Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Bit by Bit - Chapter 1, Part 9

Trey Smith


Yao wanted to cede the empire to Hsu-Yu. "When the sun and moon have already come out," he said, "it's a waste of light to go on burning the torches, isn't it? When the seasonal rains are falling, it's a waste of water to go on irrigating the fields. If you took the throne, the world would be well ordered. I go on occupying it, but all I can see are my failings. I beg to turn over the world to you."

Hsu Yu said, "You govern the world and the world is already well governed. Now if I take your place, will I be doing it for a name? But name is only the guest of reality - will I be doing it so I can play the part of a guest? When the tailorbird builds her nest in the deep wood, she uses no more than one branch. When the mole drinks at the river, he takes no more than a bellyful. Go home and forget the matter, my lord.

I have no use for the rulership of the world! Though the cook may not run his kitchen properly, the priest and the impersonator of the dead at the sacrifice do not leap over the wine casks and sacrificial stands and go take his place."
.
~ Burton Watson translation ~
The last paragraph of this snippet somehow reminds me of a verse from the Gospel of Matthew. To wit, "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"

Why is it that we are interested in running other people's lives when we can't even seem to get our own under control?

One reason is because it's far easier to say no to others than it is to ourselves. It's far easier to force others to do what we want than to rein in our own craven desires.

To view the Index page for this series, go here.

No comments:

Post a Comment

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