for charity and duty to one's neighbour in order to secure the empire, men have devoted their lives to the pursuit thereof. Is it not then charity and duty to one's neighbour which change the nature of man?
Therefore I have tried to show that from the time of the Three Dynasties it has always been the external which has changed the nature of man. If a mean man, he will die for gain. If a superior man, he will die for fame. If a man of rank, he will die for his ancestral honours.
If a Sage, he will die for the world. The pursuits and ambitions of these men differ, but the injury to their natures involved in the sacrifice of their lives is the same.
Tsang and Ku were shepherds, both of whom lost their flocks. On inquiry, it appeared that Tsang had been engaged in reading, while Ku had gone to take part in some trials of strength. Their occupations had been different, but the result was in each case loss of the sheep.
Poh I died for fame at the foot of Mount Shou-yang.
See ch. vi.
Robber Chê died for gain on Mount T'ai.
Robber Chê has a chapter to himself, from which, though spurious, it may be gathered that he was a very remarkable personage in his day.
Mount T'ai has been mentioned in ch. i.
Their deaths were not the same, but the injury to their lives and natures was in each case the same. How then can we applaud the former and blame the latter?
And so, if a man dies for charity and duty to his neighbour the world calls him a noble fellow; but if he dies for gain, the world calls him a low fellow. The dying being the same, one is nevertheless called noble and the other low. But in point of injury to life and nature, the robber Chê and Poh I are one. Where then does the distinction of noble and low come in?
Were a man to apply himself to charity and duty towards his neighbour until he were the equal of Tsêng or Shih, this would not be what I mean by perfection. Or to flavours, until he were the equal of Yü Erh.
Probably identical with I Ya, the Soyer of China.
Or to sounds, until he were the equal of Shih K'uang. Or to colours, until he were the equal of Li Chu. What I mean by perfection is not what is meant by charity and duty to one's neighbour. It is found in the cultivation of TAO. And those whom I regard as cultivators of TAO are not those who cultivate charity and duty to one's neighbour. They are those who yield to the natural conditions of things. What I call perfection of hearing is not hearing others but oneself. What I call perfection of vision is not seeing others but oneself.
A saying attributed by Han Fei Tzŭ to Lao Tzŭ:--"To see oneself is to be clear of sight." See _The Remains of Lao Tzŭ_, p. 18.
For a man who sees not himself but others, takes not possession of himself but of others, thus taking what others should take and not what he himself should take.
Multi sunt, qui urbes, qui populos habuere in potestate, paucissimi, qui se.
Instead of being himself, he in fact becomes some one else. And if a man thus becomes some one else instead of himself, this is a fatal error of which both the robber Chê and Poh I can be equally guilty.
And so, conscious of my own deficiency in regard to TAO, I do not venture at my best to practise the principles of charity and duty to my neighbour, nor at my worst to fall into the fatal error above-mentioned.
CHAPTER IX.
HORSES' HOOFS.
_Argument_:--Superiority of the natural over the artificial--Application of this principle to government.
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.
* * * * * One day Poh Loh A Chinese Rarey, of somewhat legendary character.
appeared, saying, "I understand the management of horses."
So he branded them, and clipped them, and pared their hoofs, and put halters on them, tying them up by the head and shackling them by the feet, and disposing them in stables, with the result that two or three in every ten died. Then he kept them hungry and thirsty, trotting them and galloping them, and grooming, and trimming, with the misery of the tasselled bridle before and the fear of the knotted whip behind, until more than half of them were dead.
The potter says, "I can do what I will with clay. If I want it round, I use compasses; if rectangular, a square."
The carpenter says, "I can do what I will with wood. If I want it curved, I use an arc; if straight, a line."
But on what grounds can we think that the natures of clay and wood desire this application of compasses and square, of arc and line?
Nevertheless, every age extols Poh Loh for his skill in managing horses, and potters and carpenters for their skill with clay and wood.
Those who _govern_ the empire make the same mistake.
Now I regard government of the empire from quite a different point of view.
The people have certain natural instincts;--to weave and clothe themselves, to till and feed themselves. These are common to all humanity, and all are agreed thereon. Such instincts are called "Heaven-sent."
And so in the days when natural instincts prevailed, men moved quietly and gazed steadily. At that time, there were no roads over mountains, nor boats, nor bridges over water. All things were produced, each for its own proper sphere. Birds and beasts multiplied; trees and shrubs grew up. The former might be led by the hand; you could climb up and peep into the raven's nest. For then man dwelt with birds and beasts, and all creation was one. There were no distinctions of good and bad men. Being all equally without knowledge, their virtue could not go astray. Being all equally without evil desires, they were in a state of natural integrity, the perfection of human existence.
But when Sages appeared, tripping people over charity and fettering with duty to one's neighbour, doubt found its way into the world. And then with their gushing over music and fussing over ceremony, the empire became divided against itself.
Music and ceremonies are important factors in the Confucian system of government.
Were the natural integrity of things left unharmed, who could make sacrificial vessels? Were white jade left unbroken, who could make the regalia of courts? Were Tao not abandoned, who could introduce charity and duty to one's neighbour? Were man's natural instincts his guide, what need would there be for music and ceremonies? Were the five colours not confused, who would practise decoration? Were the five notes not confused, who would adopt the six pitch-pipes?
See chs. viii and x.
Destruction of the natural integrity of things, in order to produce articles of various kinds,--this is the fault of the artisan.
Annihilation of TAO in order to practise charity and duty to one's neighbour,--this is the error of the Sage.
Horses live on dry land, eat grass and drink water. When pleased, they rub their necks together. When angry, they turn around and kick up their heels at each other. Thus far only do their natural dispositions carry them. But bridled and bitted, with a plate of metal on their foreheads, they learn to cast vicious looks, to turn the head to bite, to resist, to get the bit out of the mouth or the bridle into it. And thus their natures become depraved,--the fault of Poh Loh.
* * * * * In the days of Ho Hsü A legendary ruler of old.
the people did nothing in particular when at rest, and went nowhere in particular when they moved. Having food, they rejoiced; having full bellies, they strolled about. Such were the capacities of the people.
But when the Sages came to worry them with ceremonies and music in order to rectify the form of government, and dangled charity and duty to one's neighbour before them in order to satisfy their hearts,--then the people began to develop a taste for knowledge and to struggle one with the other in their desire for gain. This was the error of the Sages.
The simplicity of style, and general intelligibility of this chapter have raised doubts as to its genuineness. But as Lin Hsi Chung justly observes, its sympathetic tone in relation to dumb animals, stamps it, in spite of an undue proportion of word to thought, as beyond reach of the forger's art.
CHAPTER X.
OPENING TRUNKS.
_Argument_:--All restrictions artificial, and therefore deceptive--Only by shaking off such fetters, and reverting to the natural, can man hope to attain.
The precautions taken against thieves who open trunks, search bags, or ransack tills, consist of securing with cords and fastening with bolts and locks. This is what the world calls wit.
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 can this be shown?--In the State of Ch'i a man used to be able to see from one town to the next, and hear the barking and crowing of its dogs and cocks.
So near were they. This sentence has been incorporated in ch. LXXX of the _Tao-Tê-Ching_. See _The Remains of Lao Tzŭ_, p. 50.
The area covered by the nets of fishermen and fowlers, and pricked by the plough, was a square of two thousand and odd _li_.
Of which three go to a mile, roughly. This statement is intended to convey an idea of prosperity.
And within its four boundaries not a temple or shrine was dedicated, nor a district or hamlet governed, but in accordance with the rules laid down by the Sages.
Yet one morning B.C. 481.
T'ien Ch'êng Tzŭ slew the Prince of Ch'i, and stole his kingdom. And not his kingdom only, but the wisdom-tricks which he had got from the Sages as well; so that although T'ien Ch'êng Tzŭ acquired the reputation of a thief, he lived as comfortably as ever did either Yao or Shun. The small States did not venture to blame, nor the great States to punish him; and so for twelve generations his descendants ruled over Ch'i.
Commentators have failed to explain away this last sentence. On the strength of an obvious anachronism, some have written off the whole chapter as a forgery; but the general style of argument is against this view.
Was not this stealing the State of Ch'i and the wisdom-tricks of the Sages as well in order to secure himself from the consequences of such theft?
This amounts to what I have already said, namely that nothing of what the world esteems great wit is otherwise than serviceable to strong thieves, and that nothing of what the world calls great wisdom is other than a protection to strong thieves.
Let us take another example. Of old, Lung Fêng was beheaded, Pi Kan was disembowelled, Chang Hung was sliced to death, Tzŭ Hsü was chopped to mince-meat.
The first two have been already mentioned in ch. iv. Chang Hung was minister to Prince Ling of the Chou dynasty. Tzŭ Hsü was a name of the famous Wu Yüan, prime minister of the Ch'u State, whose corpse is said to have been sewn up in a sack and thrown into the river near Soochow.
All these four were Sages, but their wisdom could not preserve them from death.
In fact, it rather hastened their ends.
An apprentice to Robber Chê asked him saying, "Is there then TAO in thieving?"
"Pray tell me of something in which there is not TAO," Chê replied.
"There is the _wisdom_ by which booty is located. The _courage_ to go in first, and the _heroism_ of coming out last. There is the _shrewdness_ of calculating success, and _justice_ in the equal division of the spoil. There has never yet been, a great robber who was not possessed of these five."
Thus the doctrine of the Sages is equally indispensable to good men and to Chê. But good men are scarce and bad men plentiful, so that the good the Sages do to the world is little and the evil great.
Therefore it has been said, "If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold." It was the thinness of the wine of Lu which caused the siege of Han Tan.
The prince of Ch'u held an assembly, to which the princes of Lu and Chao brought presents of wine. That of Lu was poor stuff, while the wine of Chao was rich and generous. Because, however, the Master of the Cellar to the prince of Ch'u failed to get a bribe of wine from the prince of Chao, he maliciously changed the presents; and the prince of Ch'u, displeased at what he regarded as an insult, shortly after laid siege to Han Tan, the chief city of Chao.
It was the appearance of Sages which caused the appearance of great robbers.
Drive out the Sages and leave the robbers alone,--then only will the empire be governed. As when the stream ceases the gully dries up, and when the hill is levelled the chasm is filled; so when Sages are extinct, there will be no more robbers, but the empire will rest in peace.
On the other hand, unless Sages disappear, neither will great robbers disappear; nor if you double the number of Sages wherewithal to govern the empire will you do more than double the profits of Robber Chê.
If pecks and bushels are used for measurement, they will also be stolen.
There will simply be something more to steal.
If scales and steelyards are used for weighing, they will also be stolen. If tallies and signets are used for good faith, they will also be stolen. If charity and duty to one's neighbour are used for rectification, they will also be stolen.
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?
So it is that to attempt to drive out great robbers Who steal States.
is simply to help them to steal principalities, charity, duty to one's neighbour, together with measures, scales, tallies, and signets. No reward of official regalia and uniform will dissuade, nor dread of sharp instruments of punishment will deter such men from their course.
These do but double the profits of robbers like Chê, and make it impossible to get rid of them,--for which the Sages are responsible.
Therefore it has been said, "Fishes cannot be taken away from water: the instruments of government cannot be delegated to others."
These words were uttered by Lao Tzŭ. So say Han Fei Tzŭ and Huai Nan Tzŭ. They have been incorporated in ch. xxxvi of the _Tao-Tê-Ching_.
In the wisdom of Sages the instruments of government are found. This wisdom is not fit for enlightening the world.
Away then with wisdom and knowledge, and great robbers will disappear!
Discard jade and destroy pearls, and petty thieves will cease to exist.
Burn tallies and break signets, and the people will revert to their natural integrity. Split measures and smash scales, and the people will not fight over quantities. Utterly abolish all the restrictions of Sages, and the people will begin to be fit for the reception of TAO.
Confuse the six pitch-pipes, break up organs and flutes, stuff up the ears of Shih K'uang,--and each man will keep his own sense of hearing to himself.
Put an end to decoration, disperse the five categories of colour, glue up the eyes of Li Chu,--and each man will keep his own sense of sight to himself.
Destroy arcs and lines, fling away square and compasses, snap off the fingers of Kung Ch'ui,-- A famous artisan who could draw an exact circle with his unaided hand.
and each man will use his own natural skill.
Wherefore the saying, "Great skill is as clumsiness."
Extremes meet. These words are attributed to Lao Tzŭ by Huai Nan Tzŭ, and are incorporated in ch. xlv of the _Tao-Tê-Ching_.
Restrain the actions of Tsêng and Shih, stop the mouths of Yang and Mih, get rid of charity and duty to one's neighbour,--and the virtue of the people will become one with God.
If each man keeps to himself his own sense of sight, the world will escape confusion. If each man keeps to himself his own sense of hearing, the world will escape entanglements. If each man keeps his knowledge to himself, the world will escape doubt. If each man keeps his own virtue to himself, the world will avoid deviation from the true path.
Tsêng, Shih, Yang, Mih, Shih K'uang, Kung Ch'ui, and Li Chu, all set up their virtue outside themselves and involve the world in such angry discussions that nothing definite is accomplished.
Have you never heard of the Golden Age,-- This question must be addressed to the reader.
the days of Yung Ch'êng, Ta T'ing, Poh Huang, Chung Yang, Li Lu, Li Hsü, Hsien Yüan, Hê Hsü, Tsun Lu, Chu Yung, Fu Hsi, and Shên Nung?
Ancient rulers, several of whom have already been mentioned.
Then the people used knotted cords.
As a means of intercommunication. The details of the system have not, however, come down to us.
They were contented with what food and raiment they could get. They lived simple and peaceful lives. Neighbouring districts were within sight, and the cocks and dogs of one could be heard in the other, yet the people grew old and died without ever interchanging visits.
In those days, government was indeed perfect. But nowadays any one can excite the people by saying, "In such and such a place there is a Sage."
Immediately they put together a few provisions and hurry off, neglecting their parents at home and their master's business abroad, filing in unbroken line through territories of Princes, with a string of carts and carriages a thousand _li_ in length. Such is the evil effect of an exaggerated desire for knowledge among our rulers. And if rulers aim at knowledge and neglect TAO, the empire will be overwhelmed in confusion.
How can it be shown that this is so?--Bows and cross-bows and hand-nets and harpoon-arrows, involve much knowledge in their use; but they carry confusion among the birds of the air. Hooks and bait and nets and traps, involve much knowledge in their use; but they carry confusion among the fishes of the deep. Fences and nets and snares, involve much knowledge in their use; but they carry confusion among the beasts of the field. In the same way the sophistical fallacies of the hard and white and the like and the unlike of schoolmen involve much knowledge of argument; but they overwhelm the world in doubt.
Therefore it is that whenever there is great confusion, love of knowledge is ever at the bottom of it. For all men strive to grasp what they do not know, while none strive to grasp what they already know; and all strive to discredit what they do not excel in, while none strive to discredit what they do excel in. The result is overwhelming confusion.
Thus, above, the splendour of the heavenly bodies is dimmed; below, the energy of land and water is disturbed; while midway the influence of the four seasons is destroyed. There is not one tiny creature which moves on earth or flies in air but becomes other than by nature it should be. So overwhelming is the confusion which desire for knowledge has brought upon the world ever since the time of the Three Dynasties downwards! The simple and the guileless have been set aside; the specious and the false have been exalted. Tranquil inaction has given place to a love of disputation; and by disputation has confusion come upon the world.
CHAPTER XI.
ON LETTING ALONE.
_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.
With success.
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?
Of old, when Yao governed the empire, he caused happiness to prevail to excess in man's nature; and consequently the people were not satisfied.
When Chieh See p. 40.
governed the empire he caused sorrow to prevail to excess in man's nature; and consequently the people were not contented. Dissatisfaction and discontent are subversive of virtue; and without virtue there is no such thing for an empire as stability.
Virtue, here in its ordinary sense.
When man rejoices greatly he gravitates towards the positive pole. When he sorrows deeply he gravitates towards the negative pole.
These "poles" are the male and female principles already alluded to on p. 82. Originally developed from the Great Monad, they became the progenitors of all creation.
If the equilibrium of positive and negative In nature.
is disturbed, the four seasons are interrupted, the balance of heat and cold is destroyed, and man himself suffers physically thereby.
Because men are made to rejoice and to sorrow and to displace their centre of gravity, they lose their steadiness, and are unsuccessful in thought and action. And thus it is that the idea of surpassing others first came into the world, followed by the appearance of such men as Robber Chê, Tsêng, and Shih, the result being that the whole world could not furnish enough rewards for the good nor distribute punishments enough for the evil among mankind. And as this great world is not equal to the demand for rewards and punishments; and as, ever since the time of the Three Dynasties The legendary emperors Fu Hsi, Shên Nung, and Huang Ti, or the Yellow Emperor, already mentioned.
downwards, men have done nothing but struggle over rewards and punishments,--what possible leisure can they have had for adapting themselves to the natural conditions of their existence?
Besides, over-refinement of vision leads to debauchery in colour; over-refinement of hearing leads to debauchery in sound; over-refinement of charity leads to confusion in virtue; Here again the manifestation of TAO. See p. 45.
over-refinement of duty towards one's neighbour leads to perversion of principle; The eternal principles which are of TAO and not of man.
over-refinement of ceremonial leads to divergence from the true object; over-refinement of music leads to lewdness of thought; over-refinement of wisdom leads to an extension of mechanical art; and over-refinement of shrewdness leads to an extension of vice.
As shown in the preceding chapter.
If people adapt themselves to the natural conditions of existence, the above eight Vision, hearing, charity, duty to one's neighbour, ceremonial, music, wisdom, and shrewdness.
may be or may not be; it matters not. But if people do not adapt themselves to the natural conditions of existence, then these eight become hindrances and spoilers, and throw the world into confusion.
In spite of this, the world reverences and cherishes them, thereby greatly increasing the sum of human error. And not as a passing fashion, but with admonitions in words, with humility in prostrations, and with the stimulus of music and song. What then is left for me?
Therefore, for the perfect man who is unavoidably summoned to power over his fellows, there is naught like _Inaction_.
It is not according to the spirit of TAO that a man should shirk his mortal responsibilities. On the contrary, TAO teaches him how to meet them.
By means of inaction he will be able to adapt himself to the natural conditions of existence. And so it is that he who respects the State as his own body is fit to support it, and he who loves the State as his own body, is fit to govern it.
This last sentence is attributed by Huai Nan Tzŭ to Lao Tzŭ, and has been incorporated in the _Tao-Tê-Ching_, ch. xiii. It is curious that Chuang Tzŭ should say nothing about its authorship, and perhaps even more curious that Kuo Hsiang, his editor and commentator of the fourth century A.D., should say nothing either about the claims of Lao Tzŭ or the _Tao-Tê-Ching_.
And if I can refrain from injuring my internal economy, and from taxing my powers of sight and hearing, sitting like a corpse while my dragon-power is manifested around, in profound silence while my thunder-voice resounds, the powers of heaven responding to every phase of my will, as under the yielding influence of inaction all things are brought to maturity and thrive,--what leisure then have I to set about governing the world?
Some of this passage is repeated in ch. xiv.
Ts'ui Chü A casual personage.
asked Lao Tzŭ, saying, "If the empire is not to be governed, how are men's hearts to be kept in order?"
"Be careful," replied Lao Tzŭ, "not to interfere with the natural goodness of the heart of man. Man's heart may be forced down or stirred up. In each case the issue is fatal.
"By gentleness, the hardest heart may be softened. 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."
"Of old, the Yellow Emperor first caused charity and duty to one's neighbour to interfere with the natural goodness of the heart of man.
In consequence of which, Yao and Shun wore the hair off their legs in endeavouring to feed their people. They disturbed their internal economy in order to find room for charity and duty to one's neighbour.
They exhausted their energies in framing laws and statutes. Still they did not succeed.
"Thereupon, Yao confined Huan Tou on Mount Tsung; drove the chief of San-miao and his people into San-wei, and kept them there; and banished the Minister of Works to Yu Island.
These words are quoted (with variants) from the _Shu Ching_ or Canon of History. They refer to individuals who had misconducted themselves in carrying out the new _régime._ But they were not equal to their task, and through the times of the Three Princes The Great Yü, T'ang, and Wên Wang, founder of the Chou dynasty.
the empire was in a state of great unrest. Among the bad men were Chieh and Chê; among the good were Tsêng and Shih. By and by, the Confucianists and the Mihists arose; and then came exultation and anger of rivals, fraud between the simple and the cunning, recrimination between the virtuous and the evil, slander between the honest and the dishonest,--until decadence set in, men fell away from their original virtue, their natures became corrupt, and there was a general rush for knowledge.
"The next thing was to coerce by all kinds of physical torture, thus bringing utter confusion into the empire, the blame for which rests upon those who would interfere with the natural goodness of the heart of man.
"In consequence, virtuous men sought refuge in mountain caves, while rulers of States sat trembling in their ancestral halls. Then, when dead men lay about pillowed on each others' corpses, when cangued prisoners and condemned criminals jostled each other in crowds,--then the Confucianists and the Mihists, in the midst of gyves and fetters, stood forth to preach!
Salvation from the ills of which they and their systems had been the cause.
Alas, they know not shame, nor what it is to blush!
"Until I can say that the wisdom of Sages is not a fastener of cangues, and that charity and duty to one's neighbour are not bolts for gyves, how should I know that Tsêng and Shih are not the forerunners _Lit._ "sounding arrows," used by bandits as a signal for beginning the attack.
of Chieh and Chê?
The meaning intended is that _good_ cannot exist without its correlative _evil_.
"Therefore I said, 'Abandon wisdom and discard knowledge, and the empire will be at peace.'"
These words have been incorporated in ch. xix of the _Tao-Tê-Ching_.
The present rendering somewhat modifies the view I expressed on p. 16 of _The Remains of Lao Tzŭ_.
The Yellow Emperor sat on the throne for nineteen years, and his laws obtained all over the empire.
Hearing that Kuang Ch'êng Tzŭ Said by some commentators to be another name for Lao Tzŭ, but if so, then it must have been Lao Tzŭ as he existed, an incarnation of TAO, before his appearance in the Confucian age.
was living on Mount K'ung-t'ung, he went thither to see him, and said, "I am told, Sir, that you are in possession of perfect TAO. May I ask in what perfect TAO consists? I desire to avail myself of the good influence of heaven and earth in order to secure harvests and feed my people. I should also like to control the Two Powers of nature The _Yin_ and the _Yang_. See pp. 82, 120.
in order to the protection of all living things. How can I accomplish this?"
"What you desire to avail yourself of," replied Kuang Ch'êng Tzŭ, "is the primordial integrity of matter. What you wish to control are the disintegrators thereof. Ever since the empire has been _governed_ by you, the clouds have rained without waiting to thicken, the foliage of trees has fallen without waiting to grow yellow, the brightness of the sun and moon has paled, and the voice of the flatterer is heard on every side. How then speak of perfect TAO?"
The Yellow Emperor withdrew. He resigned the Throne. He built himself a solitary hut. He lay upon straw. For three months he remained in seclusion, and then went again to see Kuang Ch'êng Tzŭ.
The latter was lying down with his face to the south. The Yellow Emperor approached after the manner of an inferior, upon his knees.
Prostrating himself upon the ground he said, "I am told, Sir, that you are in possession of perfect TAO. May I ask how my self may be preserved so as to last?"
Kuang Ch'êng Tzŭ jumped up with a start. "A good question indeed!"
cried he. "Come, and I will speak to you of perfect TAO.
"The essence of perfect TAO is profoundly mysterious; its extent is lost in obscurity.
"See nothing; hear nothing; let your soul be wrapped in quiet; and your body will begin to take proper form. Let there be absolute repose and absolute purity; do not weary your body nor disturb your vitality,--and you will live for ever. For if the eye sees nothing, and the ear hears nothing, and the mind _Lit._ the heart.
thinks nothing, the soul will preserve the body, and the body will live for ever.
Not in the grosser worldly sense, but as a sublimated unit in eternity.
"Cherish that which is within you, and shut off that which is without; for much knowledge is a curse. Then I will place you upon that abode of Great Light which is the source of the positive Power, and escort you through the gate of Profound Mystery which is the source of the negative Power. These Powers are the controllers of heaven and earth, and each contains the other.
Knowledge thereof is knowledge of the great mystery of human existence.
"Cherish and preserve your own self, In accordance with the above.
and all the rest will prosper of itself.
The welfare of the people, the success of their harvests, etc.
I preserve the original ONE, while resting in harmony with externals.
It is because I have thus cared for my self now for twelve hundred years that my body has not decayed."
The Yellow Emperor prostrated himself and said, "Kuang Ch'êng Tzŭ is surely God..."
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.
"Nowadays, all living things spring from the dust and to the dust return. But I will lead you through the portals of Eternity into the domain of Infinity. My light is the light of sun and moon. My life is the life of heaven and earth. I know not who comes nor who goes. Men may all die, but I endure for ever."
"A mighty drama, enacted on the theatre of Infinitude, with suns for lamps, and Eternity as a background; whose author is God, and whose purport and thousandfold moral lead us up to the 'dark with excess of light' of the throne of God."--_Carlyle._ The Spirit of the Clouds when passing eastwards through the expanse of Air The term here used has also been explained to mean some supernatural kind of tree, over which we may imagine the Cloud-Spirit to be passing.
happened to fall in with the Vital Principle. The latter was slapping his ribs and hopping about; whereupon the Spirit of the Clouds said, "Who are you, old man, and what are you doing here?"
"Strolling!" replied the Vital Principle, without stopping.
Activities ceaseless in their imperceptible operation.
"I want to _know_ something," continued the Spirit of the Clouds.
"Ah!" uttered the Vital Principle, in a tone of disapprobation.
"The relationship of heaven and earth is out of harmony," said the Spirit of the Clouds; "the six influences do not combine, The positive and negative principles, wind, rain, darkness, and light.
and the four seasons are no longer regular. I desire to blend the six influences so as to nourish all living beings. What am I to do?"
"I do not know!" cried the Vital Principle, shaking his head, while still slapping his ribs and hopping about; "I do not know!"
So the Spirit of the Clouds did not press his question; but three years later, when passing eastwards through the Yu-sung territory, he again fell in with the Vital Principle. The former was overjoyed, and hurrying up, said, "Has your Holiness forgotten me?"
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?"
"I too roam about," answered the Spirit of the Clouds; "but the people depend upon my movements. I am thus unavoidably summoned to power; and under these circumstances I would gladly receive some advice."
"That the scheme of empire is in confusion," said the Vital Principle, "that the conditions of life are violated, that the will of God does not triumph, that the beasts of the field are disorganised, that the birds of the air cry at night, that blight reaches the trees and herbs, that destruction spreads among creeping things,--this, alas! is the fault of _government_."
"True," replied the Spirit of the Clouds, "but what am I to do?"
"It is here," cried the Vital Principle, "that the poison lurks! Go back!"
To the root, to that natural state in which by inaction all things are accomplished.
"It is not often," urged the Spirit of the Clouds, "that I meet with your Holiness. I would gladly receive some advice."
"Feed then your people," said the Vital Principle, "with your heart.
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!
"Let all things revert to their original constitution. If they do this, without knowledge, the result will be a simple purity which they will never lose; but knowledge will bring with it a divergence therefrom.