家○上○下○二○ ○二年七月三十日 之台縣衆間者也○冉相氏得其環中以隨成○與 者十九○猶之暢然○况見見聞聞者也○以十仞 舊國舊都○望之暢然○雖使丘陵草木之緡入之 其愛人也終無已○人之安之亦無已○性也○ 也○若知之○若不知之○若聞之○若不聞之○ 聖人之愛人也○人與之名○不告則不知其愛人 可喜也終無已○人之好之亦無已○性也○ ○若知之○若不知之○若聞之○若不聞之○其 生而美者○人與之鍳○不告則不知其美於人也 乎知○而所行恒無幾時○其有止也○若之何○ ○复命摇作而以天為師○人則從而命之也○憂 聖人達綢繆○周盡一體矣○而不知其然○性也 若是其遠也○故曰○待公閲休○ ○彼其乎歸居○而一閑其所施○其於人心者○ 言而飲人以和○與人并立而使人化○父子之宜 娱矣○其於人也○樂物之通而保己焉○故或不 也○使王公忘爵禄而化卑○其於物也○與之為 能橈焉○故聖人其窮也○使家人忘其貧○其達 ○其於罪也○無赦如虎○非夫佞人正德○其孰 暍者反冬乎冷風○夫楚王之為人也○形尊而嚴 ○非相助以德○相助消也○夫凍者假衣於春○ 知○不自許○以之神其交○固顛冥乎富貴之地 ○吾又不若夷節○夫夷節之為人也○無德而有 者○曰○此予宅也○夫夷節已不能○而况我乎 曰○冬則戳鱉於江○夏則休乎山樊○有過而問 彭陽曰○公閲休奚為者邪○ 王果曰○我不若公閲休○ 歸○彭陽見王果曰○夫子何不譚我於王○ 則陽游於楚○夷節言之於王○王未之見○夷節 莊子南華經

第二十五章則陽
右角者○曰蛮氏○時相與爭地而戰○伏尸數萬 曰○有國於蝸之左角者○曰触氏○有國於蝸之 曰○然○ 者○君知之乎○ 惠之聞之○而見戴晋人○戴晋人曰○有所謂蝸 曰○君求其道而已矣○ 君曰○然則若何○ ○者○又亂人也○ 言勿伐者○亦亂人也○謂○伐之與不伐亂人也 華子聞而丑之○曰○善言伐齊者○亂人也○善 ○ 年矣○此王之基也○衍○亂人也○不可聽也○ 矣○則又壞之○此胥靡之所苦也○今兵不起七 季子聞而耻之○曰○筑十仞之城○城者既十仞 折其脊○ 於背○然后拔其國○忌也出走○然后抶其背○ 君攻之○虜其人民○系其牛馬○使其君內熱發 之君也○而以匹夫從仇○衍請受甲二十萬○為 人剌之○犀首公孫衍聞而耻之○曰○君為萬乘 魏寶與田侯牟約○田侯牟背之○魏寶怒○將使 無內無外○ 尼之盡慮○為之傅之○容成氏曰○除日無歲○ 得其隨成○為之司其名之名嬴法得其兩見○仲 湯得其司御○門尹登恒為傅之○從師而不囿○ 合之也○若之何○ 有物○與世偕行而不替○所行之備而不洫○其 夫聖人未始有天○未始有人○未始有始○未始 若之何○ 夫師天而不得師天○與物皆殉○其以為事也○ 者也○闔嘗舍之○ 物無終無始○無幾無時○日與物化者○一不化
莽而报予○芸而滅裂之○其實亦滅裂而报予○ 勿滅裂○昔予為禾○耕而鹵莽之○則其實亦鹵 長梧封人問子牢曰○君為政焉勿鹵莽○治民焉 子路往視之○其室虛矣○ ○ 也○羞聞其言○而况親見其身乎○而何以為存 也○彼且以丘為佞人也○夫若然者○其於佞人 己也○知丘之适楚也○以丘為必使楚王之召己 子路請往召之○孔子曰○已矣○彼知丘之著於 ○是其市南宜僚邪○ ○方且與世違○而心不屑與之俱○是陸沉者也 ○其聲銷○其志無窮○其口雖言○其心未嘗言 仲尼曰○是聖人仆也○是自埋於民○自藏於畔 极者○子路曰○是稯稯何為者邪○ 孔子之楚○舍於蟻丘之漿○其鄰有夫妻臣妾登 晋人之前○譬猶一吷也○ 而已矣○堯○舜○人之所譽也○道堯○舜於戴 惠子曰○夫吹管也○猶有嗃也○吹劍首者○吷 ○客○大人也○聖人不足以當之○ 客出而君惝然若有亡也○客出○惠子見○君曰 君曰○無辯○ ○王與蛮氏有辯乎○ 曰○通達之中有魏○於魏中有梁○於梁中有王 君曰○然○ 亡乎○ 曰○知游心於無窮○而反在通達之國○若存若 君曰○無窮○ ○ 曰○臣請為君實之○君以意在四方上下有窮乎 君曰○噫○其虛言與○ ○逐北旬有五日而后反○
仲尼問於大史大弢○伯常騫○狶韋曰○夫衛灵 無所逃○此所謂然與然乎○ 不知而后知○可不謂大疑乎○已乎○已乎○且 其門○人皆尊其知之所知○而莫知恃其知之所 非也○萬物有乎生而莫見其根○有乎出而莫見 而卒詘之以非也○未知今之所謂是之非五十九 蘧伯玉行年六十而六十化○未嘗不始於是之○ ○ 則欺○財不足則盗○盗窃之行○於誰責而可乎 多偽○士民安取不偽○夫力不足則偽○知不足 其涂而誅不至○民知力竭○則以偽継之○日出 不識○大為難而罪不敢○重為任而罰不勝○遠 失其形者○退而自責○今則不然○匿為物而愚 為在己○以正為在民○以枉為在己○故一形有 無至此得乎○古之君人者○以得為在民○以失 病○聚人之所爭○窮困人之身○使無休時○欲 然后睹所病○貨財聚然后睹所爭○今立人之所 子獨先離之○曰○莫為盗○莫為殺人○榮辱立 號天而哭之○曰○子乎○子乎○天下有大灾○ 至齊○見辜人焉○推而強之○解朝服而幕之○ 曰○始於齊○ 又請之○老聃曰○汝將何始○ 老聃曰○已矣○天下猶是也○ 柏矩學於老聃○曰○請之天下游○ 發○不擇所出○漂疽疥癱○內熱溲膏是也○ 萑葦蒹葭始萌○以扶吾形○尋擢吾性○并潰漏 神○以衆為○故鹵莽其性者○欲惡之孽為性○ 封人之所謂○遁其天○離其性○减其情○亡其 莊子聞之曰○今人之治其形○理其心○多有似 予終年厭飧○ 予來年變齊○深其耕而熟耰之○其禾蘩以滋○
矣○乃將得比哉○則若以斯辯○譬猶狗馬○其 者為之公○因其大以號而讀之則可也○已有之 地者○形之大者也○陰陽者○氣之大者也○道 期曰萬物者○以數之多者號而讀之也○是故天 大公調曰○不然○今計物之數○不止於萬○而 少知曰○然則謂之道足乎○ 言○ 材皆度○觀於大山○木石同壇○此之謂丘里之 ○自殉殊面○有所正者有所差○比於大宅○百 ○世有變化○禍福淳淳○至有所拂者而有所宜 無名○無名故無為○無為而無不為○時有終始 ○大人不賜○故德備○萬物殊理○道不私○故 歲成○五官殊職○君不私○故國治○文武殊材 中出者○有正而不距○四時殊氣○天不賜○故 合并而為公○是以自外入者○有主而不執○由 是故丘山積卑而為高○江河合水而為大○大人 得馬○而馬系於前者○立其百體而謂之馬也○ 合異以為同○散同以為異○今指馬之百體而不 大公調曰○丘里者○合十姓百名而為風俗也○ 少知問於大公調曰○何謂丘里之言○ ○ ○夫灵公之為灵也久矣○之二人何足以識之○ 視之○有銘焉○曰○不馮其子○灵公奪而里之 卜葬於沙丘而吉○掘之數仞○得石槨焉○洗而 狶韋曰○夫灵公也○死○卜葬於故墓○不吉○ 見賢人若此其肅也○是其所以為灵公也○ 奉御而進所○搏幣而扶翼○其慢若彼之甚也○ 伯常騫曰○夫灵公有妻三人○同濫而浴○史鰍 大弢曰○是因是也○ 諸侯之際○其所以為灵公者何邪○ 公飲酒湛樂○不聽國家之政○田猎畢弋○不應
家○上○下○二○ ○二年七月三十日 ○耰字左耒右憂○錯字癱字以雍代難癰 有錯字請通知我○錯字莹寶上艸下寶 非默○議有所极○ 言而盡物○道○物之极○言默不足以載○非言 言而足○則終日言而盡道○言而不足○則終日 而行○或使莫為○在物一曲○夫胡為於大方○ 終始○道不可有○有不可無○道之為名○所假 無也○與物同理○或使莫為○言之本也○與物 無窮○吾求之末○其來無止○無窮無止○言之 或之使○莫之為○疑之所假○吾觀之本○其往 可忌○已死不可阻○死生非遠也○理不可睹○ 實○在物之虛○可言可意○言而愈疏○未生不 實○莫為則虛○有名有實○是物之居○無名無 之使○莫之為○未免於物而終以為過○或使則 ○斯而析之○精至於無倫○大至於不可圍○或 ○不能以言讀其所自化○又不能以意其所將為 大公調曰○鷄嗚狗吠○是人之所知○雖有大知 ○孰正於其情○孰偏於其理○ 少知曰○季真之莫為○接子之或使○二家之議 ○ 之人○不隨其所廢○不原其所起○此議之所止 所有○言之所盡○知之所至○极物而已○睹道 相理○橋運之相使○窮則反○終則始○此物之 以成○此名實之可紀○精微之可志也○隨序之 庸有○安危相易○禍福相生○緩急相摩○聚散 相殺○欲惡去就○於是橋起○雌雄片合○於是 大公調曰○陰陽相照相盖相治○四時相代相生 起○ 少知曰○四方之內○六合之里○萬物之所生惡 不及遠矣○

Chapter 25 -- Tse Yang

When Tse Yang visited the Ch'u State, I Chieh spoke of him to the prince; but the latter refused an audience. Upon I Chieh's return, Tse Yang went to see Wang Kuo, and asked him to obtain an interview with the prince.

"I am not so fitted to that," replied Wang Kuo, "as Kung Yueh Hsiu."

"What sort of a man is he?" enquired Tse Yang.

"In winter,' said Wang Kuo, "he catches turtles on the river. In summer, he reposes in some mountain copse. If any passers-by ask of him, he tells them, 'This is my home.' Where I Chieh could not succeed, still less should I. I am not equal even to him.

"He is a man without virtue, but possessed of knowledge. Were it not for an air of arrogance, he would be very popular with his superiors. But help without virtue is a hindrance. Shivering people borrowing clothes in the coming spring! Hot people thinking of last winter's icy blast!

"The prince of Ch'u is dignified and severe. In punishing, he is merciless as a tiger. Only a very practiced or a very perfect man could influence him. The true Sage, when in obscurity, causes those around him to forget their poverty. When in power, he causes princes to forget ranks and emoluments, and to become as though of low estate. He rejoices exceedingly in all creation. He exults to see Tao diffused among his fellow-men, while suffering no loss himself.

"Thus, although silent, he can instill peace; and by his mere presence cause men to be to each other as father and son. From his very return to passivity comes this active influence for good. So widely does he differ in heart from ordinary men. Wherefore I said, 'Wait for Kung Tueh Hsiu.'

"The true Sage is free from all embarrassments. All things are to him as ONE. Yet he knows not that this is so. It is simply nature. In the midst of action he remains the same. He makes God his guide, and men make him theirs. He grieves that wisdom carries one but a short distance, and at times comes altogether to a deadlock.

"To a beauty, mankind is the mirror in which she sees herself. If no one tells her she is beautiful, she does not know that she is so. But whether she knows it or whether she does not know it, whether she hears it or whether she does not hear it, her joy will never cease, neither will mankind ever cease to take pleasure therein. It is nature.

"The love of a Sage for his fellows likewise finds expression among mankind. Were he not told so, he would not know that he loved his fellows. But whether he knows that he knows it or whether he does not know it, whether he hears it or whether he does not hear it, his love for his fellows is without end, and mankind cease not to repose therein.

"The old country, the old home, gladden a wanderer's eyes. Nay, though nine-tenths of it be a howling wilderness, still his eye will be glad. How much more to see sight and hear hearing, from a lofty dais suspended in their very midst!"

Jen Hsiang Shih reached the center and attained. He recognized no beginning, no end, no quantity, no time. Daily modified together with his environment as part of ONE he knew no modification. Why not rest in this? [See Chinese words for differences.]

To strive to follow God and not to succeed is to display an activity fatal to itself. How can success ever be thus achieved?

The true Sage ignores God. He ignores man. He ignores a beginning. He ignores matter. He moves in harmony with his generation and suffers not. He takes things as they come and is not overwhelmed. How are we to become like him?

T'ang appointed his Enquiry, Men Yin Teng Heng, to be his tutor, listening to his counsels but not being restricted by them. He got Tao for himself and a reputation for his tutor. But the reputation was a violation of principle, and landed him in the domain of alternatives. [Did T'ang got Tao?]

As a tutor, Confucius pushed care and anxiety to an extreme limit. Yung Ch'eng Shih said, "Take away days, and there would be no years. If there is no inside, there can be no outside."

Prince Hui of Wei had made a treaty with prince Wei of Ch'i, which the latter broke.

Thereupon prince Hui was wroth, and was about to send a man to assassinate him. But the Captain General heard of this, and cried out in shame, "Sire, you are ruler over a mighty State, yet you would seek the vengeance of a common man. Give me two hundred thousand warriors, and I will do the work for you. I will take his people prisoners, and carry off their oxen and horses. I will make the heat of the prince's mind break out on his back. Then I will seize his country, and he will flee. Then you can wring his neck as you please."

When Chi Tzu heard this, he cried out in shame and said, "If you are building a ten-perch wall, and when the wall is near completion, destroy it, you inflict great hardship on the workmen. Now for seven years the troops have not been called out. That is, as it were, your Highness' foundation work. listen not to the Captain General. He is a mischievous fellow."

When Hua Tzu heard this, he was very indignant and said, "He who argued in favor of punishing the Ch'i State was a mischievous fellow. And he who argued against punishing the Ch'i State was a mischievous fellow. And he who says that either of the above is a mischievous fellow, is a mischievous fellow himself."

"Where then shall I find what to do?" enquired the prince.

"In Tao alone," said Hua Tzu.

When Hui Tzu heard this, he introduced Tai Chin Jen to the prince.

"There is a creature called a snail," said Tai Chin Jen. "Does your Highness know what I mean?"

"I do," replied the prince.

"There is a kingdom on its horn,' continued Tai Chin Jen, "ruled over by Aggression, and another on its right horn ruled over by Violence. These two rulers are constantly fighting for territory. In such cases, corpses lie about by thousands, and one party will pursue the other for fifteens days before returning."

"Whew!' cried the prince. "Surely you are joking."

"Sire," replied Tai Chin Jen, "I beg you to regard it as fact. Does your Highness recognize any limit to space?"

"None," said the prince. "It is boundless."

"When, therefore," continued Tai Chin Jen, "the mind descends from the contemplation of boundless space to the contemplation of a kingdom with fixed boundaries, that kingdom must seem to be of dimensions infinitesimally small?"

"Of course," replied the prince.

"Well then," said Tai Chin Jen, "in a kingdom with fixed boundaries there is the Wei State. In the Wei State there is the city of Liang. In the city of Liang there is a prince. In what does that prince differ from Violence?"

"There is no difference," said the prince.

Thereupon Tai Chin Jen took his leave, and the prince remained in a state of mental perturbation, as though he had lost something.

When Tai Chin Jen had gone, Hui Tzu presented himself, and the prince said, "Our friend is truly a great man. Sages are not his equal."

"If you blow through a tube," replied Hui Tzu, "the result will be a note. If you blow through the hole in a sword-hilt, the result will be simply whssh. Yao and Shun have been be-lauded by mankind; yet compared with Tai Chin Jen they are but whssh."

When Confucius went to Ch'u, he stopped at a restaurant on Mount I. The servant to a man and his wife who lived next door, got up on top of the house.

"Whatever is he doing up there?" asked Tzu Lu.

"He is a Sage," replied Confucius, "under the garb of a menial. He buries himself among the people. He effaces himself at the wayside. Fame, he has none; but his perseverance is inexhaustible. Though his mouth speaks, his heart speaks not. He has turned his back upon mankind, not caring to abide amongst them. He has drowned himself on dry land. I think it is I Liao of Shih-nan."

Tzu Lu asked to be allowed to go and call him; but Confucius stopped him, saying, "No. He knows that I know what he is. He knows that I have come to Ch'u to recommend him to the prince. And he looks on me as a toady. Under the circumstances, as he would scorn to hear the words of a toady, how much more would he scorn to see him in the flesh! How could you keep him?"

Tzu Lu went to see, but the house was empty.

The border-warden of Ch'ang-wu said to Tzu Lao, "A prince in his administrative details must not lack thoroughness; in his executive details he must not be inefficient. Formerly, in my ploughing I lacked thoroughness, and the results also lacked thoroughness. In my weeding I was inefficient, and the results were also inefficient. By and by, I changed my system. I ploughed deep, and weeded carefully, the result being an excellent harvest, more than I could get through in a year."

Chuang Tzu, upon hearing this, observed, "The men of today in their self-regulation and their self-organization are mostly as the Border warden has described. They put their Godhead out of sight. They abandon their natural dispositions. They get rid of all feeling. They part with their souls, carried away by the fashion of the hour.

"Those who lack thoroughness in regard to their natural dispositions suffer an evil tribe to take the place thereof. These grow up rank as reeds and rushes, at first of apparent value to the body, but afterwards to destroy the natural disposition. Then they break out, at random, like sores and ulcers carrying off pent-up humors."

Poh Chu was studying under Lao Tzu. "Let us go," said he, "and wander over the world."

"No," replied Lao Tzu, "the world is just as you see it here." [Our body is a world by itself.]

But as he again urged it, Lao Tzu said, "Where would you go to begin with?"

"I would begin," answered Poh Chu, "by going to the Ch'i State. There I would view the dead bodies of their malefactors. I would push them to make them rise. I would take off my robes and cover them. I would cry to God and bemoan their lot, as follows:--'O sirs, O sirs, there was trouble upon earth, and you were the first to fall into it!'

"I would say, 'Perhaps you were robbers, or perhaps murderers?'... Honor and disgrace were set up, and evil followed. Wealth was accumulated, and contentions began. Now the evil which has been set up and the contentions which have accumulated, endlessly weary man's body and give him no rest. What escapee is there from this?

"The rulers of old set off all success to the credit of their people, attributing all failure to themselves. All that was right went to the credit of their people, all that was wrong they attributed to themselves. Therefore, if any matter fell short of achievement, they turned and blamed themselves.

"Not so the rulers of today. They conceal a thing and blame those who cannot see it. They impose dangerous tasks and punish those who dare not undertake them. They inflict heavy burdens and chastise those who cannot bear them. They ordain long marches and slay those who cannot make them. And the people, feeling that their powers are inadequate, have recourse to fraud. For when there is so much fraud about, how can the people be otherwise than fraudulent? If their strength is insufficient, they will have recourse to fraud. If their knowledge is insufficient, they will have recourse to deceit. If their means are insufficient, they will steal. And for such robbery and theft, who is really responsible?"

When Chu Poh Yu reached his sixtieth year, he changed his opinions. What he had previously regarded as right, he now came to regard as wrong. But who shall say whether the right of today may not be as wrong as the wrong of the previous fifty nine years? (This also refers to Confucius.)

Things are produced around us, but no one knows the whence. They issue forth, but no one sees the portal. Men one and all value that part of knowledge which is known. They do not know how to avail themselves of the unknown in order to reach knowledge. Is not this misguided?

Alas! alas! the impossibility of escaping from this state results in what is known as elective affinity.

Confucius asked the historiographers Ta T'ao, Poh Ch'ang Ch'ien, and Hsi Wei, saying, "Duke Ling of Wei was fond of wine and given up to pleasure, and neglected the administration of his State. He spent his time in hunting, and did not cultivate the goodwill of the other feudal princes. How was it he came to be called Ling?"

"For those very reasons," replied Ta T'ao.

"The Duke," said Poh Ch'ang Ch'ien, "had three wives. He was having a bath together with them when Shih Ch'iu, summoned by his Highness, entered the apartment. Thereupon the Duke covered himself and the ladies. So outrageously did he behave on the one hand, and yet so respectful was he towards a virtuous man. Hence he was called Ling."

"When the Duke died," said Hsi Wei, "divination showed that it would be inauspicious to bury him in the old family burying ground, but auspicious to bury him at Sha-ch'iu. And upon digging a grave there, several fathoms deep, a stone coffin was found, which, being cleaned, yielded the following inscription:--Posterity cannot be trusted. Duke Ling will seize this for his tomb.

"As a matter of fact, Duke Ling had been named Ling long before. What should these two persons know about it?"

Shao Chih asked T'ai Kung Tiao, saying, "What is meant by society?"

"Society," replied T'ai Kung Tiao, "is an agreement of a certain number of families and individuals to abide by certain customs. Discordant elements unite to form a harmonious whole. Take away this unity and each has a separate individuality.

"Point at any one of the many parts of a horse, and that is not a horse, although there is a horse before. It is the combination of all which makes the horse. similarly, a mountain is high because of its individual particles. A river is large because of its individual drops. And he is a just man who regards all parts from the point of view of the whole.

"Thus, in regard to the views of others, he holds his own opinion, but not obstinately. In regard to his own views, while conscious of their truth, he does not despise the opinions of others.

"The four seasons have different characteristics, but God shows no preference for either, and therefore we have the year complete. The functions of the various classes of officials differ; but the sovereign shows no partiality, and therefore the empire is governed. There are the civil and the military; but the truly great man shows no preference for either, and therefore their efficacy is complete. All things are under the operation of varying laws; but Tao shows no partiality and therefore it cannot be identified. Not being able to be identified, it consequently does nothing. And by doing nothing all things can be done.

"Seasons have their beginnings and their ends. Generations change and change. Good and evil fortune alternate, bringing sorrow here, happiness there. He who obstinately views things from his own standpoint only, may be right in one case and wrong in another. Just as in a great jungle all kinds of shrubs are found together; or as on a mountain you see trees and stones indiscriminately mixed,--so is what we call society."

"Would it not do then," asked Shao Chih, "if we were to call this Tao?"

"It would not," replied T'ai Kung Tiao, "All creation is made up of more than ten thousand things. We speak of creation as the Ten Thousand things merely because it is a convenient term by which to express a large number. In point of outward shape the universe is vast. In point of influence the Positive and Negative principles are mighty. Yet Tao folds them all in its embrace. For convenience sake the bond of society is called great. But how can that which is thus conditioned be compared with Tao? There is as wide a difference between them as there is between a horse and a dog."

"Whence then," enquired Shao Chih, "comes the vitality of all things between the four points of the compass, between heaven above and earth beneath?"

"The positive and Negative principles," answered T'ai Kung Tiao, "influence, act upon, and regulate each other. The four seasons alternate with, give birth to, and destroy one another. Hence, loves and hates, and courses rejected and courses adopted. Hence too, the intercourse of the sexes.

"States of peril and safety alternate. Good and evil fortune give birth to one another. Slowness and speed are mutually exclusive. Collection and dispersion are correlates. The actuality of these may be noted. The essence of each can be verified. There is regular movement forward, modified by deflection into a curve. Exhaustion leads to renewal. The end introduces a new beginning. This is the law of material existences. The force of language, the reach of knowledge, cannot pass beyond the bounds of such material existences. The disciple of Tao refrains from prying into the states after or before. Human speculation stops short of this."

"Chi Chen," said Shao Chih, "taught Chance; Chieh Tzu taught Predestination. In the speculations of these two schools, on which side did right lie?"

"The cock crows," replied T'ai Kung Tiao, "and the dog barks. So much we know. But the wisest of us could not say why one crows and the other barks, nor guess why they crow or bark at all. Let me explain. The infinitely small is inappreciable; the infinitely great is immeasurable. Chance and Predestination must refer to the conditioned. Consequently, both are wrong.

"Predestination involves a real existence. Chance implies an absolute absence of any principle. To have a name and the embodiment thereof,-- this is to have a material existence. To have no name and no embodiment,--of this one can speak and think; but the more one speaks the farther off one gets. The unborn creature cannot be kept from life. The dead cannot be tracked. From birth to death is but a span; yet the secret cannot be known. Chance and Predestination are but a priori solutions.

"When I seek for a beginning, I find only time infinite. When I look forward to an end, I see only time infinite. Infinity of time past and to come implies no beginning and is in accordance with the laws of material existences. Predestination and Chance give us a beginning, but one which is compatible only with the existence of matter.

"Tao cannot be existent. If it were existent, it could not be non-existent. The very name of Tao is only adopted for convenience sake. Predestination and Chance are limited to material existences. How can they bear upon the infinite?

"Were language adequate, it would take but a day to fully set forth Tao. Not being adequate, it takes that time to explain material existences. Tao is something beyond material existences. It cannot be conveyed either by words or by silence. In that state which is neither speech nor silence, its transcendental nature may be apprehended."

Edited on 9th June 2008

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