Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Chapter 28, Part 3A - Chuang Tzu

The ruler of Lu, having heard that Yen Ho was a man who had attained the Way, sent a messenger with gifts to open up relations with him. Yen Ho was in his humble, back-alley home, wearing a robe of coarse hemp and feeding a cow, when the messenger from the ruler of Lu arrived, and he came to the door in person. "Is this the home of Yen Ho?" asked the messenger.

"Yes, this is Ho's house," said Yen Ho. The messenger then presented his gifts, but Yen Ho said, "I'm afraid you must have gotten your instructions mixed up. You'll surely be blamed if you give these to the wrong person, so you'd better check once more." The messenger returned, checked his instructions, and then went looking for Yen Ho a second time, but he was never able to find him. Men like Yen Ho truly despise wealth and honor.
~ Burton Watson translation via Terebess Asia Online ~
Go here to read the introductory post to the chapters of the Book of Chuang Tzu.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments are unmoderated, so you can write whatever you want.