“The goodness of service does not imply
that it is the same on all occasions.

Serving parents to provide contentment
does not prescribe how it is to be done;
in festivities enjoyment does not depend on
the dishes that are used; in mourning
as an expression of grief the rituals are insignificant.
Rites determine the practice of the common people.

Complete truth is what is endowed in man by heaven.
It [truth] works spontaneously, remaining unchanged.
Therefore the sage is guided by the law drawn from heaven
and upholds the truth without submitting to the constraints of custom.
          The ignorant act contrary to this.

They fail to draw their law from heaven and are swayed
by other men.
They do not know how to uphold the truth
and fluctuate with custom.
Consequently they are unfulfilled.

Unfortunately you, Sir, were immersed
in the sanctimonious cant of men
and have been so late in hearing
about the tao.”

Zhuangzi, trans. by Hyun Höchsmann and Yang Guorong, Book 31 The Old Fisherman

The old fisherman, encountered by Confucius continues his discourse. Confucius is a respected, widely known public intellectual but no matter – the old fisherman “nobody” steps up giving voice to a taoist view of “truth.” Truth is a pivotal concept that civilized society could never do without. Notwithstanding what we mean by “truth” is a moving target, depending upon the context that is held in mind, truth is a tether needed by everyone. On the other hand if one is a card-carrying anarchist, a highwayman dedicated to plunder, then “truth” is an alien thought, because lying, dissimulation and confusion is a tool polished by frequent use in the toolbox.

The old fisherman has the cajones (vulgar term for male testicles) to describe in detail the mistaken assumption entailed in a Confucian “rectification of names”, that is the effort to prescribe rites and behaviors linked to language as a means of harmonizing society. The stranger-fisherman insists that appropriate care for parents, or even prescribing a nationwide menu for Thanksgiving family meal misses the point entirely. The point being the manner of doing-the-right-thing will vary according to circumstances. To double-down upon a straight-jacket of language to routinize daily personal habits or to conduct affairs of state is wide of the “truth” implied in these instances.

A truthful conversation, or a truthful public articulation of policy by the nature of things [endowed by heaven] has to be improvisational, a direct grasp of what is at stake.

And there is more than one way to “sanctimoniously” miss the target.

Verbal and military violence is just another tactic of preening faux superiority.

Curious to know more about the feudal Confucian method of making names correspond to reality? CLICK HERE.

Enough! This tune will provide a heading. Pied Piper by Crispian St. Peters. You may think this is an unhinged choice, but note the lyric “it ain’t true that your life has kicked you, its your mind that’s trickin’ you…” Indeed truth originates in the mind and is a matter of shared trust, and joint effort. And I love the melody voiced by the flute.