‘Let me tell you frankly about the Three August Ones and the Five Emperors and their rule – for it can be called ruling, although it was nothing less than terrible chaos. The knowledge of the Three August Ones rose up like a cloud against the clarity of light of the sun and moon; bore down upon the tranquillity of the hills and rivers and levelled the distinctive aspects of the flow of the four seasons. Their knowledge was more deadly than the sting of the scorpion or the bite of a beast. Unable to be true to their innate natures and being, they still saw themselves as sages. Is this not shameful, that they were not ashamed?’
Tzu Kung was deeply shocked and knew not what to say.
Confucius said to Lao Tzu, ‘I have mastered the Poems, the Histories, the Rites, the Music, the I Ching and the Spring and Autumn – all of the Six Classics. I know them inside out. However, I have discussed them with seventy-two rulers, telling them of the Tao of the first kinds and the illumination of the path trodden by Chou and Shao, but not one king has been interested. They’ve done nothing! It is so difficult to preach to such people! How can I make the Tao clear to them?’
Lao Tzu said, ‘It is very lucky, Sir, that you did not discover a ruler who would try to govern this generation in such a way! The Six Classics are the tired footpaths of the first kings, not the actual feet that trod those paths! Now, Sir, what you are going on about is just these worn footpaths. But footpaths are created by the feet that first walked them. They are not the feet themselves! The white herons only have to look into each other’s eyes without blinking for impregnation to happen. A male insect buzzes above and the female replies from below and impregnation takes place, borne upon the air. The creature called Lei contains both male and female and so impregnates itself. Innate nature does not change; fate is unalterable; time cannot be stopped and the Tao cannot be halted. Hold fast to the Tao and there is nothing it cannot do; lose it and there is nothing that can be done.’
Confucius did not go out for three months, then he went to see Lao Tzu and said, ‘I’ve grasped it! The raven hatches its young; the fish spew forth their eggs; the slim-waisted wasp transforms, and when a younger brother comes along the elder brother weeps. For too long I have not been able to work in harmony with these changes. So, given that I did not play my part in harmony with others, how could I expect to change people?’
Lao Tzu replied, ‘Well done. So now you’ve grasped it.’
CHAPTER 15
Rigid and Arrogant
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
