it.

His heart is inflamed, and he ever seeks to add more to the pile. This is unhappiness.

"

To know one's faults but not to correct them, to receive admonition but only to plunge deeper,—this is obstinacy.

"To suffer those who are like oneself, but as for those unlike not to credit them with the virtues they really possess,—this is bigotry.

"

Real mourning grieves in silence. Real anger awes without expression.

Real friendship is unison without the aid of smiles. Our emotions are dependent upon the original purity within; and accordingly we hold the latter in esteem.

"Real mourning grieves in silence. Real anger awes without expression.

Real friendship is unison without the aid of smiles.

Our emotions are dependent upon the original purity within; and accordingly we hold the latter in esteem.

"

The shrewd grow weary, the wise grieve.

Those who are without abilities have no ambitions. With full bellies they roam happily about, like drifting boats, not caring whither they are bound."

Various interpretations of this simile are given: none satisfactory. E.g. (1) Like a dry cone. (2) Which another has planted and reared.

Verily God does not reward man for what he does, but for what he is.

I.e. for the natural, not for the artificial.

Hence the saying that the men of to-day are all Huans.

Wherefore it follows that men of true virtue are unconscious of its possession.

How much more then the man of Tao? This is what the ancients called escaping the vengeance of God.

Which would be incurred by aping his goodness.

The true Sage rests in that which gives rest, and not in that which does not give rest. The world rests in that which does not give rest, and not in that which does give rest.

The natural and the artificial.

Chuang Tzŭ said, "

To know Tao is easy. The difficulty lies in the elimination of speech.

To know Tao without speech appertains to the natural. To know Tao with speech appertains to the artificial. The men of old were natural, not artificial.

"

The true Sage regards certainties as uncertainties; therefore he is never up in arms.

In a state of mental disturbance.

"

Alas! man's knowledge reaches to the hair on a hair, but not to eternal peace.

"

"

External punishments are inflicted by metal and wood. Internal punishments are inflicted by anxiety and remorse.

Fools who incur external punishment are treated with metal or wood. Those who incur internal punishment are devoured by the conflict of emotions. It is only the pure and perfect man who can succeed in avoiding both."

Confucius said, "

The heart of man is more dangerous than mountains and rivers, more difficult to understand than Heaven itself.

Heaven has its periods of spring, summer, autumn, winter, daytime and night. Man has an impenetrable exterior, and his motives are inscrutable. Thus some men appear to be retiring when they are really forward. Others have abilities, yet appear to be worthless.

"

There is nothing more fatal than intentional virtue, when the mind looks outwards.

Spontaneity is the essence of real virtue.

"

Modesty, compliance, humility,—these three are sure roads to success.

"Wisdom manifests itself in the external.

"If you adopt, as absolute, a standard of evenness which is so only relatively, your results will not be absolutely even. If you adopt, as absolute, a criterion of right which is so only relatively, your results will not be absolutely right.

Those who trust to their senses become slaves to objective existences. Those alone who are guided by their intuitions find the true standard.

So far are the senses less reliable than the intuitions. Yet fools trust to their senses to know what is good for mankind, with alas! but external results."

… universe the principles which underlie all creation, the position occupied by the ancients in reference to the beauty of the universe, and the limits of the supernatural,—it follows that the Tao of inner wisdom and of outer strength is obscured and prevented from asserting itself.

Every one alas! regards the course he prefers as the infallible course.

The various schools diverge never to meet again; and posterity is debarred from viewing the original purity of the universe and the grandeur of the ancients. For the system of Tao is scattered in fragments over the face of the earth.

"

Move when pushed, come when dragged. Be like a whirling gale, like a feather in the wind, like a mill-stone going round.

The mill-stone as an existence is perfectly harmless. In motion or at rest it does no more than is required, and cannot therefore incur blame.

Kuan Yin said, "

Adopt no absolute position. Let externals take care of themselves.

In motion, be like water. At rest, like a mirror.

Kuan Yin said, "Adopt no absolute position. Let externals take care of themselves.

In motion, be like water. At rest, like a mirror.

Receptive, but not permanently so.

Receptive, but not permanently so.

Be subtle, as though non-existent. Be still, as though pure.

Regard uniformity as peace. Look on gain as loss. Do not precede others. Follow them."

Be subtle, as though non-existent. Be still, as though pure. Regard uniformity as peace. Look on gain as loss.

Do not precede others. Follow them.

"