Chan Tzu said, ‘If you can’t handle your feelings, how can you avoid harming your spirit? If you can’t control your emotions, but nevertheless try to to stop yourself following them, you will harm yourself twice over. Those who do this double injury to themselves are not counted amongst those with long life.’
Wei Mou had command of ten thousand chariots, so for him to retire and live alone in the caves and cliffs was much more difficult than for a scholar. He may not have had the Tao, but we can say he had the intention.
Confucius was trapped in between Chen and Tsai and for seven days he did not eat cooked food, simply a vegetable soup without any rice.
His face was drawn and haggard yet he sat contentedly playing his lute and singing inside the house. Yen Hui was outside choosing the vegetables, and Tzu Lu and Tzu Kung were talking to each other.
They said to Yen Hui, ‘Our Master has twice been chased out of Lu, he has fled from Wei, had his tree chopped down in Sung, been in distress in Shang and Chou and is now trapped between Chen and Tsai. If anyone kills the Master, they will be free of any guilt; if anyone imprisons him, they will be without blame. Yet here he sits, endlessly playing and singing. Can a noble gentleman be so lacking in shame as this?’
Yen Hui had nothing to say in reply, so he went in to report this conversation to Confucius. Confucius laid aside his lute and said, ‘Those two are just petty people. Tell them to come here and I will explain to them.’
Tzu Lu and Tzu Kung came in. Tzu Lu said, ‘The current situation is one of considerable distress!’
‘What sort of talk is this?’ said Confucius. ‘When the nobleman flows with the Tao, that is called flowing. When he cannot flow with the Tao, he doesn’t flow. Now, I hold to the Tao of righteousness and benevolence and am thus able to confront this chaotic generation, so what prevents me from flowing? Looking within, I am unconcerned by any difficulties of the Tao and I confront any problems which arise without losing my Virtue. When we see the winter coming and the frost and snow arrive, that is when we appreciate the endurance of the pine and cypress. The difficulties between Chen and Tsai are in fact a blessing!’
Confucius picked up his lute and started to play and sing again. Tzu Lu siezed hold of a shield and began to prance about while Tzu Kung said, ‘I had no idea that Heaven is so high and Earth so far below.’
The people of the past who had the Tao were happy if they were trapped and happy if they could flow. Their happiness was unconnected to either of these. If they had the Tao and its Virtue, then being trapped or flowing were simply to them like the regular succession of cold and hot or wind and rain. So Hsu Yu was content on the warm slopes of the Ying River and Kung Po enjoyed himself on the top of Kung Hill.109
Shun wanted to hand over the world to his friend from the north, Wu Tse, but Wu Tse said, ‘You are a strange person, my Lord, for at first you lived in the fields and ditches and then you went into the gate of Yao. As if that were not enough, he now wants to drag me into his awful mess and taint me with his crimes. I am ashamed to be seen with you.’ And having said this, he threw himself into the deep waters of the Ching Ling.
Tang110 was planning to attack Chieh and so he visited Pien Sui, who said, ‘It is nothing to do with me.’
‘Then who can help?’ said Tang.
‘I don’t know.’
Tang looked for advice from Wu Kuang, and Wu Kuang said, ‘It is nothing to do with me.’
‘Then who can help?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Could Yi Yin?’ said Tang.
‘He is a violent man who acts disgracefully. I don’t know more than that.’
So Tang went to Yi Yin and they planned the attack together. When Chieh had been conquered, Tang offered to abdicate to Pien Sui. Pien Sui said, ‘When you were planning to attack Chieh, you asked my advice, so you must consider me a villain. Now you have conquered Chieh, you offer the throne to me, so you must also think I am ambitious. I was born into this disorderly generation, yet a man who has nothing of the Tao comes to me twice, trying to stain me with his actions. I cannot stand to hear these words repeated time and time again.’ So saying, he threw himself into the waters of the Chou River and died.
Tang wanted to offer the throne to Wu Kuang and said, ‘The man of wisdom has planned this, the fighting man has carried it out and now the benevolent one should take over, for this is the Tao of the past. So why should you not do so, Sir?’
Wu Kuang refused: ‘To overthrow the ruler is not righteous; to massacre the people is not benevolent; to cause distress to others and to take your own pleasure is not honourable. I have heard it said that, if someone does not act righteously, don’t accept their commission. If a generation is without the Tao, don’t set foot on their land. So there is no question of me accepting! I cannot stand looking at you any longer.’ And so saying, he fastened a stone to his back and drowned himself in the River Lu.
Earlier, in the time of the Chou Dynasty’s triumph,111 there were two scholars who lived in Ku Chu called Po Yi and Shu Chi. The two said to each other, ‘I have heard that in the west there is a man who has the Tao, so let’s
