T'ang of Yin questioned Hsia Ko, saying: 'In the beginnings of antiquity, did individual things exist?' He suspected that there was only Chaos, and nothing more.
'If things did not exist then,' replied Hsia Ko, 'how could they be in existence now? Or will the men of future ages be right in denying the existence of things at the present time?
'Things in that case,' pursued T'ang, 'have no before nor after?'
Hsia Ko replied: 'To the beginning and end of things there is no precise limit. Beginning may be end, and end may be beginning. How can we conceive of any fixed period to either?
'That which we call an end at the present moment may be the beginning of a new thing, and that which we call a beginning may, contrariwise, be the end of something. End and beginning succeed one another until at last they cannot be distinguished.'
But when it comes to something outside matter in space, or anterior to events in time, our knowledge fails us.'
'Then upwards and downwards and in every direction space is a finite quantity?
Ko replied: 'I do not know.'
~ from the Book of Lieh-Tzü, first portion of Book 5 "The Questions of Pang" ~
In essence, humans view a circular world as squares and rectangles. A circle is in constant motion. The one line continually moves in an arc. Squares and rectangles have stopping/starting points as we make a turn for each angle.
When does the day end and the night start? It's a question that cannot be answered.
'If things did not exist then,' replied Hsia Ko, 'how could they be in existence now? Or will the men of future ages be right in denying the existence of things at the present time?
'Things in that case,' pursued T'ang, 'have no before nor after?'
Hsia Ko replied: 'To the beginning and end of things there is no precise limit. Beginning may be end, and end may be beginning. How can we conceive of any fixed period to either?
'That which we call an end at the present moment may be the beginning of a new thing, and that which we call a beginning may, contrariwise, be the end of something. End and beginning succeed one another until at last they cannot be distinguished.'
But when it comes to something outside matter in space, or anterior to events in time, our knowledge fails us.'
'Then upwards and downwards and in every direction space is a finite quantity?
Ko replied: 'I do not know.'
~ from the Book of Lieh-Tzü, first portion of Book 5 "The Questions of Pang" ~
The most striking moment of this passage is when the sage answers, "I do not know". This one line illustrates the difference between a philosophic position and a religious one. Hsia Ko is a man, not some extraterrestrial being. He has great insight, but he doesn't pretend to be the knower of all things!
Can you imagine finding a similar sentiment in the Bible? For example, if a man approached Jesus with a question it would boggle the Christian mind to have the following exchange:
The other salient point made in this passage is humankind's preoccupation with time. We're each consumed with defining starting and ending points. Yet, one theme that appears in Taoist works over and over again is that start and finish are nothing more than human constructions.Can you imagine finding a similar sentiment in the Bible? For example, if a man approached Jesus with a question it would boggle the Christian mind to have the following exchange:
Man: Master, what must I do to please God and do his will?
Jesus: (thinking) Beats me!
In essence, humans view a circular world as squares and rectangles. A circle is in constant motion. The one line continually moves in an arc. Squares and rectangles have stopping/starting points as we make a turn for each angle.
When does the day end and the night start? It's a question that cannot be answered.
What drives me crazy, is, every time I do my laundry, I know I am cleaning and at the same time gradually destroying by making them clean. I don't care about when night ends and day begins. How do I get the lint back in my clothes?
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