Chuang Tzu

To be rigid and arrogant;
to be above this generation and distant from its ways;
to talk of great principles;
to be critical and disparaging:
these are approved by scholars who dwell in the mountains, by men who are not of this age, who are worn and weary or who cast themselves into the deep.

To preach about benevolence, righteousness, loyalty and faithfulness;
to be humble, moderate, selfless and civil:
these are the marks of self-development and are the signs of the scholars who wish to reform this generation. These are approved by the one who wishes to preach and teach, whether at home or abroad.

To talk of great achievements;
to make a great name;
to arrange the rituals between ruler and minister;
to sort out those above from those below;
to organize the ruling of the state:
this is what is approved by the scholar who values the court and state, who loves his ruler and honours his country, who does what he can and who seizes lands.

To live amongst the wilds and lakes;
to dwell in isolated places;
to fish alone;
actionless action:
this is what is approved by the scholar who retreats to the rivers and seas, who leaves this generation alone, who is in no hurry.

Huffing, puffing;
grunting and groaning;
expelling the old breath and taking in the new;
undertaking physical exercises to preserve the body and soul;
long life his sole concern:
this is what is approved, this is the Tao of the scholar who infuses his self with breath, feeding his body, hoping to live as long as Peng Tsu.

To achieve loftiness without the burden of bias;
to follow the ways of improvement without benevolence or righteousness;
to rule successfully without achievement or fame;
who rest without rivers and oceans;
long life without organization;
to lose everything and yet to have all;
to drift calmly and endlessly, while all good things pay court to them:
this is the Tao of Heaven and Earth, the Virtue of the sages.

The saying goes, 'Calm, detachment, silence, quiet, emptiness and actionless action, these are what maintain Heaven and Earth, the Tao and Virtue.' The saying goes, 'The sage rests, truly rests and is at ease.' This manifests itself in his calmness and detachment, so that worries and distress cannot affect him, nothing unpleasant can disturb him, his Virtue is complete and his spirit is not stirred up.

The saying goes, that the sage's life is the outworking of Heaven and his death is the transformation of everything. When he is still, his Virtue is like yin; when he is moving, his pervasiveness is like yang. He brings neither good fortune nor bad. He acts and moves in response to forces beyond. When he finds something, he rises up. He ignores knowledge and nostalgia, following only the pattern of Heaven. So he risks no disaster from Heaven, nor complications from things, no accusation from anyone, no charges from the spirits of the dead. In life he floats; at death he rests. He does not consider and plot, nor design for the future. He shines but is not seen; his good faith has no record; his sleep is dreamless and he wakes without fear. His spirit is pure and without blemish; his soul never tires. Empty, selfless, calm and detached, he is in harmony with Heaven's Virtue.

It is said that sadness and happiness are corruptions of Virtue; joy and anger are errors of the Tao; goodness and evil are contrary to Virtue. So, for the heart to be without sadness and happiness, is to have perfected Virtue. To be one and changeless, this is to have perfected stillness; to encounter no opposition is to have perfected emptiness; to have no dealings with anything is to have perfected indifference; to have no feelings of dissent is to: have perfected purity. So it is said that, if the body is overworked and is allowed no rest, it will collapse, and if the spirit is employed without stopping, it becomes tired and eventually reaches exhaustion.

Water, if not mixed with other things, is by nature dear, and if it is not stirred up, it is level. However, if it is blocked and cannot flow, it cannot remain clear. This is like the Virtue of Heaven. It is said that to be innocent and pure, free from contamination, still and level, never changing, detached and acting without action, is to move with Heaven and to follow the Tao of sustaining the spirit. To have a sword like Kan Yueh, you must look after it in a special box and hardly dare use it, for this is the greatest of treasures. The spirit emanates in all four directions, without restriction, rising to Heaven and sinking down to enfold the Earth, It changes and nourishes all forms of life yet no one can find its shape. Its title is Harmony in the Supreme.

It is only the Tao of true simplicity which guards the spirit; if you are guarded and never lost, you become one with the spirit. In being one you are in communion with the Order of Heaven. Peasant wisdom says, 'The common people prize profit above all else; the worthy scholar, fame; the wise man, ambition and the sage his essential purity.' Simplicity means no mixing; purity means an unimpaired spirit. The one who manifests simplicity and purity can truly be called the true man.