The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) · 39 of 57 · tr. James Legge
Book V (part 7)
Shû-shan or Shû hill was, probably, where he dwelt:--'Toeless of Shû hill.' 229:1 'Heaven' here is a synonym of Tâo.
Perhaps the meaning is 'unavoidable;' it is so in the Tâoistic order of things.
229:2 It was in the sixteenth year of duke Âi that Confucius died.
Âi was marquis of Lû from B.C.
494 to 468.
229:3 The account of Âi-thâi Tho is of course Kwang-dze's own fabrication.
Âi-thâi is understood to be descriptive of his ugliness, and Tho to be his name.
229:4 Perhaps this was spoken by his wife before their marriage.
230:1 One sees dimly the applicability of this illustration to the case in hand.
What made Âi-thâi Tho so much esteemed was his mental power, quite independent of his ugly person.
231:1 See the Lî Kî VIII, i, 7; but the applicability of these two illustrations is not so clear.
231:2 These two have force as in 'reasoning from the less to the greater.' With the latter of the two compare the mosaical provision in Deuteronomy xxiv.
5.
231:3 'Powers' are the capacities of the nature,--the gift of the Tâo.
'Virtue' is the realisation or carrying out of those capacities.
232:1 Specially the season of complacent enjoyment.
232:2 So, in Lin Hsî-kung; but the meaning has to be forced out of the text.
232:3 The disciple Min Sun or Min Dze-Khien.
233:1 These two men are undoubtedly inventions of Kwang-dze.
They are brought before us, not by surnames and names, but by their several deformities.
233:2 The first of the five presiding chiefs; marquis of Khî from B.C.
685 to 643.
233:3 Lin Hsî-kung wonders whether the story of the man who was so taken with the charms of a one-eyed courtesan, that he thought other women all had an eye too many, was taken from this!
234:1 Lû Shû-kih maintains here that 'the Tâo' and 'Heaven' have the same meaning; nor does he make any distinction between mâo ( ), 'the personal appearance,' and hsing ( ), 'the figure' or 'bodily form.' 234:2 Compare in the Tâo Teh King expressions in li, 2, and lv, 5.
235:1 Apparently a gross meaning attached by Hui-dze to Kwang-dze's words.
235:2 Kwang-dze beats down his opponent, and contemptuously refers to some of his well-known peculiarities;--as in II, par.
5, XXXIII, par.
7, and elsewhere.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Body As Obstacleanthropology
The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.
The commentary notes that Âi-thâi Tho was esteemed for his mental power quite independent of his ugly person, suggesting the body is secondary to inner worth.
All passages →Unity Of Beingtheology
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
The text equates 'Heaven' with 'Tâo', suggesting a singular underlying reality or principle governing existence.
All passages →Related passages · 6 parallels
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“p.
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Shared concept: Body As Obstacle — The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return. (derived)
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Shared concept: Body As Obstacle — The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return. (derived)
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Shared concept: Body As Obstacle — The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return. (derived)
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Shared concept: Body As Obstacle — The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return. (derived)