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…
In the beginning Man created God; and in the image of Man created he him. 2 And Man gave unto God a multitude of names, that he might be Lord of all the earth when it was suited to Man 3 And on the seven millionth day Man rested and did lean heavily on…
…one who takes his seat on the Tao and its Attributes, and there finds his ease and enjoyment, is not exposed to such a contingency. He is above the reach both of praise and of detraction; now he (mounts aloft) like a dragon, now he (keeps beneath) like a snake; he is transformed with…
The artisan Chui made things round (and square) more exactly than if he had used the circle and square. The operation of his fingers on (the forms of) things was like the transformations of them (in nature), and required no application of his mind; and so his Intelligence was entire and encountered no resistance….
The officer of Prayer in his dark and square-cut robes goes to the pig-pen, and thus counsels the pigs, ‘Why should you shrink from dying? I will for three months feed you on grain. Then for ten days I will fast, and keep vigil for three days, after which I will put down the…
