SELF-CONCEIT.
_Argument_:--Would-be sages--The vanity of effort--Method of the true
Sage--Passivity the key--The soul and mortality--Re-absorption into
the immortal.
Self-conceit and assurance, which lead men to quit society, and be
different from their fellows, to indulge in tall talk and abuse of
others,--these are nothing more than personal over-estimation, the
affectation of recluses and those who have done with the world and have
closed their hearts to mundane influences.
Preaching of charity and duty to one's neighbour, of loyalty and truth,
of respect, of economy, and of humility,--this is but moral culture,
affected by would-be pacificators and teachers of mankind, and by
scholars at home or abroad.
Preaching of meritorious services, of fame, of ceremonial between
sovereign and minister, of due relationship between upper and lower
classes,--this is mere government, affected by courtiers or patriots
who strive to extend the boundaries of their own State and to swallow
up the territory of others.
Living in marshes or in wildernesses, and passing one's days in
fishing--this is mere inaction, affected by wanderers who have turned
their backs upon the world and have nothing better to do.
Exhaling and inhaling,
The "breathing" theory. See ch. vi., _ad init._
getting rid of the old and assimilating the new, stretching like a bear
and craning like a bird,--
As these creatures are supposed to do in order to get good air into
their systems.
--this is but valetudinarianism, affected by professors of hygiene and
those who try to preserve the body to the age of P'êng Tsu.
See ch. i.
But in self-esteem without self-conceit, in moral culture without
charity and duty to one's neighbour, in government without rank and
fame, in retirement without solitude, in health without hygiene,--there
we have oblivion absolute coupled with possession of all things; an
infinite calm which becomes an object to be attained by all.
Such is the TAO of the universe, such is the virtue of the Sage.
Wherefore it has been said, "In tranquillity, in stillness, in the
unconditioned, in inaction, we find the levels of the universe, the
very constitution of TAO."
Almost verbatim from ch. xiii, p. 158, where the passage appears as
part of Chuang Tzŭ's own text, and not as a quotation from any other
author.
Wherefore it has been said, "The Sage is a negative quantity, and is
consequently in a state of passivity. Being passive he is in a state of
repose. And where passivity and repose are, there sorrow and anxiety do
not enter, and foul influences do not collect. And thus his virtue is
complete and his spirituality unimpaired."
Wherefore it has been said, "The birth of the Sage is the will of God;
his death is but a modification of existence. In repose, he shares
the passivity of the _Yin_; in action, the energy of the _Yang_. He
will have nothing to do with happiness, and so has nothing to do with
misfortune.
Each of which proceeds from the other in an endless chain.
He must be influenced ere he will respond. He must be urged ere he will
move. He must be compelled ere he will arise. Ignoring the future and
the past, he resigns himself to the laws of God.
"And therefore no calamity comes upon him, nothing injures him, no man
is against him, no spirit punishes him. He floats through life to rest
in death. He has no anxieties; he makes no plans. His honour does not
make him illustrious. His good faith reflects no credit upon himself.
It is all God's, as part of the great scheme.
His sleep is dreamless, his awaking without pain. His spirituality is
pure,
Without desires.
and his soul vigorous. Thus unconditioned and in repose, he is a
partaker of the virtue of God."
Wherefore it has been said, "Sorrow and happiness are the heresies
Evil influences.
of virtue; joy and anger lead astray from TAO; love and hate cause the
loss of virtue. The heart unconscious of sorrow and happiness,--that is
perfect virtue. ONE, without change,--that is perfect repose. Without
any obstruction,--that is the perfection of the unconditioned. Holding
no relations with the external world,--that is perfection of the
negative state. Without blemish of any kind,--that is the perfection of
purity."
Wherefore it has been said, "If the body toils without rest, it dies.
If the mind is employed without ceasing, it becomes wearied; and being
wearied, its power is gone."
Pure water is by nature clear. If untouched, it is smooth. If dammed,
it will not flow, neither will it be clear. It is an emblem of the
virtue of God. Wherefore it has been said, "Pure, without admixture;
uniform, without change; negative, without action; moved, only at the
will of God;--such would be the spirituality nourished according to
TAO."
Those who possess blades from Kan
The Wu State.
or Yüeh, keep them carefully in their scabbards, and do not venture to
use them. For they are precious in the extreme. The spirit spreads
forth on all sides: there is no point to which it does not reach,
attaining heaven above, embracing earth beneath. Influencing all
creation, its form cannot be portrayed. Its name is then _Of-God_.
Such is man's spiritual existence before he is born into the world of
mortals.
The TAO of the pure and simple consists in preserving spirituality. He
who preserves his spirituality and loses it not, becomes one with that
spirituality. And through that unity the spirit operates freely, and
comes into due relationship with God.
Returning after its brief career on earth, to the eternity whence it
came.
A vulgar saying has it, "The masses value money; honest men, fame;
virtuous men, resolution; and Sages, the soul."
Thus, the pure is that in which there is nothing mixed; the simple is
that which implies no injury to the spirituality. And he who can keep
the pure and simple within himself,--he is a divine man.
It requires but scant acumen to relegate this chapter to the limbo of
forgeries. Lin Hsi Chung thinks it is probably from the hand of the
unknown artist who is responsible for ch. xiii.