Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Chapter 26, Part 11 - Chuang Tzu

"There was a man of Yen Gate who, on the death of his parents, won praise by starving and disfiguring himself, and was rewarded with the post of Official Teacher. The other people of the village likewise starved and disfigured themselves, and over half of them died. Yao offered the empire to Hsu Yu and Hsu Yu fled from him. T'ang offered it to Wu Kuang and Wu Kuang railed at him. When Chi T'o heard of this, he took his disciples and went off to sit by the K'uan River, where the feudal lords went to console him for three years. Shen-t'u Ti for the same reason jumped into the Yellow River.

"The fish trap exists because of the fish; once you've gotten the fish, you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit; once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning; once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him?"
~ 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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