The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) · 47 of 57 · tr. James Legge
Book 128 (part 8)
When they wailed, he also wailed, having in himself the reason why he did so.
And we all have our individuality which makes us what we are as compared together; but how do we know that we p.
255 determine in any case correctly that individuality?
Moreover you dream that you are a bird, and seem to be soaring to the sky; or that you are a fish, and seem to be diving in the deep.
But you do not know whether we that are now speaking are awake or in a dream 1 .
It is not the meeting with what is pleasurable that produces the smile; it is not the smile suddenly produced that produces the arrangement (of the person).
When one rests in what has been arranged, and puts away all thought of the transformation, he is in unity with the mysterious Heaven.' 13.
Î- r Dze 2 having gone to see Hsü Yû, the latter said to him, 'What benefit have you received from Yâo?' The reply was, 'Yâo says to me, You must yourself labour at benevolence and righteousness, and be able to tell clearly which is right and which wrong (in conflicting statements).' Hsü Yû rejoined, 'Why then have you come to me?
Since Yâo has put on you the brand of his benevolence and righteousness, and cut off your nose with his right and wrong 3 , how will you be able to wander in the way of aimless enjoyment, of unregulated contemplation, and the ever-changing forms (of dispute)?' Î- r dze said, 'That may be; but I should p.
256 like to skirt along its hedges.' 'But,' said the other, 'it cannot be.
Eyes without pupils can see nothing of the beauty of the eyebrows, eyes, and other features; the blind have nothing to do with the green, yellow, and variegated colours of the sacrificial robes.' Î- r dze rejoined, 'Yet, when Wû-kwang 1 lost his beauty, Kü-liang 1 his strength, and Hwang-Tî his wisdom, they all (recovered them) 2 under the moulding (of your system);--how do you know that the Maker will not obliterate the marks of my branding, and supply my dismemberment, so that, again perfect in my form, I may follow you as my teacher?' Hsû Yü said, 'Ah!
that cannot yet be known.
I will tell you the rudiments.
O my Master!
O my Master!
He gives to all things their blended qualities, and does not count it any righteousness; His favours reach to all generations, and He does not count it any benevolence; He is more ancient than the highest antiquity, and does not count Himself old; He overspreads heaven and supports the earth; He carves and fashions all bodily forms, and does not consider it any act of skill;--this is He in whom I find my enjoyment.' 14.
Yen Hui said, 'I am making progress.' Kung-nî replied, 'What do you mean?' 'I have ceased to think of benevolence and righteousness,' was the reply.
'Very well; but that is not enough.' Another day, Hui again saw Kung-nî, and said, 'I am making progress.' 'What do you mean?' p.
Themes
◆Divine Hiddennesstheology
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
The reference to 'mysterious Heaven' suggests the divine is concealed beyond ordinary perception.
All passages →◇Inner Silencepraxis
The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence.
[auto] Achieving unity requires putting away all thought, indicating a practice of mental stillness.
All passages →◇Mystical Unionsoteriology
The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
[auto] The passage explicitly describes resting in arrangement leading to unity with the mysterious Heaven.
All passages →◇Opposites Transcendedanthropology
The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.
[auto] The distinction between dream and wakefulness is dissolved as a mark of spiritual understanding.
All passages →◇Paradox As Teachingethics
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
[auto] The text uses the ambiguity between dreaming and waking to destabilize certainty about reality.
All passages →◇Rejection Of Hypocrisyethics
Critique of outward religious observance that lacks inner transformation; form without substance.
[auto] It critiques Confucian benevolence and righteousness as artificial brands that harm natural integrity.
All passages →◇Return To Sourcesoteriology
The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.
[auto] Resting in what is arranged leads to unity with Heaven, suggesting a return to the divine origin.
All passages →◇Self Knowledgesoteriology
The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.
[auto] The passage questions the ability to correctly determine one's own individuality.
All passages →◇Unity Of Beingtheology
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
[auto] Unity with Heaven implies a non-dual state where individual distinctions are transcended.
All passages →Related passages · 8 parallels
◆jewish_mysticism|The Greater Holy Assembly (Idra Rabba Qadisha)|Idra Rabba, Chapter 1 (part 2)
“1 12.
"For it is written, Deut.
xxxiii.
29: 'Blessed art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee?' Also it is written, Exod.
xv.
11: 'Who is like unto thee among the gods, O Tetragrammaton?'" 2 13.
He called Rabbi Eleazer, his son, and…”
Both passages explore themes of unity with a transcendent reality and the limitations of human perception and understanding. They also discuss the nature of existence and the importance of spiritual insight beyond conventional morality.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 165 (part 2)
“The more perfect the man, the more compliant he is, even towards his fellows; we must temper our importance, not thrusting insolently beyond what our nature warrants; we must allow other beings, also, their place in the presence of the Godh…”
Both passages explore themes of self-awareness, the nature of reality, and the limitations of human perception and understanding. They also discuss the importance of humility and the interconnectedness of all things, though from different cultural and philosophical perspectives.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 167
“Section 11 11. Now, in the first place, if the Soul has not actually come down but has illuminated the darkness, how can it truly be said to have declined? The outflow from it of something in the nature of light does not justify the asserti…”
Both passages explore themes of self-awareness, the nature of reality, and the limitations of human perception and understanding. They also discuss the importance of humility and the interconnectedness of all things, though within different cultural and philosophical contexts.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 188
“Section 1 1. To make the existence and coherent structure of this Universe depend upon automatic activity and upon chance is against all good sense. Such a notion could be entertained only where there is neither intelligence nor even ordina…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality and the limitations of human perception and understanding. They discuss the idea of a higher, unifying principle or intelligence that governs the universe, and the difficulty of comprehending this principle through human experience and reasoning.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 190
“Section 3 3. Nor would it be sound to condemn this Kosmos as less than beautiful, as less than the noblest possible in the corporeal; and neither can any charge be laid against its source. The world, we must reflect, is a product of Necessi…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality and the limitations of human perception and understanding. They discuss the idea of a higher, unchanging principle or intelligence that underlies the universe, and the difficulty of comprehending this principle from a human perspective.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 209
“Section 3 3. For, even though the I is sovereign in choosing, yet by the fact of the choice the thing done takes its place in the ordered total. Your personality does not come from outside into the universal scheme; you are a part of it, yo…”
Both passages explore the nature of individuality and the role of a higher principle (Creator or Maker) in shaping it. They discuss the limitations and responsibilities of individuals within a broader cosmic order, though from different philosophical and cultural perspectives.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 210 (part 2)
“The Reason-Principle of an ox does not occur except in connection with the Matter appropriate to the ox-Kind.
It must be by such a process that the transmigration, of which we read takes place; the Soul must lose its nature, the Reason-Pri…”
Both passages explore the nature of individuality and the limitations of human perception and understanding. They also touch on the concept of a higher, mysterious principle or Heaven that governs existence, though they approach it from different cultural and philosophical perspectives.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 340
“Section 20 20. As with bodily pain and pleasure so with the bodily desires; their origin, also, must be attributed to what thus stands midway, to that Nature we described as the corporeal. Body undetermined cannot be imagined to give rise t…”
Both passages explore the themes of perception, the nature of reality, and the struggle for inner unity and harmony. They discuss the limitations of human understanding and the influence of external factors on our mental states, albeit from different cultural and philosophical perspectives.