Sun Shu Ao said, ‘Do I really exceed others? When I was offered the post, I did not feel I could refuse. When the post was withdrawn, I did not feel I could stop it. Neither having nor losing affect who I am, so there was no point in looking miserable. Do I really exceed others? I did not know where the glory lay, in the job or in me. If it is in the prime ministerial post, then why should it mean anything to me? If in me, then what did it have to do with being Prime Minister? With all these questions, I have decided just to wander in the four directions. What leisure do I have to speculate about whether my position is high or low?’
Confucius heard about this and said:
‘He is a true man of the past:
the wise could not follow his words;
the charming ones cannot make him follow them, nor the aggressive force him to do their will.
Neither Fu Hsi nor the Yellow Emperor could have made him be their friend.
Death and birth are momentous times but they do not affect him;
how much less do fame and fortune!
The spirit of one such as he can sail across the great mountain Tai
without the slightest difficulty,
enter into the deepest troughs of the ocean and not be wet,
or fill the lowest position without any anxiety.
He is filled with Heaven and Earth,
and the more he gives to others, the more he has.’
The King of Chu and the Lord of Fan were sitting together. Three of the King of Chu’s servants came to report that the state of Fan had been destroyed. The Lord of Fan said, ‘Fan’s destruction does not deter me from preserving what is most significant. I say, “If the destruction of Fan is not sufficient to make me lose what I most value, then the preservation of Chu is not enough to ensure the preservation of what I should preserve. Viewed this way, Fan has not begun to be destroyed and Chu has not begun to be preserved.’
CHAPTER 22
The Shores of the Dark Waters
Knowledge strolled north to the shores of the Dark Waters, scaled the mount of Secret Heights and came upon Words-of-Actionless-Action. Knowledge said to Words-of-Actionless-Action, ‘I want to ask you something. What sort of thought and reflection does it take to know the Tao? In what sort of place and in what sorts of ways should we undertake to rest in the Tao? What sort of path and what sort of plans do we need to obtain the Tao?’ These three questions he asked of Words-of-Actionless-Action, but he did not answer. Not only did he not answer, he had no idea what to answer.
Knowledge did not obtain any answers, so he travelled to the White Waters of the south, climbed up on to the top of Doubt Curtailed and there caught sight of Wild-and-Surly. Knowledge put the same question to Wild-and-Surly. Wild-and-Surly said, ‘Ah ha! I know, and I will tell you.’ In the middle of saying this, he forgot what he was going to say!
Knowledge did not obtain any answers, so he went back to the Emperor’s palace to see the Yellow Emperor and to ask him. The Yellow Emperor said, ‘Practise having no thoughts and no reflections and you will come to know the Tao. Only when you have no place and can see no way forward will you find rest in the Tao. Have no path and no plans and you will obtain the Tao.’
Knowledge said to the Yellow Emperor, ‘You and I know this, but the others did not know, so which of us is actually right?’
The Yellow Emperor said, ‘Words-of-Actionless-Action was truly right. Wild-and-Surly seems right. In the end, you and I are not close to it.
‘Those who understand, do not say.
Those who say, do not understand.
And so the sage follows the teachings without words.
The Tao cannot be made to occur,
Virtue cannot be sought after.
However, benevolence can be undertaken,
righteousness can be striven for,
rituals can be adhered to.
It is said, “When the Tao was lost, Virtue appeared;
when Virtue was lost, benevolence appeared;
when benevolence was lost, righteousness appeared;
when righteousness was lost, ritual appeared.
Rituals are just the frills on the hem of the Tao, and are signs of impending disorder.”
‘It is said, “One who follows the Tao daily does less and less. As he does less and less, he eventually arrives at actionless action. Having achieved actionless action, there is nothing which is not done.” Now that we have become active, if we wish to return to our original state, we will find it very difficult! Who but the great man could change this?
‘Life follows death and death is the forerunner of life.
Who can know their ways?
Human life begins with the original breath;
When it comes together there is life,
When it is dispersed, there is death.
‘As death and life are together in all this, which should be termed bad? All the forms of life are one, yet we regard some as beautiful, because they are spiritual and wonderful; others we count as ugly, because they are diseased and rotting. But the diseased and rotting can become the spiritual and wonderful, and the spiritual and wonderful can become the diseased and rotting. It is said, “All that is under Heaven is one breath.” The sages always comprehend such unity.’
Knowledge said to the Yellow Emperor, ‘I asked Words-of-Actionless-Action, and he didn’t say anything to me. Indeed, not only did he not say anything to me, but he didn’t know what to say to me. I asked Wild-and-Surly and he was in the midst of explaining to me, though he did not say anything, then in the midst of it all he forgot what he wanted to say. Then I asked you and you know the answer, so why do you say you are not close to the answer?’
The Yellow Emperor said, ‘Words-of-Actionless-Action was actually right, because he knew nothing. Wild-and-Surly was almost right, because he forgot
