| 家○上○下○二○ ○二年七月二十七日 | 穴阫○吾語女○大亂之本○必生於堯○舜之間 | 甚勤○子有殺父○臣有殺君○正昼為盗○日中 | 則民相盗○之數物者○不足以厚民○民之於利 | 窃窃乎又何足以濟世哉○舉賢則民相軋○任知 | 妄鑿垣墻而殖蓬蒿也○簡發而櫛○數米而炊○ | 夫二子者○又何足以称揚哉○是其於辯也○將 | 其形生之人○藏其身也○不厭深眇而已矣○且 | 蟻能苦之○故鳥獸不厭高○魚鱉不厭深○夫全 | 則不免於網罟之患○吞舟之魚○蕩而失水○則 | 庚桑子曰○小子來○夫函車之獸○介而離山○ | 聽矣○ | ○自古堯○舜以然○而况畏垒之民乎○夫子亦 | 軀○而孽狐為之祥○且夫尊賢授能○先善與利 | 而鯢鰍尋為之制○步仞之丘陵○巨獸無所隱其 | 弟子曰○不然○夫常之沟○巨魚無所還其體○ | 以不釋於老聃之言○ | 焉欲俎豆予於賢人之間○我其杓之人邪○吾是 | 猖狂○不知所如往○今以畏垒之細民○而窃窃 | 道已行矣○吾聞至人○尸居環堵之室○而百姓 | 得秋而萬寶成○夫春與秋○豈無得而然哉○天 | 子曰○弟子何異於予○夫春氣發而百草生○正 | 庚桑子聞之○南面而不釋然○弟子異之○庚桑 | ○社而稷之乎○ | 而有餘○庶幾其聖人乎○子胡不相與尸而祝之 | 來○吾栖然異之○今吾日計之而不足○歲計之 | ○畏垒大壤○畏垒之民相與言曰○庚桑子之始 | 仁者遠之○擁腫之與居○鞅掌之為使○居三年 | 畏垒之山○其臣之画然知者去之○其妾之挈然 | 老聃之役有庚桑楚者○偏得老聃之道○以北居 | 莊子南華經第二十三章庚桑楚 |
| 今汝又言而信之○若規規然若喪父母○揭竿而 | 老子曰○向吾見若眉睫之間○吾因以得汝矣○ | 之所患也○愿因楚而問之○ | 義則反愁我己○我安逃此而可○此三言者○趎 | ○不仁則害人○仁則反愁我身○不義則傷彼○ | 南荣趎曰○不知乎人謂我朱愚○知乎反愁我躯 | 老子曰○何謂也○ | 因失吾問○ | 南荣趎俯而慚○仰而嘆○曰○今者吾忘吾答○ | ○ | 南荣趎惧然顧其后○老子曰○子不知吾所謂乎 | 老子曰○子何與人偕來之衆也○ | 南荣趎曰○唯○ | 子自楚之所來乎○ | 南荣趎贏粮○七日七夜至老子之所○老子曰○ | 才小○小足以化子○子胡不南見老子○ | 同也○有能與不能者○其才固有巨小也○今吾 | 能伏鵠卵○魯鷄固能矣○鷄之與鷄○其德非不 | 庚桑子曰○辭盡矣○奔蜂不能化藿蠋○越鷄不 | 生○無使汝思慮管管○趎勉聞道達耳矣○ | 欲相求而不能相得○今謂趎曰○全汝形○抱汝 | 不能自得○形之與形亦辟矣○而物或間之邪○ | 不能自聞○心之與形○吾不知其異也○而狂者 | 不能自見○耳之與形○吾不知其異也○而聾者 | 南荣趎曰○目之與形○吾不知其異也○而盲者 | ○若此三年○則可以及此言矣○ | 庚桑子曰○全汝形○抱汝生○無使汝思慮管管 | 乎托業以及此言邪○ | 南荣趎蹴然正坐曰○若趎之年者已長矣○將惡 | 人相食者也○ | ○其末存乎千世之后○千世之后○其必有人與 |
| ○物見其物○人有修者○乃今有恒○有恒者○ | 宇泰定者○發乎天光○發乎天光者○人見其人 | ○惡有人灾也○ | 灰○若是者○禍亦不至○福亦不來○禍福無有 | 知所為○行不知所之○身若槁木之枝而心若死 | 曰○未也○吾固告汝曰○能儿子乎○儿子動不 | 曰○然則是至乎○ | ○ | 事○翛然而往○侗然而來○是謂衛生之經已○ | 害相攖○不相與為怪○不相與為謀○不相與為 | 人者○相與交食乎地而交樂乎天○不以人物利 | 曰○非也○是乃所謂冰解凍釋者○能乎○夫至 | 南荣趎曰○然則是至人之德已乎○ | 而同其波○是衛生之經已○ | 在外也○行不知所之○居不知所為○與物委蛇 | 而手不趎○其其德也○終日視而目不瞬○偏不 | 乎○儿子終日嗥而嗌不嗄○和之至也○終日握 | 人而求諸己乎○能掜然乎○能侗然乎○能儿子 | 無卜筮而知吉凶乎○能止乎○能已乎○能舍諸 | 老子曰○衛生之經○能抱一乎○能勿失乎○能 | 以加病也○翛愿聞衛生之經而已矣○ | 病○病者猶未病也○若趎之聞大道○譬猶飲葯 | 南荣趎曰○里人有病○里人問之○病者能言其 | 乎○ | 揵○外内韄者○道德不能持○而况放道而行者 | 可繁而捉○將內揵○內韄者不可繆而捉○將外 | 郁乎○然而其中津津乎猶有惡也○夫外韄者不 | 自愁○复見老子○老子曰○汝自洒濯○熟哉郁 | 南荣趎請入就舍○召其所好○去其所惡○十日 | 而無由入○可怜哉○ | 求諸海也○女亡人哉○惘惘乎○汝欲反汝情性 |
| 古之人○其知有所至矣○惡乎至○有以為未始 | 乎是○ | 有為有○必出乎無有○而無有一無有○聖人藏 | ○天門者○無有也○萬物出乎無有○有不能以 | 有乎出○有乎入○入出而無見其形○是謂天門 | ○有長而無本剽者○宙也○有乎生○有乎死○ | 有所出而無竅者有實○有實而無乎處者○宇也 | ○入無竅○有實而無乎處○有長而無乎本剽○ | 鬼之一也○以有形者象無形者而定矣○出無本 | 反○見其鬼○出而得○是謂得死○滅而有實○ | 也以備○所以惡乎備者○其有以備○故出而不 | 道通其分也○其成也毁也○所惡乎分者○其分 | 心則使之也○ | 大於陰陽○無所逃於天地之間○非陰陽賊之○ | ○無親者盡人○兵莫慘於志○鏌鎯為下○寇莫 | ○其身之不能容○焉能容人○不能容人者無親 | 跂○猶之魁然○與物窮者○物入焉○與物且者 | ○唯庸有光○志乎期費者○唯賈人也○人見其 | ○行乎無名○券外者○志乎期賈○行乎無名者 | 之○明乎人○明乎鬼者○然后能獨行○券內者 | 人得而誅之○為不善乎幽間之中者○鬼得而誅 | 入而不舍○每更為失○為不善乎顯明之中者○ | 可持者也○不見其誠己而發○每發而不當○業 | 可內於灵台○灵台者有持○而不知其所持而不 | 惡至者○皆天也○而非人也○不足以滑成○不 | 以形○藏不虞以生心○敬中以達彼○若是而萬 | 知○至矣○若有不即是者○天鈞敗之○備物將 | 也○辯者○辯其所不能辯也○知止乎其所不能 | 學者○學其所不能學也○行者○行其所不能行 | 所助○謂之天子○ | 人舍之○天助之○人之所舍○謂之天民○天之 |
| 天○惡人之天○而况吾天乎人乎○一雀适羿○ | ○唯全人能之○雖虫能虫○雖虫能天○全人惡 | ○聖人工乎天而拙乎人○夫工乎天而俍乎人者 | 反而實相順也○羿工乎中微而拙乎使人無己譽 | ○動以不得已之謂德○動無非我之謂治○名相 | ○接也○知者○謨也○知者之所不知○猶睨也 | 之質也○性之動謂之為○為之偽謂之失○知者 | 道者○德之欽也○生者○德之胸也○性者○生 | 則明○明則虛○虛則無為而無不為也○ | 塞道也○此四六者不蕩胸中則正○正則靜○靜 | 喜怒哀樂六者○累德也○去就取與知能六者○ | ○勃志也○容動色理氣意六者○謬心也○惡欲 | 謬○去德之累○達道之塞○貴富顯嚴名利六者 | 謀○至仁無親○至信辟金○徹志之勃○解心之 | 已矣○故曰○至禮有不人○至義不物○至知不 | 蹍市人之足○則辭以放驁○兄則以嫗○大親則 | ○移是○今之人也○是蜩與學鳩同於同也○ | 以用為知○以不用為愚○以徹為名○以窮為辱 | 為質○使人以為己節○因以死償節○若然者○ | ○以知為師○因以乘是非○果有名實○因以己 | ○為是舉○移是○請嘗言○移是○是以生為本 | 散而不可散也○觀室者周於寝廟○又适其偃焉 | 言也○雖然○不可知者也○腊者之有膍胲○可 | 有生黭也○披然曰○移是○嘗言○移是○非所 | 也○ | 也○昭景也○著戴也○甲氏也○著封也○非一 | 生之一守者○吾與之為友○是三者雖異○公族 | 無有為首○以生為體○以死為尻○孰知有無死 | 已○其次曰始無有○既而有生○生俄而死○以 | 有物矣○物以生為喪也○以死為反也○是以分 | 有物者○至矣○盡矣○弗可以加矣○其次以為 |
| 家○上○下○二○ ○二年七月二十七日 | 鎯○錯字左金右邪 | 黭○錯字左黑右咸 | 有錯字請通知我 | 已之類○聖人之道○ | 神則順心○有為也欲當○則緣於不得已○不得 | 出為無為○則為出於無為矣○欲靜則平氣○欲 | 乎天和者為然○出怒不怒○則怒出於不怒矣○ | 天人矣○故敬之而不喜○侮之而不怒者○唯同 | 遺死生也○夫复諧不饋而忘人○忘人○因以為 | 也○介者拸画○外非譽也○胥靡登高而不惧○ | 百里奚○是故非以其所好籠之而可得者○無有 | ○是故湯以胞人籠伊尹○秦穆公以五羊之皮籠 | 羿必得之○或也○以天下為之籠○則雀無所逃 |
Among the disciples of Lao Tzu was one named Keng Sang Ch'u. He alone had attained to the Tao of his Master. He lived up north, on the Wei-lei Mountains. Of his attendants, he dismissed those who were systematically clever or conventionally charitable. The useless remained with him; the incompetent served him. And in three years the district of Wei-lei was greatly benefited.
One of the inhabitants said in conversation, "When Mr. Keng Sang first came among us, we did not know what to make of him. Now, we could not say enough about him in a day, and even a year would leave something unsaid. Surely he must be a true Sage. Why not pray to him as to the spirits, and honor him as a tutelary god of the land?" [This was the custom and yet no Sage has corrected it.]
On hearing of this, Keng Sang Ch'u turned his face to the south in shame, at which his disciples were astonished. But Keng Sang said, "What cause have you for astonishment? The influence of spring quickens the life of plants, and autumn brings them to maturity. In the absence of any agent, how is this so? It is the operation of Tao.
"I have heard that the perfect man may be pent up like a corpse in a tomb, yet the people will become un-artificial and without care. But now these poor people of Wei-lei wish to exalt me among their wise and good. Surely then I am but a shallow vessel; and therefore I was shamed for the doctrine of Lao Tzu."
The disciples said, "Not so. In a sixteen-foot ditch a big fish has no room to turn round; but 'tis the very place for an eel. On a six or seven-foot hillock a large beast finds no shelter, while the uncanny fox gladly makes its lair therein. Besides, ever since the days of Yao and Shun it has always been customary to honor the virtuous, advance the able, give precedence to the good and useful. Why not then among the people of Wei-lei? Let them do it, Sir."
"Come here, my children," said Keng Sang Ch'u. "A beast big enough to swallow a cart, if it wanders alone from the hills, will not escape the sorrow of the snare. A fish big enough to gulp down a boat, if stranded on the dry shore will become a prey to ants. Therefore it is that birds and beasts love height, and fishes and turtles love depth. And the man who cares for himself hides his body. He loves the occult.
"As to Yao and Shun, what claim have they to praise? Their fine distinctions simply amounted to knocking a hole in a wall in order to stop it up with brambles; to combing each individual hair; to counting the grains for a rice pudding! How in the name of goodness did they profit their generation?
"If the virtuous are honored, emulation will ensue. If knowledge be fostered, the result will be theft. These things are of no use to make people good. The struggle for wealth is so severe. Sons murder their fathers; ministers their princes; men rob in broad daylight, and bore through walls at high noon. I tell you that the root of this great evil is from Yao and Shun, and that its branches will extend into a thousand ages to come. A thousand ages hence, man will be feeding upon man!"
Nan Yung Ch'u sadly straightened his seat and said, "But what is one of my age to do that he may attain to this?"
"Preserve your form complete," said Keng Sang, "your vitality secure. Let no anxious thoughts intrude. And then in three years' space you may attain to this."
"I do not know," said Nan Yung, "that there is any difference in the form of eyes; yet blind men cannot see. I do not know that there is any difference in the form of ears; yet deaf men cannot hear. I do not know that there is any difference in the form of hearts; yet fools cannot use theirs to any purpose. The forms are alike; yet there is something which differentiates them. One will succeed, and another will not. Yet you tell me to preserve my form complete, my vitality secure, and let no anxious thoughts intrude. But so far I only hear Tao with my ears."
"Well said!" cried Keng Sang; and then he added, "Small wasps cannot transform huge caterpillars. Bantams cannot hatch the eggs of geese. The fowls of Lu can. Not that there is any difference in the hatching power of chickens. One can and another cannot, because one is naturally fitted for working on a large, the other on a small scale. My talents are of the latter order. I cannot transform you. Why not go south and see Lao Tzu?"
So Nan Yung took some provisions, and after a seven days' journey arrived at the abode of Lao Tzu.
"Have you come from Keng Sang Ch'u?" said the latter.
"I have," replied Nan Yung.
"But why," said Lao Tzu, "bring all these people with you?"
Nan Yung looked back in alarm, and Lao Tzu continued, "Do you not understand what I say?"
Nan Yung bent his head abashed, and then looking up, said with a sigh, "I have now forgotten how to answer, in consequence of missing what I came to ask."
"What do you mean?" said Lao Tzu.
"If I do not know," replied Nan Yung, "men call me a fool. If I do know, I injure myself. If I am not charitable, I injure others. If I am, I injure myself. If I do no do my duty to my neighbor, I injure others. If I do it, I injure myself. My trouble lies in not seeing how to escape from these three dilemmas. On the strength of my connection with Keng Sang, I would venture to ask advice."
"When I saw you," said Lao Tzu, "I knew in the twinkling of an eye what was the matter with you. And now what you say confirms my view. You are confused, as a child that has lost its parents. You would fathom the sea with a pole. You are astray. You are struggling to get back to your natural self, but cannot find the way. Alas! alas!"
Nan Yung begged to be allowed to remain, and set to work to cultivate the good and eliminate the evil within him. At the expiration of ten days, with sorrow in his heart, he again sought Lao Tzu.
"Have you thoroughly cleansed yourself?" said Lao Tzu. "But this grieved look...There is some evil construction yet. If the disturbances are external, do not be always combating them, but close the channels to the mind. If the disturbances are internal, do not strive to oppose them, but close all entrance from without. If the disturbances are both internal and external, then you will not even be able to hold fast to Tao, still less practice it."
"If a rustic is sick," said Nan Yung, "and another rustic goes to see him; and if the sick man can say what is the matter with him,--then he is not serious ill. Yet my search after Tao is like swallowing drugs which only increase the malady. I beg therefore merely to ask the art of preserving life."
"The art of preserving life," replied Lao Tzu, "consists in being able to keep all in ONE, to lose nothing, to estimate good and evil without divination, to know when to stop, and how much is enough, to leave others alone and attend to oneself, to be without cares and without knowledge,-- to be in fact as a child. A child will cry all day and not become hoarse, because of the perfection of its constitutional harmony. It will keep its fist tightly closed all day and not open it, because of the concentration of its virtue. It will gaze all day without taking off its eyes, because its sight is not attracted by externals. In motion, it knows not whither it is bound; at rest, it is not conscious of doing anything; but unconsciously adapts itself to the exigencies of its environment. This is the art of preserving life."
"Is this then the virtue of the perfect man?" cried Nan Yung.
"Not so," said Lao Tzu. "I am, as it were, but breaking the ice. The perfect man shares the food of this earth, but the happiness of God. He does not incur trouble either from men or things. He does not join in censuring in plotting, in toadying. Free from care he comes, and unconscious he goes;--this is the art of preserving life."
"This then is perfection?" inquired Nan Yung.
"Not yet," said Lao Tzu. "I specially asked if you could be as a child. A child acts without knowing what it does; moves without knowing whither. Its body is like a dry branch; its heart like dead ashes. Thus, good and evil fortune find no lodging therein; and there where good and evil fortune are not, how can the troubles of mortality be?
"Those whose hearts are in a state of repose give forth a divine radiance, by the light of which they see themselves as they are. And only by cultivating such repose can man attain to the constant.
"Those who are constant are sought after by men and assisted by God. Those who are sought after by men are the people of God; those who are assisted by God are his chosen children.
"To study this is to study what cannot be learnt. To practice this is to practice what cannot be accomplished. To discuss this is to discuss what can never be proved. Let knowledge stop at the unknowable. That is perfection. And for those who do not follow this, God will destroy them!
"With such defence for the body, ever prepared for the unexpected, deferential to the rights of others,--if then calamities overtake you, these are from God, not from man. Let them not disturb what you have already achieved. Let them not penetrate into the soul's abode. For there resides the Will. And if the will knows not what to will, it will not be able to will.
"Whatsoever is not said in all sincerity, is wrongly said. And not to be able to rid oneself of this vice is only to sink deeper towards perdition.
"Those who do evil in the open light of day,--men will punish them. Those who do evil in secret,--God will punish them. Who fears both man and God, he is fit to walk alone.
"Those who are devoted to the internal, in practice acquire no reputation. Those who are devoted to the external, strive for pre-eminence among their fellows. Practice without reputation throws a halo around the meanest. But he who strives for pre-eminence among his fellows, he is as a huckster whose weariness all perceive though he himself puts on an air of gaiety.
"He who is naturally in sympathy with man, to him all men come. But he who forcedly adapts, has no room even for himself, still less for others. And he who has no room for others, has no ties. It is all over with him.
"There is no weapon so deadly as man's will. Exacerbate is second to it. There is no bandit so powerful as Nature. In the whole universe there is no escape from it. Yet it is not Nature which does the injury. It is man's own heart. [Reap what you sow]
"Tao informs its own subdivisions, their successes and their failures. What is feared in subdivision is separation. What is feared in separation, is further separation. Thus, to issue forth without return, this is development of the supernatural. To issue forth and attain the goal, this is called death. To be annihilated and yet to exist, this is convergence of the supernatural into ONE. To make things which have form appear to all intents and purposes formless,--this is the sum of all things.
"Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end. There is existence without limitation; there is continuity without a starting-point. Existence without limitation is Space. Continuity without a starting-point is Time. There is birth, there is death, there is issuing forth, there is entering in. That through which one passes in and out without seeing its form, that is the Portal of God.
"The Portal of God is Non-Existence. All things sprang from Non-Existence. Existence could not make existence existence. It must have proceeded from Non-Existence. And Non-Existence and Nothing are ONE. Herein is the abiding-place of the Sage.
"The knowledge of the ancients reached the highest point,--the time before anything existed. This is the highest point. It is exhaustive. There is no adding to it.
"The second best was that of those who started from existence. Life was to them a misfortune. Death was a return home. There was already separation.
"The next in the scale said that at the beginning there was nothing. Then life came, to be quickly followed by death. They made Nothing the head, Life the trunk, and Death the tail of existence, claiming as friends whoever knew that existence and non-existence, and life and death were all ONE.
"These three classes, though different, were of the same clan; as were Chao Ching who inherited fame, and Chia who inherited territory.
"Man's life is as the soot on a kettle. Yet men speak of the subjective point of view. But this subjective point of view will not bear the test. It is a point of knowledge we cannot reach.
"At the winter sacrifice, the tripe may be separated from the great toe; yet these cannot be separated. He who looks at a house, visits the ancestral hall, and even the latrines. Thus every point is the subjective point of view.
"Let us try to formulate this subjective point of view. It originates with life, and, with knowledge as its tutor, drifts into the admission of right and wrong. But one's own standard of right is the standard, and others have to adapt themselves to it. Men will die for this. Such people look upon the useful as appertaining to wisdom, the useless as appertaining to folly; upon success in life as honorable, upon failure as dishonorable. The subjective point of view is that of the present generation, who like the cicada and the young dove see things only from their own standpoint.
"If a man treads upon a stranger's toe in the market-place, he apologizes on the score of hurry. If an elder brother does this, he is quit with an exclamation of sympathy. And if a parent does so, nothing whatever is done. Therefore it has been said, 'Perfect politeness is not artificial; perfect duty to one's neighbor is not a matter of calculation; perfect wisdom takes no thought; perfect charity recognizes no ties; perfect trust requires no pledges.'
"Discard the stimuli of purpose. Free the mind from disturbances. Get rid of entanglements to virtue. Pierce the obstruction to TAO.
"Honors, wealth, distinction, power, fame, gain,--these six stimulate purpose.
"Mien, carriage, beauty, arguments, influence, opinions,--these six disturb the mind.
"Hate, ambition, joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure,--these six are entanglements to virtue.
"Rejecting, adopting, receiving, giving, knowledge, ability,--these six are obstructions to Tao.
"If these twenty four be not allowed to run riot, then the mind will be duly ordered. And being duly ordered, it will be in repose. And being in repose, it will be clear of perception. And being clear of perception, it will be unconditioned. And being unconditioned, it will be in that state of inaction by which there is nothing which cannot be accomplished.
"Tao is the sovereign lord of Te (virtue). Life is the glorifier of Te. Nature is the substance of life. The operation of that nature is action. The perversion of that action is error.
"People who know not put forth physical power. People who know employ mental effort. But what people who know do not know is to be as the eye.
知者之所不知○猶睨也
(should be squinted eyes. Chinese word 'ni' is not eye alone, and usually used with 'bi' 睥 to form 'bi' 'ni' 睥睨 something like looking sideway. Here it is telling you even Taoists are ignorant about looking at the Mystic Portal or nasal gaze. So people who know are one in 10 millions or billion.)
"Emotion which is spontaneous is called virtue passive. Emotion which is not evoked by the external is called virtue active. The names of these are antagonistic; but essentially they are in accord.
"Yi was skilled in hitting the bull's-eye; but stupid at preventing people from praising him for so doing. The Sage devotes himself to the natural and neglects the artificial. For only the Perfect Man can devote himself profitably to the natural and artificial alike. Insects influence insects; because insects are natural. When the Perfect Man hates the natural, it is the artificially natural which he hates. How much more man's alternate naturalness and artificiality?
"If a bird falls in with Yi, Yi will get it. Such is his skill. And if the world were made into a cage, birds would have no place of escape. So it was that by cookery T'ang got hold of I Yin, and by five rams' skins Duke Muh of Ch'in got Poh Li Ch'i. But had these princes not been themselves successful at getting, they never would have got these men.
"A one-legged man discards ornament, his exterior not being open to commendation. Condemned criminals will go up to great heights without fear, for they no longer regard life and death from their former point of view. And those who pay no attention to their moral clothing and condition become oblivious of their own personality; and by thus becoming oblivious of their personality, they proceed to be the people of God.
"Wherefore, if men revere them, they rejoice not. If men insult them, they are not angered. But only those who have passed into the eternal harmony of God are capable of this.
"If your anger is external, not internal, it will be anger proceeding from not-anger. If your actions are external, not internal, they will be actions proceeding from inaction.
"If you would attain peace, level down your emotional nature. If you desire spirituality, cultivate adaptation of the intelligence. If you would have your actions in accordance with what is right, allow yourself to fall in with the dictates of necessity. For necessity is the Tao of the Sage."
Edited on 9th June 2008