‘I have nothing else to suggest,’ said Yen Hui, ‘so tell me what you would do.’
Confucius said, ‘Go away and fast, then I will tell you what to do. While still plotting, do you think you can really be guided in what to do? The one who thinks he has it will not easily be guided by the Light of Heaven.’
‘The Hui family is poor,’ said Yen Hui, ‘and we have not drunk wine or eaten meat for months. In this instance, will this count as having fasted?’
‘This is fasting for the sacrifice, but not fasting of the heart.’
‘Then what is fasting of the heart?’
‘Your mind must become one, do not try to understand with your ears but with your heart. Indeed, not with your heart but with your soul. Listening blocks the ears, set your heart on what is right, but let your soul be open to receive in true sincerity. The Way is found in emptiness. Emptiness is the fasting of the heart.’
Yen Hui said, ‘Previously, when I fasted, but not with the fast of the heart, I felt I was Hui; when I went on to the fast of the heart, I found I was not Hui. Is this what is called emptiness?’
The great Master said, ‘Precisely! I’ll tell you. Go and join this man in his cage, but don’t set out to impress him. If he comes to like you, then you may sing for him. If he will not listen, keep quiet. Do not appear to be an open door, nor seek to be a balm. Be at one with all in his house and learn to bear what cannot be changed. Do this, and you might almost be successful. It’s not difficult to stop walking, but to walk without touching the earth is more difficult. If you act like any other person, it is easy to be hypocritical, but if you act in the style of Heaven, the reverse is true. One hears of flying by means of wings, but never of flying without them; one hears of knowing as a result of knowledge, but never of knowing without knowledge. Take a look at the room that is shut off, the empty room where true light is born, and there is really contentment and stillness. But if you cannot remain still, then your mind goes racing off, even though physically you remain sitting. Use your ears and eyes to speak to what is within and use your heart and knowledge to speak to what is without. Then you will draw down the very gods themselves as well as other people. This is the mystery of all life: that which links Yu and Shun, that which Fu Hsi and Chi Chu20 lived by. Just think how even more important it is for ordinary mortals!’
Duke Tzu Kao of She, just before he left on a mission to the state of Chi, asked Confucius, ‘The King has given me a most important mission to Chi. They will show me great courtesy, but they are unlikely to make much speed in the issue. Given how hard it is to push an ordinary person along, a nobleman is likely to be even more difficult. I really am worried. You used to tell me that “in whatever we set ourselves to do, no matter how great or small, following the Tao alone leads to success. To fail is to bring the judgement of others upon you. To succeed brings disturbance of the yin and yang. To escape any distress regardless of success or failure is only possible to a really virtuous man.” I eat sensible food so that my kitchens are never overheated. However, this very morning I was given my commission and this evening I am drinking iced water. I wonder if I am getting sick. So already I have got into the bad state of disturbed yin and yang. If I fail, I shall have trouble from others. This means I am suffering on two fronts, and as a minister I doubt if I can carry out this commission. Perhaps you could give me some advice?’
‘Under Heaven there are two great principles,’ replied Confucius. ‘The first is destiny, the other one is duty. The love of a child for its parents, this is destiny, it is there in his heart. A subject’s service of his lord, this is duty, because he must have an overlord, this is how it is in the wide world. These are known as the two great principles. To be obedient to your parents and be prepared to follow them come what may, this is true filial piety. To serve your lord happily, regardless of what he asks you to do, this is real loyalty. To serve your own soul in such a way as to prevent either joy or sorrow within, but outwardly to handle what life throws at you as inevitable and not to be worried by this, this is the perfection of Virtue. Therefore, the person who finds himself in the position of a son or subject has at times to do what he has to do. Caught up in these affairs of state, he forgets his own life. He has no time to sit and contemplate the love of life or the fear of death! Therefore, my dear Sir, go on your mission!
‘Let me tell you something else I have found out. In the ebb and flow of relationships between two states, if they live side by side and have regular links, they can show how mutual their interests are through their actions. If, however, they are separated by distance, then they have to rely upon the spoken word, and such messages have to be relayed by someone. But trying to convey the areas of joy and displeasure of both sides in
