Friday, May 6, 2011

Chapter 22, Part 1D - Chuang Tzu

Knowledge said to the Yellow Emperor, "I asked Do-Nothing-Say-Nothing and he didn't reply to me. It wasn't that he merely didn't reply to me - he didn't know how to reply to me. I asked Wild-and-Witless and he was about to explain to me, though he didn't explain anything. It wasn't that he wouldn't explain to me - but when he was about to explain, he forgot what it was. Now I have asked you and you know the answer. Why then do you say that you are nowhere near being right?"

The Yellow Emperor said, "Do-Nothing-Say-Nothing is the one who is truly right - because he doesn't know. Wild-and-Witless appears to be so - because he forgets. But you and I in the end are nowhere near it - because we know."

Wild-and-Witless heard of the incident and concluded that the Yellow Emperor knew what he was talking about.
~ Burton Watson translation via Terebess Asia Online ~
Go here to read the introductory post to the chapters of the Book of Chuang Tzu.

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