Yao and the Border Guard
Yao was touring the sights of Huaxia when the border guard of Huaxia exclaimed, “Ah – a sage! Please allow me to offer prayers for the sage. May they bring him a long life!”
Yao replied, “No, thank you.”
“They will bring the sage wealth!”
Yao replied, “No, thank you.”
“They will bring the sage many sons!”
Yao replied, “No, thank you.”
“A long life, wealth, many sons – these are the things all people desire,” said the border guard. “Why are you alone in not desiring them?”
Yao answered, “Many sons mean many fears. Wealth means many troubles. A long life means many humiliations. These three are of no use in nurturing Virtue – that is why I refuse them.”
The border guard said, “At first I took you for a sage. Now I see you are merely an ordinary man. When Heaven brings forth its countless people, it surely assigns a task to each of them. If you have many sons and each has been given his own task, what is there to fear? If you share your wealth with others, what troubles could you possibly have? The true sage is like a quail at rest; he eats like a newborn child. He is like a bird in flight, leaving no trace behind. When the world possesses the Way, he joins in harmony with all things. When the world is without the Way, he nurtures his Virtue and withdraws into quiet repose. And after a thousand years, if he must leave this world, he departs and rises among the immortals, riding upon the white clouds all the way to the village of God. The three concerns you mentioned never touch him; his body remains forever free from danger. How, then, could he suffer any humiliation?”
The border guard turned his back and walked away.
Yao followed him, saying, “Please – I would like to ask you something…”
“Go away!” said the border guard.
Duke Huan and Wheelwright Pian
Duke Huan was sitting in his hall reading a book. Wheelwright Pian, who was in the courtyard carving a wheel, set down his hammer and chisel, entered the hall, and said to the duke:
“The book Your Grace is reading – may I ask whose words are in it?”
“The words of the sages,” replied the duke.
“Are those sages still alive?”
“They died long ago,” answered the duke.
“Then what you are reading is nothing more than the husks and dregs left behind by those men of old.”
“Since when does a wheelwright have permission to comment on the books I read?” said Duke Huan. “If you have an explanation, then let us hear it. If you do not, it will cost you your life!”
Wheelwright Pian replied:
“I see it from the perspective of my own craft. When I carve a wheel, if my hammer strikes too gently, the chisel slips and fails to grip. But if I strike too hard, it bites in and will not move. Neither too gentle nor too hard – you can grasp it with the hand and sense it in the mind. It cannot be put into words, and yet there is a knack to it. I cannot pass it on to my son, nor can he learn it from me. That is why, even after seventy years, I am still carving wheels in my old age.
The men of ancient times died taking with them the things that could not be transmitted. Therefore, what Your Grace is reading can surely be nothing more than the husks and dregs of those men.”
The Yellow Emperor and the Dark Pearl
The Yellow Emperor journeyed north of the Red Water, climbed the slopes of Kunlun, and gazed toward the south. When he returned home, he discovered that he had lost his Dark Pearl.
He sent Knowledge to search for it, but Knowledge could not find it. He sent Li Zhu, the keen-eyed philosopher, to search for it, but Li Zhu could not find it. He sent Discriminating Debate to search for it, but Discriminating Debate could not find it.
Finally, he employed Formless, and Formless found it.
The Yellow Emperor said,
“How strange! In the end, it was Formless who succeeded in finding it.”
Zhuangzi and Huizi
Zhuangzi and Huizi were strolling along the dam of the Hao River when Zhuangzi said,
“Look at those little fish darting about wherever they please! That is what fish enjoy.”
Huizi replied,
“You are not a fish – how do you know what fish enjoy?”
Zhuangzi said,
“You are not me, so how do you know that I do not know what fish enjoy?”
Huizi answered,
“I am not you, so I certainly do not know what you know. On the other hand, you certainly are not a fish, so that proves that you do not know what fish enjoy!”
Zhuangzi replied,
“Let us return to your original question. You asked me how I know what fish enjoy. Therefore, you already knew that I knew it when you asked the question. I know it from standing here beside the Hao River.”
Zhuangzi and the King of Chu
One day, while Zhuangzi was fishing by the Pu River, the King of Chu sent two officials to deliver a message:
“I would like to burden you with the administration of my kingdom.”
Zhuangzi kept hold of his fishing rod and, without turning around, said,
“I have heard that there is a sacred turtle in Chu that has been dead for three thousand years. The king keeps it wrapped in cloth and enclosed in a box, preserved in the ancestral temple. Would that turtle rather be dead, with its bones treasured and honored? Or would it rather be alive, dragging its tail through the mud?”
“It would rather be alive and dragging its tail through the mud,” the officials replied.
Zhuangzi said,
“Then be on your way! I shall drag my tail through the mud.”
Author: Vasil Stoyanov
