‘Now, it is certainly the case that people talk like this endlessly, like fools or con-men. Emperors and kings have different ways of abdicating, and the Three Dynasties have different hereditary succession. Anyone who behaves differently from the customs of his time and contrary to its ways is called a rebel. Whoever complies and goes with the prevailing customs is called a friend of righteousness.
‘Be quiet, be quiet, Lord of the Yellow River! How could you know anything about the gateway to nobility or meanness or the dwelling place of greatness or pettiness?’
‘All right then,’ said the Lord of the Yellow River. ‘What am I to do and what may I not do? How can I decide what is worth keeping or rejecting and what is worth going for or leaving?’
Jo of the North Ocean said, ‘Viewed from the perspective of the Tao, what is noble and what is mean are both just ceaseless changes. Don’t cling to your own ideas, for this is contrary to the greatness of the Tao. What is little and what is much, these are terms of very limited use. Do not try to be just One, this just highlights how far away you are from the Tao. Be stern and strict like a ruler of a country who favours no one. Be gentle, be gentle like the local earth god to whom offerings are made and who does not grant fortune selfishly. Be open like air, like the four compass points shed light but do not permit boundaries. If you lovingly tend all forms of life, how could you favour one? This is known as being impartial. Consider all life as unified and then how could you talk in terms of long or short? The Tao has neither beginning nor end, but all living things have both death and birth, so you cannot be sure of them. One moment they are empty, the next moment full. They are unreliable. The years cannot be reversed nor time halted. Decay, maturity, fullness and emptiness, when they end, begin over again. So we can talk of great righteousness, and discuss the fundamental principle within all forms of life. The life force is a headlong gallop, speeding along, changing with every movement and altering every minute. As to what you should and should not do? Just go with this process of change.’
‘If this is the case,’ said the Lord of the Yellow River, ‘then what is so important about the Tao?’
Jo of the North Ocean replied, ‘To understand the Tao is to understand the principle. If you understand the principle, you know how to deal with things as they arise. Knowing this, you can ensure that nothing detrimental to yourself occurs. If someone has perfect Virtue, it is not possible for fire to harm, nor for water to drown, nor for either cold or heat to affect, nor birds and beasts to injure him. Not that I say that he dismisses all these things, but that he is able to discriminate between where he is safe and where he is in danger. He is at ease with both calamity and fortune, takes care as to what he approaches or avoids, and therefore nothing harms him. There is a saying that Heaven is internal, humanity external and Virtue comes from the Heavenly. Know Heaven and humanity’s actions, root yourself in Heaven and follow Virtue. Then you can bend, stretch, rush forward or hold back, because you will always return to the core and it will be said you have achieved the supreme.’
‘But what do you call the Heavenly? What do you call the human?’
Jo of the North Ocean said, ‘Oxen have four feet: this is what I call the Heavenly. When horses are harnessed and oxen have pierced noses, this I call the human way. There is the saying. “Don’t allow the human to displace the Heavenly,” don’t allow your intentions to nullify what is ordained. Be careful, guard it and don’t lose it, for this is what I call coming back to the True.’
The one-legged creature is envious of the millipede; the millipede is envious of the snake; the snake is envious of the wind; the wind is envious of the eye; the eye is envious of the heart.
The one-legged creature said to the millipede, ‘I have one foot that I hop on and I can hardly go anywhere. But you, Sir, have a multitude of feet. How do you manage?’
The millipede said, ‘Don’t be so certain. Have you never seen someone spit? Out comes a big blob followed by a spray, which falls down like a shower of uncountable drops. Now I just set the Heavenly machinery in motion and as for the rest – I haven’t a clue!’
The millipede said to the snake, ‘I get about with all these feet, but I can’t keep up with you, Sir, who have no feet. Why is this?’
The snake said, ‘I am moved by the designs of Heaven, how can I control that? What could I use feet for!’
The snake said to the wind, ‘By moving my backbone and ribs, I get along and at least I have some visible form. Now you, Sir,
