Rän Qiu asked Zhongni, saying,‘Can it be knownhow it was before heaven and earth?’ The reply was,‘It can. It was the same of old as now… [Zhongni] Was that which was produced before Heaven and Earth a thing?That which made things and gave to each its character was not itself a thing.Things came forth…
‘Men’s life between heaven and earth is like a white colt’s passing a crevice, and suddenly disappearing. As with a plunge and an effort they all come forth; easily and quietly they all enter again. By a transformation they live, and by another transformation they die. Living things are made sad (by death), and…
Nie Qüe asked about the Tao from Bei-yi who replied, ‘If you keep your body as it should be, and look only at the one thing, the Harmony of Heaven will come to you. Call in your knowledge, and make your measures uniform, and the spiritual (belonging to you) will come and lodge with…
The life is due to the collecting of the breath. When that is collected, there is life; when it is dispersed, there is death. Since death and life thus attend on each other, why should I account (either of) them an evil? ‘Therefore all things go through one and the same experience. (Life) is…
Knowledge had rambled northwards to the region of the Dark Water, where he ascended the height of Imperceptible Slope, when it happened that he met with Dumb Inaction. Knowledge addressed him, saying, ‘I wish to ask you some questions: By what process of thought and anxious consideration do we get to know the Tao?…
The king of Ku and the ruler of Fan were sitting together. After a little while, the attendants of the king said, ‘Fan has been destroyed three times.’ The ruler of Fan rejoined, ‘The destruction of Fan has not been sufficient to destroy what we had that was most deserving to be preserved.’ Now,…
“Beasts that feed on grass do not fret over a change of pasture; creatures that live in water do not fret over a change of stream. They accept the minor shift as long as the all-important constant is not lost. [Be like them,] And joy, anger, grief, and happiness can never enter your breast….
‘I was enjoying myself in thinking about the commencement of things.’ ‘What do you mean?’ ‘My mind is so cramped that I hardly know it; my tongue is so tied that I cannot tell it; but I will try to describe it to you as nearly as I can. When the state of Yin…
Zhuang Zhou was wandering in the park at Diaoling when he saw a peculiar kind of magpie that came flying along from the south. It had a wingspread of seven feet, and its eyes were a good inch in diameter. It brushed against Zhuang Zhou’s forehead and then settled down in a grove of…
Every single one of ushas to be a hero at some time in our lives. Every babyforced through the narrow passage of the birth canal,which is not unlikethe labyrinthine tunnels at Lascaux,has to leave the safety of the womb,and face the trauma of entryinto a terrifyingly unfamiliar world. Every motherwho gives birth, who risks…
