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Zhuangzi Chapter 7 ~ Responding to (Complying with) Emperors and Kings |
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Nie Que (Cracked and Missing Teeth) asked Wang Ni (Master of Bewilderment) four questions, and four times he (Wang Ni) said he didn't know. Nie Que jumped up with great delight and ran to tell Pu Yi Zi (Mr. Cattail Coat) about it. Pu Yi Zi said: "Is this something new to you? Clansman You Yu (Emperor Shun) wasn't as good as Clansman Tai (a legendary ruler, possibly Fu Xi). As for Clansman You Yu, he still hid behind benevolence in order to coerce people. In that way he got what he wanted from the people, but he could never give up seeing the faults of people. As for Clansman Tai, he would lie down completely at ease and wake up refreshed. In one moment he could become a horse and in the next moment become an ox. His knowledge was sensitively honesty, his virtue was extremely genuine, and he'd never even consider the faults of others." Jian Wu went to see Kuang Jie Yu (Lunatic Hit by a Chariot). Kuang Jie Yu asked: "What did Ri Zhong Shi (Sleeps Until Midday) tell you?" Jian Wu replied: "He told me that a ruler should wrap himself up in what has been prescribed as righteousness to the fullest degree. People wouldn't dare to ignore what he said and would all be transformed!" Jie Yu said: "That would be like browbeating them with virtue. If that's the way someone tries to govern the world, it would be like trying to wade across the ocean, trying to carve a channel through a river or trying to make a mosquito carry a mountain on its back. If a wise person were to set out to govern anything, would they simply expect to see an outer appearance of compliance? Things may appear to be attuned, but are they really? Then one may simply look for proper behavior and stop there. Moreover, a bird can soar very high to avoid being harmed by an arrow. A gopher can dig very deep into the earth beneath a sacred hill to avoid the risk of being dug up. There was a time those two creatures didn't need to have that kind of knowledge." Tian Gen (Firmly Planted in the Heavens) was traveling along the sunny side of a fertile hill. When he reached the top of a foaming waterfall, he came upon a nondescript man and asked: "Excuse me, but may I ask you about how one can govern the world?" The nondescript man replied: "Go away! You're a despicable person to have the nerve to ask me about something so unpleasant. I was just about to give myself over to the creator of things. Once I'm satisfied with that, I can become like a small bird and peek through tall grass, not be restrained by the six directions, and travel around without wondering where my neighborhood is. Wherever I happen to be at the moment would be like an open countryside. Why would you come around here asking me about setting the world in order as though I have any feelings in my heart about that?" He (Tian Gen) repeated the question, so the nondescript man said: "You wander light-heartedly, adopt an indifferent attitude, spontaneously go along with things and don't hold on to your self-image. Then the world would be governed properly." Yang Zi Ju went to see Lao Dan (Laozi) and said: "There's a person around here who can come down with any sort of illness yet remain as strong as a roof beam. Whoever tries to get to him, he can easily diffuse their intensity. He never tires in his learning about Dao. Could he be compared with the enlightened kings?" Lao Dan replied: "From the viewpoint of a Sage, even a petty person could easily practice those methods. That kind of person could exhaust their body and still have a frustrated heart. Besides that, it's the beautiful markings on tigers and leopards that cause them to be hunted. Because a monkey is easily trained and a yak is obedient, they're both captured and taken advantage of. Can those be compared with the enlightened kings?" This unsettled Yang Zi Ju, who then asked: "Can I ask you about the way the enlightened kings ruled?" Lao Dan replied: "The enlightened kings ruled by being able to prevail over the entire world but having no sense of their own self-importance. They were able to change the way all living things dealt with each other, but without requiring the people to depend on them. They had no reason to boost their own self-worth, thus caused things to realize their own happiness. They stood on what happens naturally, and wandered without a sense of their own existence." In the state of Zheng there was a sorcerer called Ji Xian (One Who Can Influence the Seasons). He knew when a person would die or be born; who would survive and who would perish; who would be punished and who would receive blessings; who would live a long life and who would die young. He could predict those things and pinpoint them to the year, month and day - as though he was truly connected with some spiritual force. When the people of Zheng saw him, they'd all run away as he approached. When Lie Zi saw him, he was fascinated, and went to tell Hu Zi (Lie Zi's teacher) about it: "At first I thought I could reach perfection by using your methods, Master. Then I came across someone who's even more perfected." Hu Zi said: "I've already shared with you the literature, but haven't yet shared its practical applications, and yet you're so sure you've grasped Dao. With a coop full of chickens but no fertile male, what kind of eggs would be produced? By trying to adapt Dao to the exaggerations of this generation, in an effort to get them to believe in it, it's no wonder you're so easily taken in by other people. Try to get this guy to come over here with you so I can see what he's up to." The next day Lie Zi brought him to see Hu Zi. When they left, he (Ji Xian) told Lie Zi: "Oh dear! Sir, your Master is on the verge of death. He won't live much longer - probably not for more than ten days. I saw something so strange about him - he looked like wet ashes." Lie Zi went back into the house, crying so hard that his tears drenched the front of his shirt while he was telling Hu Zi what had been said. Hu Zi said: "While he was here I appeared to him like patterns on the earth - like a field of grass that's unmoving with the blades bent over. He probably saw that my natural workings were out of whack. Try to bring him back to see me again." The next day both of them came back to see Hu Zi. When they left, he (Ji Xian) told Lie Zi: "What good luck that your Master had a chance to meet me! He's been completely healed, and now he's going to live! I can see that those obstructions he was experiencing were only temporary." Lie Zi went back into the house and related this to Hu Zi. Hu Zi said: "While he was here I appeared to him like dust in the sky. I wasn't concerned with fame or possessions, and all of my inner workings hummed like a fine machine. He probably saw that everything in me was working in fine order. Try to bring him back to see me again." The next day both of them came back to see Hu Zi. When they left, he (Ji Xian) told Lie Zi: "Sir, your Master is in disorder. I can't make heads or tails out of his condition. When he stabilizes a little, let me come back and check on him." Lie Zi went back into the house and related this to Hu Zi. Hu Zi said: "This time I appeared to him like a large pipe in which nothing can become clogged. He probably saw that there was nothing within me to be diagnosed. A large fish can be examined in a deep pond. Still water can be examined in a deep pond. Flowing water can be examined in a deep pond. There are nine ways a deep pond can be be examined, and those are three of them. Try to bring him back to see me again." The next day both of them came back to see Hu Zi. Before he had a chance to get settled, the man lost his composure and ran off. Hu Zi said: "Go find him!" Lie Zi ran after him, but couldn't catch up, so he returned and told Hu Zi: "He's already taken off, and I can't find him anywhere." Hu Zi said: "This time I appeared to him as though I hadn't yet been associated with any known species. I made myself completely empty and compliant, without having a clue as to who I was, making myself like the wind or like a wave on the ocean. That's why he ran away." After this happened Lie Zi considered himself to not yet have learned anything and decided to make a fresh start. For three years he didn't go anywhere. He spent time cooking at his wife's oven, and feeding the pigs in the same way he would feed people. He had no outside relationships with the affairs of others. He spent his time carving figurines and returning to a simple life. Becoming like a clod of dirt, he only used his form as a means to stand erect. He saw disorder and rectification as one and the same until the end of his days. Without seeking to become famous after death; Without seeking to become a scheming politician; Without seeking to become an event planner; Without seeking to become a smart ruler; Endlessly allowing the body to be guided by the spirit within, and wandering without a purpose; Endlessly receiving from the heavens, and not looking for results; Allowing emptiness to be regained - and that's all. A perfected person's attention is like a mirror. Without a will or a face of its own. Free flowing and unhidden. In that way they have the ability to win over things without harming them. The emperor of Nan Hai (the South Sea) is known as Shu (The Fixer). The emperor of Bei Hai (the North Sea) is known as Hu (Nonchalant). The emperor of what lies between the two extremes is known as Hun Dun (Chaos [the primordial blob out of which heaven and earth divided] ). The Fixer and Nonchalant often met with each other on the territory of Chaos, and Chaos was very considerate towards them. The Fixer and Nonchalant were trying to figure out a way to repay Chaos for his kindness. "People all have seven apertures so they can see, hear, eat and breathe. He's the only one without them, so let's try and bore some for him." Each day they bore one aperture into him. On the seventh day Chaos died. | Zhuangzi Translation | Glossary/Index A to N | Glossary/Index P to Z | ZZ Links | | Return Home | Laozi's Dao De Jing | Your Dao De Jing | Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) | Links | Meditation | Dao (Tao) is Open Forum | Book List | Other Stuff | |
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