The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) · 38 of 57 · tr. James Legge
Book 127 (part 6)
What I mean when I say that he is without these is, that this man does not by his likings and dislikings do any inward harm to his body;--he always pursues his course without effort, and does not (try to) increase his (store of) life.' Hui-dze rejoined, 'If there were not that increasing of (the amount) of life, how would he get his body 1 ?' Kwang-dze said, 'The Tâo gives him his personal appearance (and powers); Heaven gives him his bodily form; and he does not by his likings and dislikings do any internal harm to his body.
But now you, Sir, deal with your spirit as if it were something external to you, and subject your vital powers to toil.
You sing (your ditties), leaning against a tree; you go to sleep, grasping the stump of a rotten dryandra tree.
Heaven selected for you the bodily form (of a man), and you babble about what is strong and what is white 2 .' Footnotes 223:1 See pp.
133, 134.
223:2 The native state of Confucius, part of the present Shan-tung.
223:3 A Tâoist of complete virtue; but probably there was not really such a person.
Our author fabricates him according to his fashion.
223:4 The character uh ( ) does not say that he had lost both his feet, but I suppose that such is the meaning, because of what is said of Toeless below that 'he walked on his heels to see Confucius.' The feet must have been amputated, or mutilated rather (justly or unjustly), as a punishment; but Kwang-dze wished to say nothing on that point.
223:5 Perhaps a disciple of Confucius;--not elsewhere mentioned as such.
223:6 See the Tâo Teh King, ch.
2.
224:1 Literally, 'the Senior;' often rendered 'Teacher.' 224:2 'That in which there is no element of falsehood' is the Tâo, which also is the 'Author' of all the changes that take place in time and space.
See the Introductory Note on the title and subject of the Book.
225:1 Wang Thâi saw all things in the Tâo, and the Tâo in all things.
Comp.
Book XI, par.
7, et al.
225:2 Notwithstanding his being a cripple.
He forgets that circumstance himself, and all others forget it, constrained and won by his embodiment of the Tâo.
What follows is an illustration of this, exaggerated indeed, but not so extravagantly as in many other passages.
225:3 In the Tâoistic meaning of the term.
225:4 The royal army consisted of six hosts; that of a great feudal prince of three.
'Nine hosts' = a very great army.
226:1 The arms, legs, head, and trunk.
226:2 Another cripple introduced by our author to serve his purpose.
226:3 Kung-sun Khiâo; a good and able minister of Kang, an earldom forming part of the present Ho-nan.
He was a contemporary of Confucius, who wept when he heard of his death in B.
C.
522.
He was a scion of the ruling house, which again was a branch of the royal family of Kâu.
226:4 A Tâoist teacher.
See XXI, par.
9; XXXII, par.
1.
227:1 A famous archer of antiquity in the twenty-second century B.C., or perhaps earlier.
228:1 'Toeless' is a sort of nickname.
Themes
◆Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
The sage's state is described through negation, such as being 'without these' or acting 'without effort'.
All passages →◆Mystical Unionsoteriology
The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
The sage pursues his course without effort, implying a merging with the natural flow of Tao and Heaven.
All passages →◇Opposites Transcendedanthropology
The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.
[auto] The sage is described as avoiding distinctions such as strong versus white or likings versus dislikings that cause internal harm.
All passages →◇Paradox As Teachingethics
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
[auto] The dialogue employs a paradoxical question about increasing life to reveal the natural source of existence provided by Tao.
All passages →◇Self Knowledgesoteriology
The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.
[auto] True wisdom is presented as understanding how to treat one's internal body and spirit without harm rather than external babbling.
All passages →◇Tripartite Soulanthropology
Division of the human being into three principles: spirit (pneuma), soul (psyche), and body/matter (hyle or soma).
[auto] The passage explicitly distinguishes between the spirit, vital powers, and bodily form as distinct components of the human being.
All passages →Related passages · 7 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 13 (part 1)
“p.
263 CHAPTER XIII.
REGENERATION.
"Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not of those things?" — John iii.
10.
"Whoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."— Luke ix.
23.
No man c…”
Both passages discuss the idea of aligning oneself with a higher power or divine principle (Tao in Passage A, Holy Spirit in Passage B) to achieve a state of harmony and spiritual growth. They emphasize the importance of not being swayed by personal desires and the need for a transformative experience.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 13 (part 13)
“Nevertheless he has nothing (objectively), because that which is before Him is nothing in His comprehension, for it does not comprehend Him.
Likewise will this be the state of a person according to his submitted will if he entirely surrend…”
Both passages emphasize the surrender of the individual will to a higher power (God or the Tao) and the attainment of a state of harmony or power through this surrender. They share the theme of transcending the physical and personal desires to align with a divine or natural order.
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Hymn LXXXVI. DEATH (part 1)
“LXXXVI.
TO DEATH.
The FUMIGATION from MANNA.
HEAR me, O Death, whose empire unconfin'd, Extends to mortal tribes of ev'ry kind.
On thee, the portion of our time depends, Whose absence lengthens life, whose presence ends.
p.
225 Thy sl…”
Both passages discuss the concept of life, death, and the harmony with natural forces. Passage A emphasizes living in accordance with the Tao and not disrupting the natural order, while Passage B addresses the inevitability of death and the separation of the soul from the body, both touching on the themes of existence and the natural cycle.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 42
“Section 9 9. But when he is out of himself, reason quenched by sickness or by magic arts? If it be allowed that in this state, resting as it were in a slumber, he remains a Sage, why should he not equally remain happy? No one rules him out…”
Both passages discuss the concept of an enlightened or sage individual maintaining their state of wisdom or virtue regardless of external circumstances or consciousness. Plotinus argues that the Sage remains happy and wise even in unconscious states, while Zhuangzi describes a man who does not harm his body through his desires and remains aligned with the Tao.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 47
“Section 14 14. For man, and especially the Sage, is not the Couplement of soul and body: the proof is that man can be disengaged from the body and disdain its nominal goods. It would be absurd to think that happiness begins and ends with th…”
Both passages emphasize the importance of transcending the physical body and its desires to achieve a higher state of being. They both advocate for a reduction of the body's influence to focus on the spiritual or true self.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fifth Dialoguek
“That is a maxim of the Epicureans which, being well understood, would not be considered so unworthy as the ignorant hold it to be, seeing that it does not detract from what I have called virtue, nor does it impair the perfection of firmness…”
Both passages discuss the idea of achieving a state of being where one is not disturbed by external circumstances or internal desires, leading to a form of inner peace or blessedness. The Taoist passage emphasizes harmony with the Tao and natural living, while the Epicurean passage focuses on the absence of pain and the cultivation of virtue for true strength and firmness.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|First Dialoguei
“"It is not," says he, "gold and silver that makes one like God, because these are not treasure to Him; nor vestments, for God is naked; nor ostentation and fame, for He shows Himself to few, and perhaps not one knows Him, and certainly many…”
Both passages discuss the idea of transcending the physical body and its desires to achieve a higher spiritual state. They emphasize the detachment from worldly concerns and the pursuit of a divine or Taoist ideal, showing a genuine conceptual parallel.