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Chapter 19 of 33
庄子
One who understands the reality of life does not pursue what life does not require; one who understands the reality of destiny does not pursue what wisdom cannot accomplish. 🌱
Nourishing the body first depends on material conditions, yet there are those whose material conditions are abundant but whose bodies are not properly nourished; preserving life first requires keeping the body from dispersing, yet there are those whose bodies have not dispersed but whose lives have already perished. The arrival of life cannot be refused, and its departure cannot be detained.
How tragic! The world believes that nourishing the body is sufficient to preserve life, but if nourishing the body truly is not enough to preserve life, then what else in this world is worth doing? Though it is not worth doing, one cannot avoid doing it—this "cannot avoid doing" is what is inescapable. To be freed from the burden of the body, nothing is better than forsaking the world (letting go of attachment to worldly gains and losses). Forsaking the world brings freedom from entanglements; freedom from entanglements brings equanimity of mind; equanimity of mind enables renewal in harmony with the transforming process of nature; renewal in harmony with nature brings one close to the Way! Why should worldly affairs be worth forsaking? Why should life be worth forgetting? Forsake worldly affairs and the body is not wearied; forget life and the spirit is not impaired. When the body is whole and the spirit is restored, one becomes one with Heaven. Heaven and Earth are the parents of all things; when yin and yang unite, form is generated; when they disperse, one returns to the beginning. When both body and spirit are without impairment, this is called "being able to transform with the course of things." When the spirit is gathered and gathered again, it can assist the transforming nourishment of Heaven and Earth. 🌿
Liezi asked Guan Yin: "The utmost person (one who has attained the Way) can enter water without choking, tread on fire without feeling heat, and walk above all things without trembling. May I ask how this state is achieved?"
Guan Yin said: "This is due to holding fast to the pure and harmonious vital breath (undivided primal energy), not something attained through cleverness or courage. Sit down, and I will tell you. Whatever has form, appearance, sound, or color is a thing. How great is the difference between one thing and another! What enables some to transcend? It is merely external appearance. But things arise from the formless and return to the realm of no change. If one can comprehend this and fathom its mystery, how can external things obstruct him! He will rest in the measure of moderation, hide himself in the endless cycle of no beginning, and roam between the beginning and end of all things. He unifies his nature, nourishes his vital breath, harmonizes his virtue, and thereby reaches the creative source of all things. Such a person: his heavenly nature is kept whole, his spirit has no gap—from where could external things enter! A drunken man who falls from a carriage may be injured but will not die. His bones and joints are the same as others', yet the degree of injury differs because his spirit is completely integrated. Riding, he does not know he is riding; falling, he does not know he is falling. Thoughts of death and life, fear and alarm never enter his breast, so he meets things without terror. If one can gain wholeness of spirit through alcohol, how much more so through the Way of Heaven! The sage hides himself in Heaven (the natural Way), so nothing can harm him. One who seeks revenge does not break the sword of his enemy's blade, and even one with a resentful heart does not blame the tile blown down by the wind. Therefore everything under Heaven is levelled. No warfare, no punishment by execution—all derive from this principle. Do not open the door of human cleverness, but open the door of natural vitality. Opening natural vitality causes virtue to grow; opening human contrivance causes harm to breed. Not being sated with the exercise of one's natural gifts, nor neglecting the cultivation of the human—then the common people can nearly return to their true nature." 🍃
Confucius was traveling to Chu and emerged from a forest when he saw a hunchbacked old man catching cicadas with a pole, as effortlessly as picking them up.
Confucius asked: "Do you have skill, or do you have the Way?"
The old man replied: "I have the Way. After five or six months of practice, placing two clay balls on the tip of the pole and balancing them without dropping—misses were few. Three balls and not dropping—misses were one in ten. Five balls and not dropping—catching cicadas is like picking them up. I stand my body like a tree stump, extend my arm like a withered branch. Though Heaven and Earth are vast and the ten thousand things are many, I only know the cicada's wing. I do not turn around, do not glance sideways, do not exchange the cicada's wing for any of the ten thousand things—how could I fail to get it!"
Confucius turned to his disciples and said: "Focusing the mind without division, the spirit coheres like a god. This echoes the hunchbacked old man, does it not!"
Yan Yuan asked Confucius: "I once crossed the gulf at Shangshen, and the ferryman handled the boat as if possessed by a spirit. I asked him: 'Can boat-handling be learned?' He said: 'Yes. Good swimmers master it after repeated practice. Those expert in diving can handle it skillfully even if they have never seen a boat.' I asked further, but he said no more. May I ask what this means?"
Confucius said: "Good swimmers master it after repeated practice because they have forgotten the water (harbor no fear of it in their hearts); those expert in diving can handle a boat without ever having seen one because they regard the deep abyss as a hill and a capsizing boat as a cart going backwards. Though a thousand wrecking scenes appear before their eyes, none can enter their hearts—where could they not be at ease! When betting with tiles, one's hand is skillful. When betting with belt hooks, one's heart grows fearful. When betting with gold, one's mind becomes confused. The skill is the same, but because there is something at stake, one treats the external object as important. Whoever is weighted by externals will be clumsy within." 🌊
Tian Kaizhi went to see Duke Wei of Zhou.
The Duke asked: "I have heard that Zhu Shen studied the art of nurturing life. You have associated with Zhu Shen—what have you heard?"
Tian Kaizhi said: "I merely held a broom and waited at the door—what could I have heard from the Master!"
The Duke said: "Master Tian, do not be modest. I wish to hear."
Tian Kaizhi said: "I have heard the Master say: 'One who is good at nurturing life is like a shepherd—whoever lags behind, wields the whip at them.'"
The Duke asked: "What does this mean?"
Tian Kaizhi said: "In Lu there was a man named Shan Bao, who lived among cliffs, drank spring water, did not contend with the people for gain, at seventy still had the complexion of an infant—but unfortunately met a starving tiger, which devoured him. There was also Zhang Yi, who frequented both the high gates of the great and the low doors of the humble, sparing not himself in running about, and died of internal heat at forty. Shan Bao nurtured his interior, yet the tiger consumed his exterior; Zhang Yi managed the exterior, yet disease attacked his interior. These two both left the lagging side unwhiped."
Confucius said: "Do not enter so deeply as to hide yourself, do not venture so forth as to display yourself, stand like a withered tree in the middle. If these three can be achieved, fame will surely reach its peak. Those who fear the road—out of ten travelers one is slain; fathers and brothers warn one another, they must go with many attendants before they dare to set out. Is this not wise! But what people most ought to fear is indulgence between the bed mat and the dining mat, yet they know not to take warning from this—that is the real fault!" ⛰
The chief sacrificer, in black ceremonial robes, came to the pigpen and said to the pig:
"Why must you fear death! I will fatten you for three months, fast for ten days, bathe for three, spread white rushes beneath you, and place your shoulders and rump on a carved sacrificial platter—would you be willing?"
If one were planning for the pig, one would say: "Better be fed with chaff and grain, and kept in the pigpen."
But when planning for oneself, as long as one can have the honor of high rank and generous emolument while alive, and lie in ornate coffins and hearses after death, one is willing to do it. Refusing it for the pig, but accepting it for oneself—what difference is there between that and a pig! 🤔
Duke Huan of Qi was hunting by a marsh, with Guan Zhong driving the chariot, when Duke Huan saw a ghost.
The Duke grasped Guan Zhong's hand and asked: "Father Zhong, what did you see?"
Guan Zhong replied: "Your minister saw nothing." The Duke returned home, lost his vitality and fell ill, not leaving the house for several days. A scholar of Qi named Huangzi Gao'ao said: "Your Highness has wounded himself—how can a ghost harm you! When the embattled and pent-up breath is scattered and unrecovered, one feels depleted of energy; when the breath rises without descending, it makes one irascible; when it descends without rising, it makes one forgetful; when it neither rises nor descends and gathers in the heart, one falls ill."
The Duke asked: "Then are there ghosts at all?"
He replied: "There are. In mud and sewage dwell the Lu; by the stove dwell Ji. In the dust within the doorways, thunder and lightning disport themselves. In the northeast corner of the wall leap Bei' A and Gui's Long. In the northwest corner dwell Yi Yang. In water are Wang Xiang; in hills, Shēn; in mountains, Kui; in the wilds, Fanghuang; in marshes, Wei She."
The Duke asked: "May I ask what Wei She looks like?"
Huangzi said: "Wei She is as large as a wheel, as long as a carriage shaft, with purple robes and a crimson cap. This creature, being odd, is afraid to hear the sound of thunder-chariots; when it hears it, it stands holding its head. Whoever sees it is likely to become a hegemon."
The Duke laughed merrily and said: "That is exactly what I saw." Thereupon he straightened his robes and cap, sat with Huangzi, and in less than a day the disease was cured before he knew it. 🌙
Ji Shengzi raised fighting cocks for the King of Qi.
After ten days, the King asked: "Is the cock ready?" Reply: "Not yet. It is still vain-glorious and relies on its self-assertive energy." After another ten days, asked again. Reply: "Not yet. It still reacts to the sounds and shadows of other cocks." After another ten days, asked again. Reply: "Not yet. It still glares with wrath and bristles with overbearing vigor." After another ten days, asked again. Reply: "Nearly ready. Though other cocks crow, it no longer stirs to them. It looks like a wooden cock—its virtue is complete. None of the other cocks dare to face it; at the sight of it they turn and run away."
Confucius was touring Lüliang. The waterfall was thirty ren high, the tossing foam spread for forty li; tortoises, alligators, and fish could not manage to swim there. He saw a man swimming in the water, and thinking he was in distress and seeking death, had his disciples follow along the current to rescue him. But the man, having swum out several hundred paces, came up on the bank, loosened his hair, walked along singing, and wandered beneath the embankment.
Confucius followed him and said: "I thought you were a ghost, but on closer look I saw you are a man. May I ask whether you have a Way for swimming?"
Reply: "No, I have no Way. I began in the ancient (start from the environment one was born into), grew up in nature (develop within one's natural endowment), and completed in destiny (achieve fulfillment through fate). I sink with the whirlpool, and emerge with the current, following the Way of water without imposing my own will. This is what I do to swim in it."
Confucius asked: "What do you mean by beginning in the ancient, growing in nature, and completing in destiny?"
Reply: "I was born in the hills and am at ease among the hills—that is 'ancient.' I grew up by the water and am at ease by the water—that is 'nature.' Not knowing why it is so and yet it is naturally so—that is 'destiny.'" 🌊
Zi Qing carved wood to make a ju (a frame for hanging bells and drums), and when it was finished, all who saw it marveled as though it were the work of ghosts and spirits. The Marquis of Lu, seeing it, asked: "What art did you use to make it?"
Reply: "I am but a craftsman—what art do I have! Yet there is one thing. When I was about to make the ju, I did not dare to waste my spirit; I inevitably fasted to still my heart. After three days of fasting, I no longer harbored thoughts of reward, honor, rank, or emolument; after five days, I no longer harbored judgments of praise or blame, skill or clumsiness; after seven days, I suddenly forgot my own four limbs and body. At that point, there was no thought of court or office for me. My skill was focused and external interference faded away. Then I entered the mountain forest to observe the natural forms and textures of the trees; when I found the most fitting one, the image of the frame took shape, and only then did I set my hand to it. What was not fitting, I set aside. Therefore, one goes to nature as nature, and from natures on each side in mutual likeness, nature comes out; the vessel was suspected of divine workmanship—perhaps for this very reason!"
Dongye Ji had an audience with Duke Zhuang, exhibiting his skill in carriage driving: forward and backward as straight as a silk thread, turns left and right as round as a compass. The Duke thought no painter could surpass him, and had him make a hundred circuits before returning.
Yan He saw it, came in, and told the Duke: "Dongye Ji's horses are being worn out." The Duke remained silent. After another while, the horses indeed collapsed and returned.
The Duke asked: "How did you know?" Reply: "His horses were already exhausted, yet he kept driving them—so I said they would collapse."
Chui the craftsman drew a circle by hand that was exact than a compass; his fingers and the object merged into one, without the mind's scheme held in reckoning—therefore his spirit-tower (innermost mind) was unified and unconstrained. Forgetting the feet exists it when shoes fit; forgetting the waist exists is when the belt fits; forgetting the distinction of right and wrong is when the mind fits; not altering within, not drifting with externals, is when circumstances fit. From the fitting to the universally fitting—this is the fitness of forgetting fitness. 🍃
A man named Sun Xiu came to the door of Bian Qingzi, sighing deeply: "I dwelt in my village and no one called me lacking in virtue; faced danger and no one called me lacking in courage. Yet farming brought no good harvest, serving a lord brought no good opportunity. I was expelled by my village and driven out by my district—what crime have I committed against Heaven? Why should my lot be utterly such?"
Bianzi said: "Have you not heard of what the utmost person does? He forgets his own liver and gall, casts away his own ears and eyes, drifts formlessly in seeming ignorance beyond the dust of the world, wanders at ease in the space between, amongst the careers of inaction—this is called 'do without relying on it, nourish without dominating it' (acting yet not presuming, fostering yet not commanding). But you have polished cleverness to startle the ignorant and reformed your cultivation of self in contrast to the delinquency of the ignorant others; radiantly a-glitter as if one carrying the sun and moon walked about. You can keep your body entire, possessing all nine apertures, without dying midway through deafness, blindness, lameness, or foot sores; by that kinship you have with banishment and degradation already worn what semblant of distinction would from others—this is your good fortune! What leisure have you to go on complaining of Heaven! Go!"
Sun Xiu, having left, Bianzi went indoors. After sitting for a short while, he looked up to Heaven and sighed heavily.
His disciple asked: "Why does the Master sigh?"
Bianzi said: "A moment ago, barely had I perceived a refuge: I told him of the virtue of the utmost person, and now I fear he was startled and may become even more confused."
The disciple said: "Not so, this could not vex another wrongfully contemning: if what Sun Xiu says is right and what you say is wrong, then the wrong cannot confound the wrong; if what Sun Xiu say is wrong and you are right, he was a lost creature right from the start, then what offense lies with whom thereby!"
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Level Five: The Obstacle to Reaching Life—"External Weight Makes the Inner Clumsy." Whether gambling with gold as a stake, or Sun Xiu questioning fate with a belly full of resentment, the problem lies in placing too much value on external things. The more one values external possessions, the clumsier and more unfree the inner self becomes.
"Reaching Life" (Da Sheng) is Zhuangzi's philosophy of "anti-involution." 🍃
The greatest anxiety for modern people often comes from feeling that "life is not enough"—not enough money, not enough success, not enough recognition—so they desperately grasp outward for more. But Zhuangzi saw through this more than two thousand years ago: Nourishing the body is insufficient for preserving life. The improvement of material conditions does not equate to an upgrade in the quality of life. You can lose your spirit amidst material abundance, and you can lose the vitality of life even with a healthy physique. Those who are currently trapped in involution are precisely the ones who treat "nourishing the body" as "reaching life"—exhausting themselves physically and mentally to trade for external accumulation, resulting in a weary body and depleted spirit, drifting ever further from the life's ultimate state of peace.
"Detaching from the world eliminates burdens" is Zhuangzi's remedy for an anxious age. Detaching from the world does not mean renouncing secular life; it means letting go of the attachment to worldly standards of judgment—letting go of the compulsion to "must outdo others," letting go of the fear of "not being good enough," and letting go of attachment to things beyond your control. When we no longer constantly cater to the gaze of the outside world, the inner self attains a state of "upright equilibrium"—a calm and positive freedom.
The four stages of the fighting cock are a perfect metaphor for spiritual cultivation. In the first stage, the cock is "vain, arrogant, and relying on its spirit"—much like people who are just starting out in society, arrogant and full of themselves. The second stage, "responding to shadows and echoes," is characterized by reacting to every stir of others—much like those who live under the scrutiny of other people's opinions. The third stage, "glaring fiercely with an overbearing air," reveals an externalized anger and aggression—much like those provoked by competition. The fourth stage, the "wooden chicken," is not about stupidity, but about wholeness of virtue (De Quan)—an inner wholeness unmoved by external forces. True strength is not baring claws and fangs, but steadfastness within tranquility. 🌙
"External weight makes the inner clumsy" directly points at modern people's "underperformance under pressure." The more you care about the outcome, the more likely you are to bungle it—during an interview, trying too hard to impress leads to nervous slips; when investing, being too eager to profit leads to misjudgment; in relationships, the fear of loss leads to constant anxiety. Zhuangzi draws an analogy with gambling: when betting with rooftop tiles, one remains relaxed and agile; when betting with gold, the mind becomes flooded and deranged. When you place too much weight on something, it will come back to control you.
Sun Xiu's complaint mirrors countless modern individuals who feel "unrecognized talents." He thought himself virtuous and brave, yet encountered obstacles everywhere, so he questioned heaven. Bianzi's reply, though piercing, reveals a profound truth: when a person turns "cultivating virtue" into a kind of capital—using it to assert superiority and illuminate others' blemishes—they have already deviated from the true meaning of virtue. The true "utmost person" is one who "provides benefits but does not lay claim, fosters but does not estrange and control, acts without taking credit, has ability but does not tyrannize." The utmost person is not a label for display, but a state of dancing with all things in selflessness.
1. Distinguish between "nourishing the body" and "nourishing the spirit." Material conditions are the foundation, but they cannot replace spiritual cultivation. Ask yourself every day: Am I busy with the harmony of life, or merely expending energy for bodily comfort and the maintenance of face? If it's only the latter, it's time to stop and recalibrate. 🌱
2. Practice "detaching from the world"—letting go of unnecessary attachments. "World" is not the world itself, but your attachment to worldly evaluation systems. Concretely: list the three things causing you the most anxiety lately, and ask yourself: If I let go of this, would it actually threaten my survival? Or would it just threaten my face, others' opinions, or my self-image? Anything that can be let go, cast aside. When you let go, the mind becomes calm.
3. Learn the "wooden chicken's" composure. Not passivity, but choosing not to be pulled about by external stimuli. Never rush to react to what others say or do; return first to your own center. Internal stability is true strength. This is especially important in the age of social media—do not let every comment or like become a remote control for your emotions.
4. Beware of "external weight making the inner clumsy." When you find yourself underperforming in something, resist the urge to blame your ability; first ask: Am I placing too much weight on it? Try shifting the mindset from "must succeed" to "enjoy the process," subtituting your "golden stake" for a "tile bet." Only then can your inner creativity flow naturally.
5. "Whip the laggard"—shore up your weaknesses rather than flaunting your strengths. Shan Bao only cultivated inner life, Zhang Yi only the outward—both met their downfall. Examine yourself: Are you overly introspective or overly external? Do you mind only the body and neglect the spirit, or only the spirit and neglect the body? Wherever you lag, put in the training. Balance itself is health-nourishing science.
6. Learn the "comfort of forgetting comfort." The best state is being unaware that "I am in a good state right now." When shoes fit well, you forget your feet; when a belt fits well, you are oblivious to your waist. True comfort is when you forget comfort itself. When you no longer constantly inspect whether "I am happy" or "was I successful," you are already living within it. 🍃
"Life's coming cannot be refused, its going cannot be prohibited"—life is "givenness." Zhuangzi's approach to life holds a profound, sober awareness: we cannot choose the coming of life, nor stop its leaving. Between "coming" and "leaving," the only option is to go along (shun). This going along is not acquiescent truancy but "Da"—accessible to life as it is in itself, without fighting life's rhythms.
"The integration of qi form the body, its dispersal heralds a new beginning"—death is a transition of forms, not a rupture of existence. In a dialectical perspective, the individual being is merely a temporary gathering of the qi of Heaven and Earth; death is not absolute finality, but "dispersal implies a new beginning"—returning to the cycle of novel beginnings. This cosmology dares to break down the shackles placed on the "self." If the "I" is but a temporary amalgamation of qi, then the fixated "self" holds no intrinsic existence.
"Using the transcendent Nature-fire flame to blend with the natural flame"—the ultimate hâlos par magie (product of sheer aptitude) is unification with spontaneous Nature. The secret of wooden bell-carver Qing or Gan in Zhou's artistry is preserved: first obliterate oneself (forgetting limbs/arms/body, knowing every joy for reward and rank about lost stings) and only then discerning the nature inherent in the wood itself, letting the artisan's artistry align with the natural aptitudes lat ins that wood-lodged formation—potential. This is not merely the principle of art, but of breathing and life kinetics conceptually propped alert to all ages, arguably medit-at spiritual protocols real parallel to interior to on macro patterns ambiences constant–steadt patterns blend exactly to: loving a living, optimal handling, not-fore-dested scripting, leading in spontaneous natural and spiritual dimensions entangled like yern-st we psychal self immanent–synthes self microcosm like every self congruent – yiel mid environ both macro- and non-omnivers gest harmony-flows envir al external–devoid forms taut–silva force interplay echo mesh-a nd mutual cou–fit tone a balance of waves environmental wfleet.
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This content is based on ancient Daoist classical texts, provided solely for traditional culture learning and life reference, and does not constitute religious, medical, or investment advice.