Friday, June 10, 2011

Chapter 27, Part 3 - Chuang Tzu

Tseng Tzu twice held office, each time with a change of hearts "The first time, when I was taking care of my parents, I received a salary of only three fu of grain and yet my heart was happy," he said. "The second time I received a salary of three thousand chung, but I no longer had them to take care of and my heart was sad."

One of the disciples asked Confucius, "May we say that someone like Tseng Shen has escaped the crime of entanglement?"

"But he was already entangled! If he hadn't been entangled, how could he have had any cause for sorrow? He would have regarded three fu or three thousand chung as so many sparrows or mosquitoes passing in front of 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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