Zhuangzi (Zhuang Zhou) · Complete work
Chapter 6 大宗師第六
Chapter 6 大宗師第六 of 7. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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知天之所為者，天而生也；知人之所為者，以其知之所知以養其知之所不知，終其天年而不中道夭者，是知之盛也。雖然，有患。夫知有所待而後當，其所待者特未定也。庸詎知吾所謂天之非人乎？所謂人之非天乎？且有真人而後有真知。何謂真人？古之真人，不逆寡，不雄成，不謨士。若然者，過而弗悔，當而不自得也。若然者，登高不慄，入水不濡，入火不熱。是知之能登假於道也若此。古之真人，其寢不夢，其覺无憂，其食不甘，其息深深。真人之息以踵，眾人之息以喉。屈服者，其嗌言若哇。其耆欲深者，其天機淺。古之真人，不知說生，不知惡死；其出不訢，其入不距；翛然而往，翛然而來而已矣。不志其所始，不求其所終；受而喜之，忘而復之，是之謂不以心捐道，不以人助天。是之謂真人。若然者，其心忘，其容寂，其顙頯；淒然似秋，煖然似春，喜怒通四時，與物有宜而莫知其極。故聖人之用兵也，亡國而不失人心；利澤施乎萬世，不為愛人。故樂通物，非聖人也；有親，非仁也；天時，非賢也；利害不通，非君子也；徇名失己，非士也；亡身不真，非役人也。若狐不偕、務光、伯夷、叔齊、箕子、胥餘、紀他、申徒狄，是役人之役，適人之適，而不自適其適者也。古之真人，其狀義而不朋，若不足而不承；與乎其觚而不堅也，張乎其虛而不華也；邴邴乎其似喜乎！崔乎其不得已乎！滀乎進我色也，與乎止我德也；厲乎其似世乎！謷乎其未可制也；連乎其似好閉也，悗乎忘其言也。以刑為體，以禮為翼，以知為時，以德為循。以刑為體者，綽乎其殺也；以禮為翼者，所以行於世也；以知為時者，不得已於事也；以德為循者，言其與有足者至於丘也；而人真以為勤行者也。故其好之也一，其弗好之也一。其一也一，其不一也一。其一與天為徒，其不一與人為徒。天與人不相勝也，是之謂真人。死生，命也，其有夜旦之常，天也。人之有所不得與，皆物之情也。彼特以天為父而身猶愛之，而況其卓乎！人特以有君為愈乎己，而身猶死之，而況其真乎！泉涸，魚相與處於陸，相呴以濕，相濡以沫，不如相忘於江湖。與其譽堯而非桀也，不如兩忘而化其道。夫大塊載我以形，勞我以生，佚我以老，息我以死。故善吾生者，乃所以善吾死也。夫藏舟於壑，藏山於澤，謂之固矣。然而夜半有力者負之而走，昧者不知也。藏小大有宜，猶有所遯。若夫藏天下於天下而不得所遯，是恆物之大情也。特犯人之形而猶喜之。若人之形者，萬化而未始有極也，其為樂可勝計邪！故聖人將遊於物之所不得遯而皆存。善夭善老，善始善終，人猶效之，又況萬物之所係，而一化之所待乎！夫道，有情有信，无為无形；可傳而不可受，可得而不可見；自本自根，未有天地，自古以固存；神鬼神帝，生天生地；在太極之先而不為高，在六極之下而不為深，先天地生而不為久，長於上古而不為老。狶韋氏得之，以挈天地；伏戲得之，以襲氣母；維斗得之，終古不忒；日月得之，終古不息；堪坏得之，以襲崑崙；馮夷得之，以遊大川；肩吾得之，以處大山；黃帝得之，以登雲天；顓頊得之，以處玄宮；禺強得之，立乎北極；西王母得之，坐乎少廣，莫知其始，莫知其終；彭祖得之，上及有虞，下及五伯；傅說得之，以相武丁，奄有天下，乘東維，騎箕尾，而比於列星。南伯子葵問乎女偊曰：「子之年長矣，而色若孺子，何也？」曰：「吾聞道矣。」南伯子葵曰：「道可得學邪？」曰：「惡！惡可！子非其人也。夫卜梁倚有聖人之才而无聖人之道，我有聖人之道而无聖人之才，吾欲以教之，庶幾其果為聖人乎！不然，以聖人之道告聖人之才，亦易矣。吾猶守而告之，參日而後能外天下；已外天下矣，吾又守之，七日而後能外物；已外物矣，吾又守之，九日而後能外生；已外生矣，而後能朝徹；朝徹，而後能見獨；見獨，而後能无古今；无古今，而後能入於不死不生。殺生者不死，生生者不生。其為物，无不將也，无不迎也；无不毀也，无不成也。其名為攖寧。攖寧也者，攖而後成者也。」南伯子葵曰：「子獨惡乎聞之？」曰：「聞諸副墨之子，副墨之子聞諸洛誦之孫，洛誦之孫聞之瞻明，瞻明聞之聶許，聶許聞之需役，需役聞之於謳，於謳聞之玄冥，玄冥聞之參寥，參寥聞之疑始。」子祀、子輿、子犁、子來四人相與語曰：「孰能以无為首，以生為脊，以死為尻，孰知死生存亡之一體者，吾與之友矣。」四人相視而笑，莫逆於心，遂相與為友。俄而子輿有病，子祀往問之。曰：「偉哉夫造物者，將以予為此拘拘也！曲僂發背，上有五管，頤隱於齊，肩高於頂，句贅指天。」陰陽之氣有沴，其心間而无事，跰𨇤而鑑于井，曰：「嗟乎！夫造物者又將以予為此拘拘也！」子祀曰：「女惡之乎？」曰：「亡，予何惡！浸假而化予之左臂以為雞，予因以求時夜；浸假而化予之右臂以為彈，予因以求鴞炙；浸假而化予之尻以為輪，以神為馬，予因而乘之，豈更駕哉！且夫得者，時也；失者，順也；安時而處順，哀樂不能入也。此古之所謂縣解也，而不能自解者，物有結之。且夫物不勝天久矣，吾又何惡焉！」俄而子來有病，喘喘然將死，其妻子環而泣之，犁往問之，曰：「叱！避！无怛化！」倚其戶與之語曰：「偉哉造化！又將奚以汝為，將奚以汝適？以汝為鼠肝乎？以汝為蟲臂乎？」子來曰：「父母於子，東西南北，唯命之從。陰陽於人，不翅於父母；彼近吾死而我不聽，我則悍矣，彼何罪焉！夫大塊載我以形，勞我以生，佚我以老，息我以死。故善吾生者，乃所以善吾死也。今大冶鑄金，金踊躍曰『我且必為鏌鋣』，大冶必以為不祥之金。今一犯人之形，而曰『人耳人耳』，夫造化者必以為不祥之人。今一以天地為大鑪，以造化為大冶，惡乎往而不可哉！」成然寐，蘧然覺。子桑戶、孟子反、子琴張三人相與友，曰：「孰能相與於无相與，相為於无相為？孰能登天遊霧，撓挑无極；相忘以生，无所終窮？」三人相視而笑，莫逆於心，遂相與友。莫然有間，而子桑戶死，未葬。孔子聞之，使子貢往待事焉。或編曲，或鼓琴，相和而歌曰：「嗟來桑戶乎！嗟來桑戶乎！而已反其真，而我猶為人猗！」子貢趨而進曰：「敢問臨尸而歌，禮乎？」二人相視而笑曰：「是惡知禮意！」子貢反，以告孔子，曰：「彼何人者邪？脩行无有，而外其形骸，臨尸而歌，顏色不變，无以命之。彼何人者邪？」孔子曰：「彼，遊方之外者也；而丘，遊方之內者也。外內不相及，而丘使女往弔之，丘則陋矣。彼方且與造物者為人，而遊乎天地之一氣。彼以生為附贅縣疣，以死為決𤴯潰癰，夫若然者，又惡知死生先後之所在！假於異物，託於同體；忘其肝膽，遺其耳目；反覆終始，不知端倪；芒然彷徨乎塵垢之外，逍遙乎无為之業。彼又惡能憒憒然為世俗之禮，以觀眾人之耳目哉！」子貢曰：「然則夫子何方之依？」曰：「丘，天之戮民也。雖然，吾與汝共之。」子貢曰：「敢問其方。」孔子曰：「魚相造乎水，人相造乎道。相造乎水者，穿池而養給；相造乎道者，无事而生定。故曰，魚相忘乎江湖，人相忘乎道術。」子貢曰：「敢問畸人。」曰：「畸人者，畸於人而侔於天。故曰：天之小人，人之君子；人之君子，天之小人也。」顏回問仲尼曰：「孟孫才，其母死，哭泣无涕，中心不慼，居喪不哀。无是三者，以善喪蓋魯國。固有无其實而得其名者乎？回壹怪之。」仲尼曰：「夫孟孫氏盡之矣，進於知矣。唯簡之而不得，夫已有所簡矣。孟孫氏不知所以生，不知所以死；不知就先，不知就後；若化為物，以待其所不知之化已乎！且方將化，惡知不化哉？方將不化，惡知已化哉？吾特與汝，其夢未始覺者邪！且彼有駭形而无損心，有旦宅而无情死。孟孫氏特覺，人哭亦哭，是自其所以乃。且也相與吾之耳矣，庸詎知吾所謂吾之乎？且汝夢為鳥而厲乎天，夢為魚而沒於淵。不識今之言者，其覺者乎，其夢者乎？造適不及笑，獻笑不及排，安排而去化，乃入於寥天一。」意而子見許由。許由曰：「堯何以資汝？」意而子曰：「堯謂我：『汝必躬服仁義而明言是非。』」許由曰：「而奚來為軹？夫堯既已黥汝以仁義，而劓汝以是非矣，汝將何以遊夫遙蕩恣睢轉徙之塗乎？」意而子曰：「雖然，吾願遊於其藩。」許由曰：「不然。夫盲者无以與乎眉目顏色之好，瞽者无以與乎青黃黼黻之觀。」意而子曰：「夫无莊之失其美，據梁之失其力，黃帝之亡其知，皆在鑪捶之間耳。庸詎知夫造物者之不息我黥而補我劓，使我乘成以隨先生邪？」許由曰：「噫！未可知也。我為汝言其大略。吾師乎！吾師乎！𩐋萬物而不為義，澤及萬世而不為仁，長於上古而不為老，覆載天地刻彫眾形而不為巧，此所遊已。」顏回曰：「回益矣。」仲尼曰：「何謂也？」曰：「回忘禮樂矣。」曰：「可矣，猶未也。」它日，復見，曰：「回益矣。」曰：「何謂也？」曰：「回忘仁義矣。」曰：「可矣，猶未也。」它日，復見，曰：「回益矣。」曰：「何謂也？」曰：「回坐忘矣。」仲尼蹴然曰：「何謂坐忘？」顏回曰：「墮枝體，黜聰明，離形去知，同於大通，此謂坐忘。」仲尼曰：「同則无好也，化則无常也。而果其賢乎！丘也請從而後也。」子輿與子桑友，而霖雨十日。子輿曰：「子桑殆病矣！」裹飯而往食之。至子桑之門，則若歌若哭，鼓琴曰：「父邪！母邪！天乎！人乎！」有不任其聲而趨舉其詩焉。子輿入，曰：「子之歌詩，何故若是？」曰：「吾思夫使我至此極者而弗得也。父母豈欲吾貧哉？天无私覆，地无私載，天地豈私貧我哉？求其為之者而不得也。然而至此極者，命也夫！
Mouseia
Mouseia's complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the classical Chinese of the seven inner chapters for fidelity, philosophical precision, wild beauty, humor, and structure.
To know what Heaven does and what man does: that is the utmost. Heaven does: it is Heaven that gives life to the ten thousand things. Man does: man gives to what is given him, and does not lose what he has been given. Not to lose what is given: that is to hold to what is true. And to keep to what is true and not lose it: that is not to lose Heaven. But how can it be said that Heaven is not man and man is not Heaven? There must first be a true man, and then there can be true knowledge.
What is a true man? In the true men of old there was no dreaming in sleep and no waking with care. They did not taste of the sweetness of life; they did not fear the coming of death. They came without joy and went without resistance. They went as they came: that is all. They did not forget their beginning; they did not seek their end. They took what came and were glad; they lost it and were glad again. That is called not wounding the Way with the heart. And so: one who breathes from the heels is deep; one who breathes from the throat is shallow. The slave of desire is shallow in his knowledge. The true men of old did not know the love of life nor the hate of death. To be born: they did not rejoice; to die: they did not resist. They went lightly; they came lightly. They did not forget their beginning; they did not seek their end. They took it, and it was gone; they raised it, and it came back. That is called not wounding the heart with the Way, and not helping Heaven with man. This is called the true man.
Such a one: his heart was still; his face was calm; his brow was cool. Spring came to him; autumn came to him; and with the four seasons he kept the balance of the ten thousand things, and none knew where it would end. A weapon of war may kill a state; but it cannot kill the man of Heaven. A flood may drown a kingdom; but it cannot drown the man of Heaven. Cold and heat may wound the ten thousand things; but they cannot wound the man of Heaven. The thief may steal a state; but he cannot steal the man of Heaven. And so the man of Heaven stands in the midst of things, and things come to him, and he does not go to things. This is called the true man.
The true men of old: their knowledge was of the one. They did not love the few; they did not fear the many. They did not plan; they did not fail. They did not repent of what was past; they did not lean on what was to come. They went up and were not glad; they went down and were not lost. They were quiet and calm, and took what came as the season brings it. This is called the true man.
The true men of old: their sleep was without dreams; their waking was without care. Their food was without relish; their breath was deep. The true man breathes from his heels; the crowd breathes from the throat. They who bend before others breathe from the throat: their words are like the vomit of the full. The men of old, deep in the hidden, knew no love of life and no hate of death. Their going out was not far; their coming in was not near. They went as they came: that is all. They did not forget where they began; they did not ask where they would end. They took it with joy and lost it with joy. They forgot their head and tail; they did not hold to the middle; they took what came as the season: this is called the true man.
Death and life are fate; and the constant moving of them: Heaven. As a man cannot ask to be the son of his father and mother and go to them in love, so he cannot ask to be with the Way. But the world holds the Way to be its father and mother. Is it so? But to say the Way is not so: that is not to say the Way. To hold the Way as our father and mother: that is near. To hold it as a mere body that is dried and rotten: that is not to hold it. We are not our own; we are something else's. And that other: it is the one that is in all things and does not go out of them. And to hold to the one that is in all things and does not go out: that is to hold to the true.
We take the great mold and cast us in it, and go with the mold, and do not grieve: then we may speak of the wandering of the great breath. And if we take the great mold and cast us in it, and go with the mold and do not grieve: then the mold is as a father and mother to us. And we are cast in it, and it casts us and casts us, day and night without end: and we cannot choose our casting. And the casting of the ten thousand things: and we are cast with them; and in the casting is the sweetness; and in the casting the going out and coming in.
Now the great mold casts us in the form of man, and we are glad; and a thousand times ten thousand it casts us, and we do not know the end of it. To be a man and be glad of it: and yet the mold casts us a thousand times and we do not know the end. To go with the mold and not grieve: only the true man.
We love our mothers not because they are lovely, but because they are our mothers; and we love the mold because it casts us. If we love it as our mother, we are safe. If we go with it as water flows, we lose nothing. Therefore it is said: we are not our own; we are something else's. And that other: it is in us and does not go out.
Four men looked at each other and smiled, and became friends: Zi Si, Zi Yu, Zi Li, Zi Lai. Then one of them said: "Who can make nothing the head, life the back, death the tail? Who knows that life and death, going and staying, are one body? He may be our friend." The four looked at each other and smiled, and did not speak, and their hearts were friends.
Then Zi Yu fell ill, and Zi Si went to see him. "Great is the Maker of Things!" he cried. "What has he made of you — twisted like this!" The man was bent double: his five pipes were up; his chin hid his navel; his shoulder was higher than his head; his neck pointed to the sky. The breath in him came and went; yet his heart was light and untroubled. He crawled to the well and looked at himself: "Alas! The Maker of Things has twisted me like this!" "Do you hate it?" he asked. "No. Why should I hate it? If he were to change my left arm into a cock, I should have it cry the watch. If he changed my right arm into a crossbow, I should have it shoot a dove. If he changed my seat into wheels and my spirit into a horse, I should ride in it, and need no other team. And when the time comes to go, I go; and the time to stay, I stay: in peace, in peace. I do not grieve. The man who is not sad at the loss of what he had, and is not sad at what is to come, is the man who has climbed the tower of Heaven and gone in. The old men did not flee from prison; the young men did not flee from battle. To be cast is to go: and in the going, in the staying, there is peace. And so it is said: the great mold casts us; and we are cast day and night without end; and we cannot choose the casting. To be at peace with the time and in the flow: then sorrow and joy cannot come in. The men of old called this the loosening of the bonds of God. And he who cannot be his own man is the servant of what made him, and cannot be a man."
Then Zi Lai fell ill, and Zi Li went to see him. "Great is the Maker of Things!" he cried. "What has he made of you — twisted like this!" The man was swollen and full of dropsy; his navel was high; his legs were festering. And yet he lay in bed and hummed to himself, easy and untroubled. He said to Zi Li: "Do you hate it?" "No," said Zi Li. "Why should I hate it? I shall be scattered: a cock, and I shall crow the watch; a crossbow, and I shall shoot the dove; wheels, and a horse, and I shall ride; and I shall need no other team. In the going there is peace; in the staying, peace. And in the peace there is no fear. And so the men of old called it the loosening of the bonds of God. The father says to the son: 'Go here; go there; go up; go down.' And the son goes, and is not blamed. And the great mold casts us, and we are cast day and night without end; and we cannot choose the casting; and we are at peace with it, and it is peace."
Then Zi Sang Hu, Meng Zi Fan, and Zi Qin Zhang were friends. One said to the others: "Who can be with others and not be with them? Who can go with them and not go? Who can climb the sky and wander in the mist, and play with the sun and moon outside the world of man, and take no thought of whether there is life or death, but only of the one that is without beginning and without end?" The three looked at each other and smiled, and their hearts were friends, and they did not speak.
Then Zi Sang Hu died. He had not yet been buried, and Confucius heard of it, and sent Zi Gong to help at the mourning. Zi Gong found one making music, and one stringing a lute, and the two singing together: "Ah, Sang Hu! Ah, Sang Hu! You have gone back to what is true, and we are still men!" Zi Gong went in and said: "Is this not a breach of the rites, to sing at a corpse?" The two looked at each other and laughed: "What does the man know of the rites?"
Zi Gong came back and told Confucius: "What kind of men are they? They have no care for their goodness and no care for the rites, and they sing at a corpse, and do not grieve: I do not know what to call them. What kind of men are they?" Confucius said: "They are men who wander outside the mold; and I am a man who wanders inside it. Outside and inside do not meet; and I sent you to mourn: it was my fault. They are the companions of the Maker of Things, and they go with him as one man. They take life as a swelling, and death as a going. They do not know the head and tail of them; they do not know the beginning and end; they take what comes, and are not troubled by it; and they wander in the fire of the world and are not burned. How could they trouble themselves with the little rites of the world, and make a show of them to the crowd?"
Zi Gong said: "Then what does the Master follow?" Confucius said: "I am a man of Heaven's punishment. Yet I seek the Way with you." Zi Gong said: "May I hear of the Way?" Confucius said: "The fish forgets itself in rivers and lakes; men forget themselves in the arts of the Way. The fish forgotten in the river and lake: it is well with them. Men forgotten in the arts of the Way: it is well with them. So it is said: to mend what is crooked in the honored one, and to forget what is crooked in the poor. He who goes with what is true is at rest; and so he forgets the crooked in the honored one, and forgets the crooked in the poor. He who goes with what is true, and rests in the flow of it, forgets his feet: the shoe fits. He forgets his waist: the belt fits. He forgets right and wrong: the heart fits. He does not change within; he does not go with the without; and so he is at ease with what comes, and does not lose what he is. And so it is said: he forgets the beginning and the end; he forgets the middle; he takes what comes as it comes; and he is with the one that has no beginning and no end."
Yi Er Zi saw Xu You. Xu You said: "What did Yao give you?" Yi Er Zi said: "Yao said to me: 'You must practice kindness and do right.' Then I shall be free." Xu You said: "Why do you come here? Yao has already branded you with kindness and right, and cut off your wandering in the wide and free, the place of rest." Yi Er Zi said: "Still I wish to wander in the boundary of the wide." Xu You said: "Not so. The blind have no love for beauty of face or eye; the crooked have no love for the patterned gown: for the power to see has left them." Yi Er Zi said: "Yet the true woman has lost her form; and the brave soldier has lost his strength; and the great officer of Qi has lost his corn. And men have their forms and their strength and their corn, and yet are glad. And if the Maker of Things gives it back to them, will he not give me what I had? And if he will not give it to me, then the fault is Heaven's, and not the fault of the Maker of Things. Then I shall not be blamed." Xu You said: "Who knows? I will sing you a song: 'O wanderer, wanderer, I go with the mold, and do not know where I go; O fool, fool, I go with the mold, and do not know where I stay; I am dark; I am mad; I do not know the end; I go with it in the mold, and the mold does not leave me. And so it is from the beginning that I am with the mold.' What would you do with the Maker of Things?"
Yan Hui said to Confucius: "I am getting better." Confucius said: "What do you mean?" "I have forgotten the rites and music." "That is good; but not enough. One day I will tell you: I am getting better." "What do you mean?" "I have forgotten kindness and right." "That is good; but not enough. Another day: I am getting better." "What do you mean?" "I can sit and forget." Confucius was startled: "What do you mean by sitting and forgetting?" Yan Hui said: "I let fall my limbs; I put away my hearing and my sight; I part from my form; I put out my knowledge; and I am made one with the great opening. That is what I call sitting and forgetting." Confucius said: "If you are one with it, you have no love of things; if you are changed, you have no constancy. And you — you are a true man indeed! I ask to be your follower."
Zi Yu and Zi Sang were friends, and Zi Qin Zhang was their friend. Zi Sang had not been buried when Confucius sent Zi Gong to help. Zi Gong found one singing, and one playing, and the two singing together. And so: it is not the Way that is crooked, but the form that is crooked; and he who has the whole has no form, and he who has the form is not whole.
And so the fish forget themselves in the rivers and lakes, and men forget themselves in the arts of the Way.
Mouseia
Mouseia's complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all seven inner chapters of the classical Chinese text.
Know what Heaven does and what people do: that's the top of knowledge. Heaven gives life to everything. People take what they're given and don't lose it. Not losing it is keeping what's true. And keeping what's true means not losing heaven. But how can you say heaven isn't human and humans aren't heaven? You have to be a real person before you can have real knowledge.
What is a real person? The real people of old didn't dream restlessly, didn't wake up worrying. They didn't savor food; they didn't fear death. They came without joy, left without fighting it. They didn't forget where they started; they didn't wonder where they'd end. They took what came happily and gave it back happily. That's called not letting the mind damage the Way.
The real person's heart is calm; face is still; forehead cool. Spring and autumn pass through him and he stays balanced with the ten thousand things. A weapon can destroy a country but can't kill the man of heaven. A flood can drown a land but can't drown him. Cold and heat can hurt everything else, but not him. A thief can steal a state, but not the man of heaven. That's the real person.
Real people of old: their knowledge reached the One. They didn't love the few, didn't fear the many. They didn't scheme; they didn't fail. They didn't regret the past, didn't lean on the future. Going up, no joy; going down, no loss. Calm and quiet, they took what came with the season. That's the real person.
Real people of old: slept without dreams, woke without worries. Ate without cravings; breathed deeply. A real person breathes from his heels; ordinary people breathe from the throat. The cramped and submissive breathe shallow, and their words come out half-digested.
Death and life are fate. Their constant cycle is heaven. A man can't choose his parents; but the world treats the Way as its father. True or not? Who can say? But treating the Way as parent is close to it.
We're cast into a mold and we don't grieve — that's wandering with the great breath. If we're cast and cast again, day and night, without end, and we can't choose the casting — to be at peace with the flow: then sorrow and joy can't get in. The ancients called that being freed from heaven's ropes. If you can't be your own master, you're the servant of whatever made you.
Four friends looked at each other and smiled — Zi Si, Zi Yu, Zi Li, Zi Lai. One said: "Who can make Nothing the head, Life the spine, Death the tail? Who knows that life and death and going and staying are one body? That's our friend." They smiled and didn't speak; their hearts were already friends.
Then Zi Yu got sick. Zi Si visited: "Amazing! The Maker has twisted you like this!" Zi Yu was bent double — chin at his navel, shoulder above his head. But his breathing was easy, his heart light. He crawled to the well, looked at himself: "Wow. The Maker has really bent me up!" "Do you hate it?" "No, why would I? If he turned my left arm into a rooster, I'd crow at dawn. If he turned my right arm into a crossbow, I'd shoot a bird. If he made my hips into wheels and my spirit into a horse, I'd ride! When it's time to go, I go. When it's time to stay, I stay. Peace, peace. No grief."
Then Zi Lai got sick, swollen with illness, and lay there humming to himself, completely calm. Zi Li visited and cried out: "Amazing! The Maker has twisted you like this!" Zi Lai said: "Do I hate it? Why? I'll be scattered: a rooster, and I'll crow; a crossbow, and I'll shoot; wheels and a horse, and I'll ride. Peace in the going; peace in the staying. No fear."
Zi Sang Hu, Meng Zi Fan, and Zi Qin Zhang were friends. One said: "Who can be with others without really being with them? Who can leave without leaving? Who can climb the sky, wander the mist, play with the sun and moon outside the world of men, and forget life and death — just the One, beginningless and endless?" The three smiled and said nothing: their hearts were already friends.
Then Zi Sang Hu died. Confucius sent Zi Gong to help with the funeral. Zi Gong found the friends singing and playing the lute beside the body: "Ah, Sang Hu! You've gone back to the truth — and we're still stuck being human!" Zi Gong burst in: "Singing at a corpse? Isn't that against the rites?" The two friends looked at each other and laughed: "What does this man know about the rites?"
Zi Gong went back and told Confucius. Confucius said: "They are people who wander outside the mold. I wander inside it. Outside and inside don't meet — sending you to mourn was my mistake. They are companions of the Maker. They treat life as a swelling, death as a drain. They don't know their own beginning or end. They take what comes and aren't bothered; they wander in the fires of the world and aren't burned. How could they bother with little ceremonies for a crowd?"
Zi Gong said: "Then what do you follow?" Confucius said: "I am one punished by heaven. Still, I seek the Way with you." Zi Gong said: "Tell me about the Way." Confucius said: "Fish forget themselves in rivers and lakes; people forget themselves in the arts of the Way. Fish in open water: fine. People in the Way: fine."
Yi Er Zi visited Xu You. Xu You asked: "What did Yao teach you?" Yi Er Zi said: "Yao told me to practice kindness and do right." Xu You said: "Then what are you doing here? Yao has already branded you with kindness and right — you can't wander free."
Yi Er Zi said: "Still, I'd like to try." Xu You said: "Not possible. A blind man can't love beautiful faces. A lame man can't love patterned robes — the capacity's gone." Yi Er Zi said: "But the true woman lost her beauty; the brave warrior lost his strength; the great officer lost his land — and still they were glad. If the Maker can give back to them, why not to me?" Xu You said: "Who knows? I'll sing you a song: 'O wanderer, I go with the mold and don't know where I go. O fool, I go with the mold and don't know where I stay. I'm dark; I'm mad; I don't know the end. I move with the mold, and the mold doesn't leave me.' What would you do with the Maker of Things?"
Yan Hui told Confucius: "I'm improving." Confucius said: "How?" "I've forgotten rites and music." "Good — but not enough." Later: "I'm improving." "How?" "I've forgotten kindness and right." "Good — but not enough." Later: "I'm improving." "How?" "I can sit and forget." Confucius jumped: "What do you mean, sit and forget?" Yan Hui said: "I let my limbs fall away; I dismiss my senses; I drop my body; I put out my knowledge; and I merge with the great opening. That's sitting and forgetting." Confucius said: "If you're one with it, no preferences. If you're transformed, no fixed self. You've become a real person — I'd like to be your student."
The fish forget themselves in the rivers and lakes. People forget themselves in the arts of the Way.