The Way of Chuang Tzu

by Thomas Merton

I simply like Chuang Tzu because he is what he is and I feel no need to justify this liking to myself or to anyone else. He is far too great to need any apologies from me.

The classic period of Chinese philosophy covers about three hundred years, from 550 to 250 B.C. Chuang Tzu, the greatest of the Taoist writers whose historical existence can be verified (we cannot be sure of Lao Tzu), flourished toward the end of this period, and indeed the last chapter of the Chuang Tzu book (Chap. 33) is a witty and informative history of Chinese philosophy up to his time—the first document of its kind, at least in the Orient.

Chuang Tzu himself would be the first to say that you cannot tell people to do whatever they want when they don’t even know what they want in the first place!

The life of riches, ambition, pleasure, is in reality an intolerable servitude in which one “lives for what is always out of reach,” thirsting “for survival in the future” and “incapable of living in the present.”

Once this is clear, one can reasonably see a certain analogy between Chuang Tzu and St. Paul. The analogy must certainly not be pushed too far. Chuang Tzu lacks the profoundly theological mysticism of St. Paul. But his teaching about the spiritual liberty of wu wei and the relation of virtue to the indwelling Tao is analogous to Paul’s teaching on faith and grace, contrasted with the “works of the Old Law.” The relation of the Chuang Tzu book to the Analects of Confucius is not unlike that of the Epistles to the Galatians and Romans to the Torah.

What is impossible today may suddenly become possible tomorrow. What is good and pleasant today may, tomorrow, become evil and odious. What seems right from one point of view may, when seen from a different aspect, manifest itself as completely wrong.

He who grasps the central pivot of Tao, is able to watch “Yes” and “No” pursue their alternating course around the circumference. He retains his perspective and clarity of judgment, so that he knows that “Yes” is “Yes” in the light of the “No” which stands over against it. He understands that happiness, when pushed to an extreme, becomes calamity. That beauty, when overdone, becomes ugliness. Clouds become rain and vapor ascends again to become clouds. To insist that the cloud should never turn to rain is to resist the dynamism of Tao.

It is when we insist most firmly on everyone else being “reasonable” that we become, ourselves, unreasonable.

Great knowledge sees all in one. Small knowledge breaks down into the many.

There is nothing that cannot be seen from the standpoint of the “Not-I.” And there is nothing which cannot be seen from the standpoint of the “I.” If I begin by looking at anything from the viewpoint of the “Not-I,” then I do not really see it, since it is “not I” that sees it. If I begin from where I am and see it as I see it, then it may also become possible for me to see it as another sees it. Hence the theory of reversal (9) that opposites produce each other, depend on each other, and complement each other.

The wise man therefore, instead of trying to prove this or that point by logical disputation, sees all things in the light of direct intuition. He is not imprisoned by the limitations of the “I,” for the viewpoint of direct intuition is that of both “I” and “Not-I.” Hence he sees that on both sides of every argument there is both right and wrong. He also sees that in the end they are reducible to the same thing, once they are related to the pivot of Tao.

The truly wise man, considering both sides of the question without partiality, sees them both in the light of Tao.

The sages of old first sought Tao in themselves, then looked to see if there was anything in others that corresponded with Tao as they knew it. But if you do not have Tao yourself, what business have you spending your time in vain efforts to bring corrupt politicians into the right path?

Confucius replied: “The goal of fasting is inner unity. This means hearing, but not with the ear; hearing, but not with the understanding; hearing with the spirit, with your whole being. The hearing that is only in the ears is one thing. The hearing of the understanding is another. But the hearing of the spirit is not limited to any one faculty, to the ear, or to the mind. Hence it demands the emptiness of all the faculties. And when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens. There is then a direct grasp of what is right there before you that can never be heard with the ear or understood with the mind. Fasting of the heart empties the faculties, frees you from limitation and from preoccupation. Fasting of the heart begets unity and freedom.”

“Joy is feather light But who can carry it? Sorrow falls like a landslide Who can parry it?

Every man knows how useful it is to be useful. No one seems to know How useful it is to be useless.

They took life as it came, gladly; Took death as it came, without care; And went away, yonder, Yonder! They had no mind to fight Tao. They did not try, by their own contriving, To help Tao along. These are the ones we call true men.

Moral: “All the fish needs Is to get lost in water. All man needs is to get lost In Tao.”

The invention Of weights and measures Makes robbery easier. Signing contracts, settings seals, Makes robbery more sure. Teaching love and duty Provides a fitting language With which to prove that robbery Is really for the general good. A poor man must swing For stealing a belt buckle But if a rich man steals a whole state He is acclaimed As statesman of the year.

Moral: the more you pile up ethical principles And duties and obligations To bring everyone in line The more you gather loot For a thief like Khang. By ethical argument And moral principle The greatest crimes are eventually shown To have been necessary, and, in fact, A signal benefit To mankind.

He lost his night-colored pearl. He sent out Science to seek his pearl, and got nothing. He sent Analysis to look for his pearl, and got nothing. He sent out Logic to seek his pearl, and got nothing. Then he asked Nothingness, and Nothingness had it! The Yellow Emperor said: “Strange, indeed: Nothingness Who was not sent Who did no work to find it Had the night-colored pearl!” [xii. 4.]

The non-action of the wise man is not inaction. It is not studied. It is not shaken by anything. The sage is quiet because he is not moved, Not because he wills to be quiet. Still water is like glass. You can look in it and see the bristles on your chin. It is a perfect level; A carpenter could use it. If water is so clear, so level, How much more the spirit of man? The heart of the wise man is tranquil. It is the mirror of heaven and earth The glass of everything. Emptiness, stillness, tranquillity, tastelessness, Silence, non-action: this is the level of heaven and earth. This is perfect Tao. Wise men find here Their resting place. Resting, they are empty.

When we look at things in the light of Tao, Nothing is best, nothing is worst. Each thing, seen in its own light, Stands out in its own way. It can seem to be “better” Than what is compared with it On its own terms. But seen in terms of the whole, No one thing stands out as “better.” If you measure differences, What is greater than something else is “great,” Therefore there is nothing that is not “great”; What is smaller than something else is “small,” Therefore there is nothing that is not “small.” So the whole cosmos is a grain of rice, And the tip of a hair Is as big as a mountain— Such is the relative view.

The man in whom Tao Acts without impediment Does not bother with his own interests And does not despise Others who do. He does not struggle to make money And does not make a virtue of poverty. He goes his way Without relying on others And does not pride himself On walking alone. While he does not follow the crowd He won’t complain of those who do. Rank and reward Make no appeal to him; Disgrace and shame Do not deter him. He is not always looking For right and wrong Always deciding “Yes” or “No.”

My opinion is that you never find happiness until you stop looking for it. My greatest happiness consists precisely in doing nothing whatever that is calculated to obtain happiness: and this, in the minds of most people, is the worst possible course.

He who rules men lives in confusion; He who is ruled by men lives in sorrow. Yao therefore desired Neither to influence others Nor to be influenced by them. The way to get clear of confusion And free of sorrow Is to live with Tao In the land of the great Void.

Tao produces both renewal and decay, But is neither renewal or decay. It causes being and non-being But is neither being nor non-being. Tao assembles and it destroys, But it is neither the Totality nor the Void.”

He whose law is within himself Walks in hiddenness. His acts are not influenced By approval or disapproval. He whose law is outside himself Directs his will to what is Beyond his control And seeks To extend his power Over objects.

“By no means,” said the recluse. “Your ‘love’ for your people Puts them in mortal danger. Your exercise of justice is the root Of war after war! Your grand intentions Will end in disaster! “If you set out to ‘accomplish something great’ You only deceive yourself. Your love and justice Are fraudulent. They are mere pretexts For self-assertion, for aggression. One action will bring on another And in the chain of events Your hidden intentions Will be made plain.

Then the King turned to his companion Yen Pu’i: “You see what happened?” he said. “This animal advertised his cleverness. He trusted in his own skill. He thought no one could touch him. Remember that! Do not rely on distinction and talent when you deal with men!” When they returned home, Yen Pu’i became the disciple of a sage to get rid of everything that made him outstanding. He renounced every pleasure. He learned to hide every “distinction.” Soon no one in the Kingdom knew what to make of him. Thus they held him in awe.

“When justice and benevolence are in the air, a few people are really concerned with the good of others, but the majority are aware that this is a good thing, ripe for exploitation. They take advantage of the situation. For them, benevolence and justice are traps to catch birds. Thus benevolence and justice rapidly come to be associated with fraud and hypocrisy. Then everybody doubts. And that is when trouble really begins. “King Yao knows how dutiful and upright officers benefit the nation, but he does not know what harm comes from their uprightness: they are a front behind which crooks operate more securely. But you have to see this situation objectively to realize it. “There are three classes of people to be taken into account: yes-men, blood-suckers, and operators.