CHUANG TZU: THE WAY OF WATER
When I first started my blog, I chose a very long title! :) I chose Ancient Wisdom Traditions and the Lost Art of ‘Being’. I had to put being in the title, because of the Tao as explained by Lao Tzu in the Tao Te Ching and Chuang Tzu in the text Zhuangzi. Because the Tao is about just ‘Being’!
The birds have vanished into the sky
And now the last clouds drain away
We sit together, the mountain and me
Until only the mountain remains. Li-Po
Chuang Tzu is also known as Zhuang Zhou. The Zhuangzi is an ancient text that is one of the two foundational texts of Taoism alongside the Tao Te Ching. For practical purposes I am using his traditional name Chuang Tzu. Chuang Tzu lived and wrote in the late 4th century BCE. Many scholars see Chuang Tzu as the greatest Chinese Philosopher, not only because he was the greatest originator and scholar of the Tao, but because many scholars see him as the father of Zen Buddhism emerging in China a thousand years later.
Nothing is softer or more flexible
Than water yet,
Nothing can resist it.
Nature does not hurry,
Yet, everything is accomplished. Chuang Tzu
‘There was a man so displeased by the sight of his own footsteps, that he was determined to get rid of both by running away from them. But every time he put his foot down, there was another step, and his shadow kept up with him without the slightest difficulty. He thought he must not be running fast enough, so he ran faster and faster and faster, without stopping, until he finally dropped dead of exhaustion. He failed to realize that if he merely stepped into the shade, his shadow would vanish, and if he sat down and stayed still, there would be no more footsteps.’ Chuang Tzu
‘The humor, the sophistication, the literary genius and philosophical insight of Chuang Tzu are evident to anyone who samples his work. But before one can begin to understand even a little of his subtlety, one must situate him in his cultural and historical context. That is to say that one must see him against the background of Confucianism which he did not hesitate to ridicule, along with all the other sedate and accepted schools of Chinese thought from that of Moti to that of Chuang’s contemporary friend and constant opponent, the logician Hui Tzu.’ Thomas Merton
“The true inheritors of the thought and spirit of Chuang Tzu are the Chinese Zen Buddhists of the Tang period (7th century to 10th centuries C.E.) But Chuang Tzu continued to exert an influence on all cultured Chinese thought, since he never ceased to be recognized as one of the great writers and thinkers of the Classical period. The subtle, mystical, sophisticated Taoism of Chuang Tzu and Lao Tzu has left a permanent mark on all Chinese culture and the Chinese character itself. There have never been lacking authorities like Daisetz T. Suzuki the Japanese Zen scholar, who declared Chuang Tzu to be the very greatest of the Chinese philosophers. There is no question that the kind of thought and culture represented by Chuang Tzu was what transformed highly speculative Indian Buddhism into the humorous, iconoclastic, and totally practical kind of Buddhism that was to flourish in China and Japan in the various schools of Zen. Zen throws light on Chuang Tzu and Chuang Tzu throws light on Zen.” Thomas Merton from ‘The Way of Chuang Tzu ‘
Living in retirement beyond the world
Silently enjoying isolation,
I pull the rope of my door tighter
And stuff my window with roots and ferns
My spirit is tuned to the Spring-season:
In the fall of the year there is autumn in my heart.
Thus imitating cosmic changes
My cottage becomes a Universe . Chuang Tzu
‘ In our culture we are not so familiar with the notion of ways or paths. It is a concept that comes from China, the notion of a law of being, called the ‘Tao’, or simply ‘the Way’. The Tao is the world unfolding according to its own laws. Nothing is done or forced, everything just comes about. To live in accord with the Tao is to understand non-doing and non-striving. Your life is already doing itself. The challenge is whether you can see in this way and live in accordance with the way things are; to come into harmony with all things and all moments. This is the path of insight, of wisdom, and of healing. It is the path of acceptance and peace. It is the path of the mind-body looking deeply into itself and knowing itself. It is the art of conscious living.’ Jon Kabat-Zinn
Silence is a great source of strength
To the mind that is still,
The whole universe surrenders. Chuang Tzu
Why chatter about delusion and enlightenment?
Listening to the night rain on my roof,
I sit comfortably, with both legs stretched out. Ryokan
Where did my life come from?
Where will it go?
Even the present moment
Can’t be pinned down.
Everything changes, everything is empty
And in that emptiness, this ‘I’ exists
Only for a little while.
How can one say anything is or is not?
Best just to hold these little thoughts.
Let things simply take their way
And so be natural and at your ease. Ryokan
The beloved Japanese Zen Buddhist monk, Ryokan, among his meager possessions, carried with him the Zhuangzi, the writings of Chuang Tzu and a book of Buddhist poems.
CHUANG TZU
‘PERFECT JOY’ : CHUANG TZU 4TH CENTURY B.C.E.
Is there to be found on earth a fullness of joy, or is there no such thing?’ What the world values is money, reputation, long life, achievement. What the world counts as joy is health and comfort of the body, good food, fine clothes, beautiful things to look at, and pleasant music to listen to.
What it condemns is lack of money, a low social rank, a reputation of being no good, and an early death. What it considers misfortune is bodily discomfort and labour, no chance to get your fill of good food, not having fine clothes to wear, having no way to amuse or delight the eye, and no pleasant music to listen to. If people find that they are deprived of these things, they go into a panic or fall into despair. They are so concerned for their life, that their anxiety makes life unbearable, even when they have the things they think they want. Their very concern for enjoyment makes them unhappy.
I cannot tell if what the world considers ‘happiness’ is happiness or not. All I know is that when I consider the way they go about attaining it, I see them carried away headlong, grim, and obsessed, in the general onrush of the human herd, unable to stop themselves or to change their direction. All the while they claim to be just on the point of attaining happiness. My opinion is that you never find happiness until you stop looking for it. Chuang Tzu 4th Century B.C.E.
“My greatest happiness consists in doing nothing whatsoever that is calculated to obtain happiness; and this, in the minds of most people, is the worst possible course. I will hold to the saying that ‘Perfect Joy’ is to be without Joy. Perfect Praise is to be without Praise. If you ask ‘what ought to be done’ and ‘what ought not to be done’ on earth to create happiness, I answer that these questions do not have an answer. There is no way of determining such things. Yet, at the same time, if I cease striving for happiness the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ at once become apparent all by themselves. Contentment and well-being at once become possible the moment you cease to act with them in view, and if you practice non-doing (wu wei), you will have both happiness and well-being. Here is how I sum it up:
Heaven does nothing; its non-doing is its serenity.
Earth does nothing; its non-doing is its rest.
From the union of these two non-doings
All actions proceed; all things are made.” Chuang Tzu
‘When the heart is right, ‘for’ and ‘against’ are forgotten.’ Chuang Tzu
CHUANG TZU: THE FOUR RULES OF LIVING ACCORDING TO THE TAO
Chuang Tzu spoke of the four cardinal virtues, teaching that when we embrace them as a way of life, the truth of the universe reveals itself. The ancient Chinese master said that practicing and living these teachings can open you to a higher wisdom and a greater happiness. This is because they bring you closer to your innermost source- a place of balance and peace.
THE FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES
KINDNESS OR GENTLENESS:
Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates wisdom.
Kindness in giving creates love.
Essentially, being gentle means giving up the need to be right; being kind is more important than being correct and asserting your own beliefs. When we are gentle, we stop trying to dominate others and instead live in harmony with others. Gentleness or Kindness both signify compassion to others. Sometimes we can lose ourselves and forget what is important. I would say that being kind to others is the most powerful tool that we have for fostering kindness in others and making our world a better place.
INNER AND OUTER
‘The inner represents the efforts we make primarily for ourselves. Inner-directed goals of a spiritual life involve inner-work, where we realize the truth, wisdom, clarity, and peace and mind that is inherent in all of us. No one else can give it to us, or provide it for us. We must find it ourselves. Having others forgive us for past mistakes and wrong deeds is useless unless we learn to forgive ourselves in order to move forward in our lives.
The outer represents the efforts we make primarily for the benefit of others and the world around us. But we cannot have one without the other. We cannot have the ‘outer’ without the ‘inner’. The outer goals of spiritual life, deals with how we perceive and treat others. By learning to love both ourselves and others, we enter a higher plane of existence which brings us closer to that which is greater than any one of us. As we develop and foster our inner and outer efforts, we become more skillful with practice and we come to realize that these efforts are really one and the same. The inner and outer are connected. It is important to note that love, compassion, gratitude, joy, all the values which bring us happiness can be learned and strengthened by systematic practice and hard work. Buddhism offers us a road map on how to foster personal growth.’ Colin Mac Rae
NATURAL SINCERITY:
When pure sincerity (authenticity) forms within, it is outwardly realized in other people’s hearts. Without being authentic, we can’t live in harmony. Being swayed by outside forces makes us lose sight of who we really are and who we want to be. By accepting the truth about ourselves and others, we not only find peace in this life but we can help others along their paths as well.
REVERENCE FOR ALL LIFE:
Living in the moment brings you a sense of reverence for all of life’s blessings. Lao Tzu believed that respecting all forms of life was essential for harmony: “All creation and creatures are equally important and they require equal respect.” Trying to dominate and control all life only leads you away from enlightenment, as you can’t find peace in the midst of a struggle for control. A truly spiritual perspective tells us that love is freedom.
SUPPORTIVENESS:
Be supportive, but let go of the outcome. Just like the other virtues, supportiveness applies to everything and everyone, including ourselves. It allows us to come from a healthier place and to be there for others who might need help along their own path.
This comes naturally for everyone, but society and our modern culture- teach us something different. Sink or swim- everyone for themselves. Supporting others and ourselves brings about the highest happiness.
LEAVING THINGS ALONE: “You train your eye and your vision lusts after color. You train your ear, and you long for a delightful sound. You delight in doing good, and your natural kindness is blown out of shape. You delight in righteousness, and you become righteous beyond all reason. You overdo liturgy and you become a ham actor. Overdo your love of music, and you play corn. Love of wisdom leads to wise contriving. Love of knowledge leads to fault-finding.
If men would stay as they really are, taking or leaving these eight delights would make no difference. But if they will not rest in their right state, the eight delights develop like malignant tumors. The world falls into confusion. Since men honor these delights and lust after them, the world has gone stone-blind.
When the delight is over, they will not let go of it: they surround its memory with ritual worship, they fall on their knees to talk about it, play music and sing, fast and discipline themselves in the honor of the eight delights. When the delights become a religion, how can you control them?” Chuang Tzu
Here we can see the iconoclastic side of Chuang Tzu that influenced Zen. “When the delights become a religion, how can you control them?” If I just saw this quote on its own , I would say this is a Zen quote. In fact, that entire paragraph rings of the humor and sophistication that Thomas Merton refers to.
USELESS
Hui Tzu said to Chuang Tzu: “All your teaching is centered on what has no use.”
Chuang Tzu replied: “If you have no appreciation for what has no use, you can’t begin to talk about what can be used. The earth, for example, is broad and vast, but of all this expanse a man uses only a few inches upon which he happens to be standing. Now, suppose you suddenly take away all that he actually is not using, so that all around his feet, a gulf yawns and he stands in the Void, with nowhere solid except under each foot. How long will he be able to use what he is using?”
Hui Tzu said: “It would cease to serve any purpose.”
Chuang Tzu concluded: “This shows the absolute necessity of what has ‘no use’.”
THIRTY SPOKES
Thirty spokes join at the hub;
Precisely where there is nothing
Causes the carriage to function.
Working clay to make vessels;
Precisely where there is nothing
Causes the wheels to function.
Opening doors and windows for a room;
Precisely where there is nothing
Causes the room to function.
Therefore, the benefit of the existent is
The use of the non-existent!
This is known as the Way! Chapter 11 Tao Te Ching
Forget the years, forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home.
“The sound of water says what I think.”
Chuang Tzu’s wife died and when Hui Tzu came to offer his condolences, he found Chuang Tzu hunkered down, drumming on a pan and singing.
Hui Tzu said, “You lived with this woman, raised children with her, and grew old together. To not weep at her death is enough, already! But this drumming and singing, isn’t this a bit too much?”
“No”, Chuang Tzu replied. “That’s not how it is. When she was first born into death, how could I not have felt grief? But I looked deeply into it and saw that before she was born into life, she was lifeless. Not only was she lifeless, but she was formless. Not only was she formless, but she didn’t even have any qi. Somewhere in the vast imperceptibility there was a change, and she had qi; then the qi changed and she had form; then the form changed and she had life. Now, there has been another change, and she is dead. This is like the mutual cycling of the four seasons. Now she lies resting quietly in the Great Chamber. If I were to go running in ‘Boo-hooing’ after her, that would certainly show a failure to understand what is fated. So I stopped.” Translation by J.P. Seaton and Sam Hamill
‘We are born from a quiet sleep, and we die to a calm awakening.’ Chuang Tzu
EMPTY YOUR BOAT
If a man is crossing a river
And an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
Even though he be a bad-tempered man,
He will not be angry.
But, if he sees a man in the boat,
He will shout for him to stay clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again
And yet again, and begin cursing.
And all because there is somebody in the boat.
Yet, if the boat is empty
He would not be shouting and not be angry.
If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you. Chuang Tzu
Empty your boat? Let your ‘ego’ go!
VERSE EIGHT OF THE TAO TE CHING
The supreme good is like water
Which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus, it is like the Tao.
In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don’t try to control.
At work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.
When you are content to simply be yourself
And don’t compete or compare,
Everybody will respect you.
To the wise person who truly understands the nature of reality, there is no place for complacency or arrogance. There is no time for that! The wise person lives with utmost humility and gratitude, and in constant awe and wonder at the miracle of existence. Life is full of miracles. That is why the Tao can’t be described. All life is a mystery. To try to explain existence in terms of noumena and phenomena - all of that is pointless- just words: naming. Embrace the mystery of life. Be silent and look around and pay attention and you will begin to experience the utmost gratitude and humility for the gift of life and live in a sense of awe and wonder.
Taoism is acceptance of your life.
Taoism is following your breath to find peace.
Taoism is opening up a smile to enable possibility.
To smile is to say yes to your life.
FREE WILL: This is a topic that I’ve wanted to address for a very long time but had more pressing matters to attend to!
I watched a discussion between Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist and Brian Greene, the astrophysicist who is still working on proving string theory that would allow for multiverses. Free will was mentioned and they both agreed that we had no free will because of the Big Bang! So because of the laws of mathematics and physics everything has been predetermined. How is that any different than religion? That God, being omnipotent and omniscient- because of this belief everything, including whether we go to heaven or hell has been preordained. This is the belief of all Evangelical Christians. Now Dawkins’s Magnum Opus is his book ‘The Selfish Gene’ may also feel that our selfish genes are running the show. But what troubled me the most was that they left no room for the sanctity of life, of human life, or Mother Nature. On the matter of free will, Brian Greene said verbatim:
‘You’re just a bag of particles controlled by physics. There is no place for us to supersede in the mathematical unfolding of ‘these strings that are pulling us’, that are governed by mathematics and the law of physics.’ Astrophysicist Brian Greene.
When Greene says ‘these strings that are pulling us’. Is that a metaphor for a puppet? I realize that we have little control over the outside world, but we do have control over how we respond to events in the outside world and we also can choose what values we hold near and dear to our heart and how to nurture our better angels and the better angels of others. For me, it denies the sanctity of life.
All hail the Mighty Philosopher Kings of The Internet!! My bag of particles bows and kneels to you in your omnipotence and omniscience! However, I beg to differ: we can change ourselves!
‘Emotions and ritualized behavior are built deeply into us. They are part of our humanity. But they are not characteristically human. Many other animals have feelings. What distinguishes our species is thought. The cerebral cortex is a liberation. We need no longer be trapped in the genetically inherited behavior patterns of lizards and baboons. We are, each of us, largely responsible for what gets put into our brains, for what, as adults, we wind up caring for and knowing about. No longer at the mercy of the reptile brain, we can change ourselves.” Carl Sagan
“Thich Nhat Hanh is blazing clear: there’s one thing we have the power to change, which will make all the difference, and that is the mind. Our mind is the instrument with which we engage and interact with the world; it holds our fears and despairs, our hopes and dreams. Our mind’s way of seeing determines the decisions and actions we take or avoid, how we relate to those we
love or oppose, and how we respond in a crisis. In Buddhism we often say that with our mind we create our world. Our perceptions are conditioned by language and culture and by society’s tendency to put reality into boxes and categories which simply don’t fit. These discriminatory labels limit our clarity and our action to protect the planet and prevent us from living in harmony in the world.” Sister True Dedication (----T.D.)
In 1944 Viktor Frankl and the surviving members of his family were transported to Auschwitz, where his mother and brother were murdered in the gas chambers. His wife, Tilly died of typhus in Bergen Belsen. Viktor survived and wrote a book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ which speaks of his experience in the Nazi concentration camps. Here is a small excerpt.
“The experiences of camp life show that a man does have a choice of action. They were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress. We who lived in the camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way, the way in which a man accepts his fate, and all the suffering that it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him
ample opportunity- even in the most difficult circumstances- to add a deeper meaning to life.” Viktor Frankl
Thanks Velvet. I was very hesitant about this. I mean I had a ton of writings on Chuang Tzu but I also realize that most people have never heard of him. I don't think it will do well but -Que sera, sera.
Thanks for your support. I appreciate it. Kindest regards conceivably possible Colin :)
So good. So many points to ponder!