Terebess Asia Online<\/a>)<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chuang Tzu was a Taoist sage, living sometime before 250 B.C. The book Chuang Tzu is believed to contain both his own writings and writings by others about him and his teachings. The quotations at this site were taken from The Way of Chuang Tzu, which was compiled by Thomas Merton (a Roman Catholic monk) after reading four different translations of Chuang Tzu. It is an abridged version of Chuang Tzu.
\nAs Thomas Merton says in his introductory note, you enter upon the way of Chuang Tzu when you leave all ways and get lost.<\/p>\n
Uncreated<\/p>\n
To name Tao is to name no-thing.
\nTao is not the name of (something created).
\n\u201cCause\u201d and \u201cchance\u201d have no bearing on the Tao.
\nTao is a name that indicates without defining.<\/p>\n
Tao is beyond words and beyond things.
\nIt is not expressed either in word or in silence.
\nWhere there is no longer word or silence
\nTao is apprehended.
\n(25:11, p. 226)<\/p>\n
Beyond human knowledge and understanding<\/p>\n
Great knowledge sees all in one. Small knowledge breaks down into the many.
\n(2:2, p. 55)<\/p>\n
By ethical argument and moral principle the greatest crimes are eventually shown to have been necessary, and, in fact, a signal benefit to mankind.
\n(9:2, p. 101)<\/p>\n
Distinguishing ego from true self<\/p>\n
All that is limited by form, semblance, sound, color is called object.
\nAmong them all, man alone is more than an object.
\nThough, like objects, he has form and semblance,
\nHe is not limited to form.
\nHe is more.
\nHe can attain to formlessness.<\/p>\n
When he is beyond form and semblance, beyond \u201cthis\u201d and \u201cthat,\u201d
\nwhere is the comparison with another object?
\nWhere is the conflict?
\nWhat can stand in his way?
\nHe will rest in his eternal place which is no-place.
\nHe will be hidden in his own unfathomable secret.
\nHis nature sinks to its root in the One.
\nHis vitality, his power hide in secret Tao.
\n(19:2, pp 155-156)<\/p>\n
Understanding the nature of desire<\/p>\n
When he tries to extend his power over objects,
\nthose objects gain control of him.
\nHe who is controlled by objects loses possession of his inner self\u2026
\nPrisoners in the world of object,
\nthey have no choice but to submit to the demands of matter!
\nThey are pressed down and crushed by external forces:
\nfashion, the market, events, public opinion.
\nNever in a whole lifetime do they recover their right mind!\u2026
\nWhat a pity!
\n(23:8 and 24:4, p. 202, 211)<\/p>\n
You train your eye and your vision lusts after color.
\nYou train your ear, and you long for delightful sound.
\nYou delight in doing good, and your natural kindness is blown out of shape.
\nYou delight in righteousness, and you become righteous beyond all reason.
\nYou overdo liturgy, and you turn into a ham actor.
\nOverdo your love of music, and you play corn.
\nLove of wisdom leads to wise contriving.
\nLove of knowledge leads to faultfinding.
\nIf men would stay as they really are, taking or leaving these eight delights would make no difference.
\nBut if they will not rest in their right state, the eight delights develop like malignant tumors.
\nThe world falls into confusion.
\nSince men honour these delights, and lust after them, the world has gone stone-blind.
\nWhen the delight is over, they still will not let go of it\u2026
\n(11:1-2, pp. 103-104)<\/p>\n
Love of colors bewilders the eye and it fails to see right.
\nLove of harmonies bewitches the ear, and it loses its true hearing.
\nLove of perfumes fills the head with dizziness.
\nLove of flavors ruins the taste.
\nDesires unsettle the heart until the original nature runs amok.<\/p>\n
These five are enemies of true life.
\nYet these are what men of discernment claim to live for.
\nThey are not what I live for.
\nIf this is life, then pigeons in a cage have found happiness!
\n(12:15, p. 118)<\/p>\n
Becoming unattached<\/p>\n
Yen Hui:
\nWhat is fasting of the heart?
\nConfucius:
\nThe goal of fasting is inner unity.
\nThis means hearing, but not with the ear;
\nhearing, but not with the understanding;
\nhearing with the spirit, with your whole being\u2026
\nThe hearing of the spirit is not limited to any one faculty, to the ear, or to the mind.
\nHence it demands the emptiness of all the faculties.
\nAnd when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens.
\nThere is then a direct grasp of what is right there before you
\nthat can never be heard with the ear or understood with the mind.
\nFasting of the heart empties the faculties, frees you from limitation and from preoccupation.
\nFasting of the heart begets unity and freedom.
\nYen Hui:
\nI see. What was standing in my way was my own self-awareness. If I can begin this fasting of the heart, self awareness will vanish.
\n(4:1, pp. 75-76)<\/p>\n
Forgetting about preferences<\/p>\n
Tao is obscured when men understand only one pair of opposites,
\nor concentrate only on a partial aspect of being.
\nThen clear expression also becomes muddled by mere wordplay,
\naffirming this one aspect and denying all the rest.<\/p>\n
The pivot of Tao passes through the center where all affirmations and denials converge.
\nHe who grasps the pivot is at the still-point
\nfrom which all movements and oppositions can be seen in their right relationship\u2026
\nAbandoning all thought of imposing a limit or taking sides, he rests in direct intuition.
\n(2:3, p. 59, p.61)<\/p>\n
When we look at things in the light of Tao, nothing is best, nothing is worst.
\nEach thing, seen in its own light stands out in its own way.
\nIt can seem to be \u201cbetter\u201d than what is compared with it on its own terms.
\nBut seen in terms of the whole, no one thing stands out as \u201cbetter\u201d \u2026
\nAll creatures have gifts of their own\u2026
\nAll things have varying capacities.<\/p>\n
Consequently he who wants to have right without wrong, order without disorder,
\ndoes not understand the principles of heaven and earth.
\nHe does not know how things hang together.
\nCan a man cling only to heaven and know nothing of earth?
\nThey are correlative: to know one is to know the other.
\nTo refuse one is to refuse both.
\n(17:4,5,8, pp. 131-133)<\/p>\n
When the shoe fits, the foot is forgotten.
\nWhen the belt fits, the belly is forgotten.
\nWhen the heart is right, \u201cfor\u201d and \u201cagainst\u201d are forgotten.<\/p>\n
No drives, no compulsions, no needs, no attractions:
\nThen your affairs are under control.
\nYou are a free man.
\n(19:12, pp. 166-167)<\/p>\n
Paraphrased: When Chuang Tzu was about to die, his disciples began planning a splendid funeral. However some disciples expressed concern that given a particular arrangement, birds and kites would eat his remains. Chuang Tzu replied, \u201cWell, above ground I shall be eaten by crows and kites, below it by ants and worms. What do you have against birds?\u201d
\n(32:14, pp. 233-234)<\/p>\n
Not working for personal gain<\/p>\n
When an archer is shooting for nothing, he has all his skill.
\nIf he shoots for a brass buckle, he is already nervous.
\nIf he shoots for a prize of gold, he goes blind or sees two targets \u2014
\nHe is out of his mind!
\nHis skill has not changed. But the prize divides him.
\nHe cares. He thinks more of winning than of shooting\u2013
\nAnd the need to win drains him of power.
\n(19:4, p. 158)<\/p>\n
Action and Non-Action<\/p>\n
The non-action of the wise man is not inaction.
\nIt is not studied. It is not shaken by anything.
\nThe sage is quiet because he is not moved,
\nNot because he wills to be quiet.
\nStill water is like glass.
\nYou can look in it and see the bristles on your chin.
\nIt is a perfect level;
\nA carpenter could use it.
\nIf water is so clear, so level,
\nHow much more the spirit of man?
\nThe heart of the wise man is tranquil.
\nIt is the mirror of heaven and earth
\nThe glass of everything.
\nEmptiness, stillness, tranquillity, tastelessness,
\nSilence, non-action: this is the level of heaven and earth.
\nThis is perfect Tao. Wise men find here
\nTheir resting place.
\nResting, they are empty.<\/p>\n
From emptiness comes the unconditioned.
\nFrom this, the conditioned, the individual things.
\nSo from the sage\u2019s emptiness, stillness arises:
\nFrom stillness, action. From action, attainment.
\nFrom their stillness comes their non-action, which is also action
\nAnd is, therefore, their attainment.
\nFor stillness is joy. Joy is free from care
\nFruitful in long years.
\nJoy does all things without concern:
\nFor emptiness, stillness, tranquillity, tastelessness,
\nSilence, and non-action
\nAre the root of all things.
\n(13:1, pp. 119-121)<\/p>\n
Prince Wen Hui\u2019s cook was cutting up an ox \u2026 The ox fell apart with a whisper. The bright cleaver murmured like a gentle wind. Rhythm! Timing! Like a sacred dance \u2026<\/p>\n
Prince Wen Hui:
\nGood work! Your method is faultless!<\/p>\n
The cook:
\nMethod? What I follow is Tao beyond all methods!
\nWhen I first began to cut up oxen I would see before me the whole ox all in one mass. After three years I no longer saw this mass. I saw the distinctions. But now I see nothing with the eye. My whole being apprehends. My senses are idle. The spirit free to work without plan follows its own instinct guided by natural line, by the secret opening, the hidden space, my cleaver finds its own way\u2026<\/p>\n
Then I withdraw the blade, I stand still and let the joy of the work sink in. I clean the blade and put it away.<\/p>\n
Prince Wan Hui:
\nThis is it! My cook has shown me how I ought to live my own life!
\n(3:2, pp. 64-67)<\/p>\n
Letting go of thoughts<\/p>\n
To exercise no-thought and rest in nothing is the first step toward resting in Tao.
\nTo start from nowhere and follow no road is the first step toward attaining Tao.
\n(22:1, p. 176)<\/p>\n
The mind remains undetermined in the great Void.
\nHere the highest knowledge is unbounded.
\nThat which gives things their thusness cannot be delimited by things.
\nSo when we speak of \u2018limits\u2019, we remain confined to limited things.
\nThe limit of the unlimited is called \u2018fullness.\u2019
\nThe limitlessness of the limited is called \u2019emptiness.\u2019
\nTao is the source of both.
\nBut it is itself neither fullness nor emptiness.
\n(22:6, pp. 182-183)<\/p>\n
Being humble<\/p>\n
If a man is crossing a river and an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
\neven though he be a bad-tempered man he will not become very angry.
\nBut if he sees a man in the boat, he will shout at him to steer clear.
\nIf the shout is not heard, he will shout again, and yet again, and begin cursing.
\nAnd all because there is somebody in the boat.
\nYet if the boat were empty, he would not be shouting, and not angry.<\/p>\n
If you can empty your own boat crossing the river of the world,
\nno one will oppose you, no one will seek to harm you\u2026.<\/p>\n
Who can free himself from achievement, and from fame, descend and be lost amid the masses of men?
\nHe will flow like Tao, unseen, he will go about like Life itself with no name and no home.
\nSimple is he, without distinction. To all appearances he is a fool.
\nHis steps leave no trace. He has no power. He achieves nothing, has no reputation.<\/p>\n
Since he judges no one, no one judges him.
\nSuch is the perfect man:
\nHis boat is empty.
\n(20:2, 4, pp. 168-171)<\/p>\n
The man who has some respect for his person keeps his carcass out of sight, hides himself as perfectly as he can.
\n(23:2, pp. 187)<\/p>\n
Surrendering<\/p>\n
If you persist in trying to attain what is never attained (It is Tao\u2019s gift),
\nif you persist in making effort to obtain what effort cannot get,
\nif you persist in reasoning about what cannot be understood,
\nyou will be destroyed by the very thing you seek.<\/p>\n
To know when to stop,
\nto know when you can get no further by your own action,
\nthis is the right beginning!
\n(23:3-7, p. 197)<\/p>\n
\u2026 You never find happiness until you stop looking for it.
\nMy greatest happiness consists precisely in doing nothing whatever that is calculated to obtain happiness:
\nand this, in the minds of most people, is the worst possible course\u2026<\/p>\n
If you ask \u201cwhat ought to be done\u201d and \u201cwhat ought not to be done\u201d on earth in order to produce happiness,
\nI answer that these questions do not have an answer.
\nThere is no way of determining such things.<\/p>\n
Yet at the same time, if I cease striving for happiness,
\nthe \u201cright\u2019 and the \u201cwrong\u201d at once become apparent all by themselves.<\/p>\n
Contentment and well-being at once become possible
\nthe moment you cease to act with them in view,
\nand if you practice non-doing (wu wei), you will have both happiness and well-being.
\n(18:1, pp. 140-150)<\/p>\n
Seeing the light<\/p>\n
Look at this window: it is nothing but a hole in the wall, but because of it the whole room is full of light. So when the faculties are empty, the heart is full of light.
\n(4:1, pp. 77-78)<\/p>\n
Experiencing freedom<\/p>\n
The true men of old were not afraid when they stood alone in their views.
\nNo great exploits. No plans.
\nIf they failed, no sorrow.
\nNo self-congratulation in success\u2026<\/p>\n
The true men of old knew no lust for life, no dread of death.
\nTheir entrance was without gladness, their exit, yonder, without resistance.
\nEasy come, easy go.
\nThey did not forget where from, nor ask where to, nor drive grimly forward fighting their way through life.
\nThey took life as it came, gladly;
\ntook death as it came, without care; and went away, yonder. Yonder!<\/p>\n
They had no mind to fight Tao.
\nThey did not try by their own contriving, to help Tao along.
\nThese are the ones we call true men.<\/p>\n
Minds free, thoughts gone. Brows clear, faces serene.
\n(6:1, pp. 89-90)<\/p>\n
Goods and possessions are no gain in his eyes.
\nHe stays far from wealth and honor.
\nLong life is no ground for joy, nor early death for sorrow.
\nSuccess is not for him to be pround of, failure is no shame.
\nHad he all the world\u2019s power he would not hold it as his own.
\nIf he conquered everything he would not take it to himself.
\nHis glory is in knowing that all things come together in One and life and death are equal.
\n(12:2, pp. 106-107)<\/p>\n
The man in whom Tao acts without impediment harms no other being by his actions
\nyet he does not know himself to be \u201ckind\u201d, to be \u201cgentle\u201d\u2026
\n(He) does not bother with his own interests and does not despise others who do.
\nHe does not struggle to make money and does not make a virtue of poverty.
\nHe goes his way without relying on others and does not pride himself on walking alone.
\nWhile he does not follow the crowd he won\u2019t complain of those who do.
\nRank and reward make no appeal to him; disgrace and shame do not deter him.
\nHe is not always looking for right and wrong, always deciding \u201cYes\u201d or \u201cNo.\u201d
\nThe ancients said, therefore:<\/p>\n
The man of Tao remains unknown.
\nPerfect virtue produces nothing.
\n\u201cNo-Self\u201d is \u201cTrue-Self\u201d.
\nAnd the greatest man is Nobody.
\n(17:3, pp. 137-138)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Quotations from Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton (Shamelessly lifted from Terebess Asia Online) \u00a0 Chuang Tzu was a Taoist sage, living sometime before 250 B.C. The book Chuang Tzu is believed to contain both his own writings and writings by others about him and his teachings. The quotations at this site were taken […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2031,765],"class_list":["post-20925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chuang-tzu","tag-thomas-merton"],"yoast_head":"\n
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