The Simple Way, Part 45

The Simple Way
The Life & Teachings of Zhouzi
by Scott Bradley

A young monk who had been listening nearby asked, “Master, what is there in my humanity that I have failed to express?”

“Only that which expresses itself in you,” replied Zhouzi.

When the monk could only wrinkle his brow, Zhouzi continued, “The essence of your humanity is not yours to express, for it is that which expresses you. To realize your humanity is to express nothing at all. But for this to happen you must relinquish control. The bed of the great river is empty; how else could it flow? Surely you have read what the sage Zhuangzi has said, ‘Let your mind spring from the unthinking parts of yourself.’ This is ‘that which is sustained although there is nothing to sustain it’ and thus, ‘when you accord with what is within you, you walk in the nameless.’ But only the nameless can walk in the Nameless.”

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