Saturday, May 7, 2011

Chapter 22, Part 3 - Chuang Tzu

Nieh Ch'ueh asked P'i-i about the Way. P'i-i said, "Straighten up your body, unify your vision, and the harmony of Heaven will come to you. Call in your knowledge, unify your bearing, and the spirits will come to dwell with you. Virtue will be your beauty, the Way will be your home, and, stupid as a newborn calf, you will not try to find out the reason why."

Before he had finished speaking, however, Nieh Ch'ueh fell sound asleep. P'i-i, immensely pleased, left and walked away, singing this song:

Body like a withered corpse,
mind like dead ashes,
true in the realness of knowledge,
not one to go searching for reasons,
dim dim, dark dark,
mindless, you cannot consult with him:
what kind of man is this
~ 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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