Duke Ling of Wei wanted to cast new bells. So Pei Kung She, his collector of taxes, built a scaffold outside the city gate and in three months the bells were finished, top and bottom.
King Ching Chi saw this and asked, ‘Master, what is this art of yours?’
Pei said, ‘Centred on Oneness, how could I dare to try anything? I have heard it said, “After the carving and smoothing, revert to simplicity.” Being slow, I have no comprehension; being still, I wander and drift; strangely, mysteriously, I let go what goes and greet what comes; what comes cannot be ignored and what goes cannot be held. I amble after the louts and thugs, wander after the humble and meek, seeing what becomes of them. In this way I collect taxes all day long and never have an argument. Just imagine how more significant this would be for someone who grasped the great path!’
Confucius was besieged in the area between Chen and Tsai and had no hot food for seven days. The Grand Duke Jen came out to express his concern and said, ‘Master, do you think you will die?’
‘Certainly,’ said Confucius.
‘Master, are you frightened by death?’
‘Certainly.’
‘I would like to tell you the Tao of never dying,’ said Jen. ‘There is a bird that dwells in the Eastern Ocean called Helpless. This bird is helpless for it flips and flops, flips and flops, as if it had no strength, flying only with the assistance of the other birds and jostling to return to the nest. None of them likes to be in front or behind, preferring to pick away at what others leave. Thus, when the bird flies, it is never alone, and no others outside the flock, such as humans, can do it any harm, so it avoids disasters.
‘The straight tree is the first to be chopped down; the well of sweet water is the first to run dry. Sir, your intention is to display your knowledge in order to astonish the ignorant, and by developing your self, to cast a light upon the crudeness of others. You shine, you positively glow, as if you carried with you the sun and moon. All this is why you cannot avoid disasters.
‘I have heard the great fulfilment man say, “The boastful have done nothing worthwhile, those who do something worthwhile will see it fade, fame soon disappears.” There are few who can forget success and fame and just return to being ordinary citizens again! The Tao moves all, but the perfect man does not stand in its light, his Virtue moves all, but he does not seek fame. He is empty and plain, and seems crazy. Anonymous, abdicating power, he has no interest in work or fame. So he doesn’t criticize others and they don’t criticize him. The perfect man is never heard, so why, Sir, do you so want to be?’
Confucius said, ‘Splendid!’ then said farewell to his friends, left his followers and retired into a great marsh, put on animal skins and rough cloth and lived off acorns and chestnuts. He went out amongst the animals and they were not afraid, amongst the birds and they did not fly away. If the birds and animals were not alarmed, then neither should people be either!
Confucius asked Master Sang Hu, ‘I have been exiled from Lu twice, a tree was toppled on top of me in Sung, all records of me have been wiped out in Wei, I was impoverished in Shang and besieged in Chen and Tsai. I have had to endure so many troubles. My friends and acquaintances have wandered off and my followers have begun deserting me. But why is this happening?’
Master Sang Hu said, ‘Have you not heard of the man of Chia who ran away? Lin Hui threw aside his jade emblem80 worth a thousand pieces of gold, tied his son to his back and hurried away. People asked, “Was it because the boy was worth more? Surely a child isn’t that valuable. Was it because of all the effort required to carry the jade? But surely a child is even more trouble. So why throw away the jade emblem worth a thousand pieces of gold and rush off with the young child on your back?” Lin Hui told them, “It was greed that brought me and the jade emblem together, but it was Heaven that linked my son and me together.”
‘When the ties between people are based upon profit, then when troubles come, people part easily. When people are brought together by Heaven, then when troubles come, they hold together. To hold together or to separate, these are two very different things. The relationship with a nobleman can be as bland as water, that with a mean-spirited person sickly sweet as wine. However, the blandness of the nobleman can develop into affection, but the sweetness of the mean-spirited person develops into revulsion. That which unites for no apparent reason, will fall apart for no apparent reason.’
Confucius said, ‘I have heard your advice with true respect!’ And so, with an ambling gait and a leisurely air, he went home, gave up his studies and gave away his books. His followers no longer came to bow to him, but their regard for him grew greater.
One day Sang Hu also said to him, ‘When Shun was close to death he commanded Yu, “Take care of what I say! Concerning the body, just let it go with the flow. Concerning feelings, let them follow their course. If you go with the flow, you avoid separation. If you follow the course of feelings, you avoid exhaustion. No separation, no exhaustion, so no need to adorn the exterior of the body. When you no longer need to do this, you are free of concern with material things.”’
Chuang Tzu, dressed in a worn, patched gown made of coarse cloth and with shoes held together with string, went to
