The Book of Chuang Tzu (Penguin)

aspects of humanity. So, when ideas come to him from outside, he can receive them but does not cling to them. Likewise, when he brings forth some idea from within himself, they are like guides to those around but they do not seek to dominate.

‘The four seasons each have their own original life,

and Heaven does not discriminate,

so the cycle is fulfilled.

The five government offices have different roles,

but the ruler does not discriminate,

so the state is well run.

The great man does not discriminate

between war and peace,

so his Virtue is perfect.

All the forms of life are different,

but the Tao does not discriminate,

so it has no name.

Being nameless, it is also actionless action,

yet all life occurs.

The seasons end and begin;

the generations change and transform.

Inauspicious and auspicious fortune falls upon you,

sometimes unwelcomed,

other times welcomed.

Settle into your own views,

argue with others,

at times condemn those who are upright,

then those who are bent.

You should be like a great marsh land

with space for a hundred kinds of trees.

Or be like a great mountain

where the trees and grasses rest on the same ground.

This is what is meant by Talk of the Villages.’

Little Knowledge said, ‘Surely, if we call this the Tao, that will be enough?’

Great Official Accord said, ‘Certainly not. For example, if we add up all that is, it definitely exceeds the conventional description of ten thousand things. However, we use the term “ten thousand things” as a way of saying that the number of things is very large. So also we use “Heaven and Earth” to describe great things, and “yin and yang” as original breaths of life which are vast, and the term “Tao” as being that term which covers them all. If we use this term to cover everything, there is no problem. However, if we try to go further and define this term by comparing it to what can be discerned, then we would be like those who call a dog and a horse by the same name, even though they are so different.’

Little Knowledge said, ‘Within the limits of the four compass points and the six boundaries, where do the ten thousand things all have their origin?’

Great Official Accord said, ‘Yin and yang reflect each other, oppose each other and control each other. The four seasons follow each other, give birth to each other and finish each other off. Good and evil, rejection and reception thus arose in definition against each other, giving rise to the distinction between male and female. People change from security to insecurity; auspicious and inauspicious fortune are born. Relaxation and tension are side by side. Collecting and scattering emerge and round it all off. These names and their developments can be examined and their actions recorded exactly. The notions of following in orderly sequence, of interaction, of returning when the limit has been reached, of starting again when they end, all this is inherent in things. Words can define them and knowledge can comprehend them, but that is all that can be said of things. The one who seeks the Tao does not try to go beyond this nor try to find the source. Quite simply, this brings all discussion to a close.’

Little Knowledge said, ‘Chi Chen’s point that there is no cause and Chieh Tzu’s argument that there is a cause are two different perspectives. So which one is right and which one is mistaken?’

Great Official Accord said, ‘Chickens cackle and dogs bark: this is what people know. However, even though they have this level of understanding, they can’t explain how the chicken and dog have such different voices, nor can they conceive of what the future might be. We can examine and define to such a point that what is left is minute, or we can make it so great that we can’t take it in. So whether you say there is a cause or there is not, you are still trapped in relative terms and so you’re in error. If there is a cause, then that is true, if there is no cause, then there is nothing. If there is a name, there is reality and they really exist, if there is no name, there is no reality and no thing.

‘It is possible to describe, to say, but these words take you away from its reality. Before things are born, they cannot stop being born, and once dead, they cannot resist going. Death and birth are not far apart, but what causes them is beyond our sight. Notions of a cause or no cause are irrelevant. I search for their historic roots but they disappear into the past. I look for the end of the future, but it never ceases to arrive. Infinite, unlimited, there are no words for this. To try to define it is to place it in the same category as “Is there a cause or is there not?” These are just words and they begin and end with things.

‘The Tao does not have an existence, nor does it not have an existence. By using the title “Tao”, we use a limited term. “Is there a cause or is there not?” are therefore words of very minor significance. Do they have anything to do with the great work? If what you say is of significance, then all day long you can discuss the Tao. If what you say is insignificant, you can talk all day long and all you will discuss is minor issues. The Tao takes us to the edge and neither words nor silence are able to describe this. No words, no silence, this is the highest form of debate.’

CHAPTER 26

Affected from Outside

It is not possible to determine what will affect us from outside us. For example, Lung Feng was executed, Pi Kan was sentenced to death, Prince Chi⁹⁵ pretended to be mad, E Lai⁹⁶ was murdered and Chieh and Chou both perished. All rulers want their ministers to be loyal, but such loyalty may not always be sincere. So Wu Yun was cast into