The Sign of Virtue Complete

The Sign of Virtue Complete

There was in Lu a man named Wang Tai who had lost a foot. Those who followed him and studied with him were about equal in number to those who followed Zhongni. Chang Ji asked Zhongni, saying, "Wang Tai is a man who has lost a foot, and yet those who follow him and you divide Lu between them. He stands and teaches nothing; he sits and discusses nothing. Those who go to him empty come away full. Is there really such a thing as teaching without words, a forming of the mind without any outward form? What kind of man is he?" Zhongni said, "This master is a Sage. I was only tardy in going to him. I intend to make him my teacher—and how much more should those who are not equal to me! Why stop with the state of Lu? I will lead the whole world to follow him."

Chang Ji said, "He is a man who has lost a foot, and yet he is preferred to you—he must stand far above the ordinary man. If so, what is the unique way in which he uses his mind?" Zhongni said, "Death and life are momentous events, yet they cannot affect him. Though heaven and earth were to topple and fall, he would not be lost with them. He is established in that which has no dependence and does not shift with things. He commands the transformations of things and holds fast to their root."

Chang Ji said, "What do you mean?" Zhongni said, "If we look at things from the point of view of their differences, then the liver and the gall are as far apart as Chu and Yue. If we look at them from the point of view of their sameness, then all the ten thousand things are one. A man like this would not know what was meant for the ears or the eyes but would let his mind wander in the harmony of virtue. He sees in things that in which they are one and does not see that in which they are lacking. He looks upon the loss of a foot as no more than throwing away a clod of earth."

Chang Ji said, "He cultivates himself. Through his knowledge he comes to know his mind, and through his mind he comes to know the constant mind. Why should people seek him out?" Zhongni said, "No man will take his reflection from running water—he will take it from still water. Only what is still can still the stillness of other things. Of all that receive life from the earth, the pine and the cypress alone remain green in winter and summer. Of all that receive life from heaven, the Shun alone is upright. Fortunately he was able to rectify his own life, and thereby rectify the lives of others. The proof of having preserved the origin—the reality of fearlessness—is this: a single brave warrior will heroically plunge into the midst of nine armies. A man who seeks fame and is able to demand this of himself will do even this much. How much more then one who governs heaven and earth, stores up the ten thousand things, takes the six organs as a lodging, makes the ears and eyes a mere image, unifies what knowledge knows, and whose mind has never died? He will choose the day to ascend beyond, and the people will follow him. Why would he consent to make anything of mere things?"

Shen-tu Jia, a man who had lost a foot, studied together with Chan, the master of Po-hun Wu-ren. Zi Chan said to Shen-tu Jia, "If I go out first, you stay behind; if you go out first, I stay behind." Next day they were again sitting together in the same hall on the same mat. Zi Chan said to Shen-tu Jia, "If I go out first, you stay behind; if you go out first, I stay behind. Now I am about to go out. Will you stay behind, or won't you? Moreover, when you see a man of rank, you do not avoid him. Do you think yourself his equal?"

Shen-tu Jia said, "In our master's school is there really such a thing as a man of rank? Are you pleased with your rank and look down on others? I have heard it said, 'When a mirror is bright, no dust settles on it; if dust settles, it is not bright. If you associate long with a worthy man, you will be without fault.' Now the great thing you have chosen is our master, and yet you can talk like this—is it not a mistake?"

Zi Chan said, "Since you are already like this, you still compete with Yao in goodness. Weigh your virtue—is it not enough to make you reflect on yourself?"

Shen-tu Jia said, "To set forth one's faults in order to show that one does not deserve to be mutilated—there are many who do this. Not to set forth one's faults in order to show that one does not deserve to be preserved—there are few who do this. To know that what cannot be helped and to accept it as destined—only a man of virtue can do this. When one wanders in the target area of Yi, the center is the bull's-eye, and yet if one is not hit, that is destiny. There are many who, having their complete feet, laugh at me for lacking a foot. I used to flush with anger, but when I came to our master, I returned to my senses, not knowing whether he washed me clean with his goodness. I have been with our master for nineteen years and have never known that I had lost a foot. Now you and I are wandering within the body, and yet you seek me outside the body—is that not a mistake?"

Zi Chan's expression changed and his countenance altered. He said, "Say no more about it!"

In Lu there was a man named Shu-shan Wu-zhi who had lost a foot. He went on his heel to see Zhongni. Zhongni said, "You were careless and brought this misfortune upon yourself before. Though you come now, what can be done about it?" Wu-zhi said, "I simply did not know what was important and used my body lightly, and so I lost a foot. But now I have come because there is something more honorable than a foot still preserved, and I am striving to keep it whole. There is nothing that heaven does not cover, nothing that earth does not bear. I took you, Master, to be heaven and earth—how could I know that you would be like this!" Confucius said, "I am indeed shallow! Why do not you, Master, come in? Please tell me what you have heard." Wu-zhi went out. Confucius said, "My students, take heed! This man Wu-zhi, who has lost a foot, is still striving to learn in order to make amends for the wrongs he committed before—how much more should a man of complete virtue!"

Wu-zhi said to Lao Dan, "As for Confucius, has he not yet reached the level of the Ultimate Man? Why does he fuss and fuss about studying with you? He is still hoping to get a reputation for strange and bizarre fame, not knowing that the Ultimate Man regards all this as a shackle and a fetter, is he not?" Lao Dan said, "Why don't you simply make him see that life and death are one thread, that the permissible and the impermissible are one continuity—wouldn't that free him from his shackles?" Wu-zhi said, "Heaven has punished him. How can he be freed?"

Duke Ai of Lu asked Zhongni, "In Wei there is an ugly man named Ai Taituo. When men dwell with him, they think of him and cannot leave. When women see them, they ask their parents, saying, 'Rather than be another man's wife, I would be this man's concubine'—this has happened more than ten times and has not stopped. I have never heard him initiate anything; he merely harmonizes with others. He has no ruler's position to deliver people from death, no accumulated wealth to fill people's bellies. With his ugliness he startles the whole world. He harmonizes but does not lead. His knowledge does not go beyond his immediate surroundings, yet men and women gather before him. He must be different from other people. I summoned him to observe him, and indeed his ugliness startles the whole world. He dwelt with me, and before a month had passed, I began to take notice of his character. Before a year was complete, I trusted him. The state had no prime minister, so I entrusted the government to him. He responded absently, as if he would decline. I felt ashamed, but in the end I gave him the state. Not long after, he left me and departed. I was distressed, as if something had lost, as if there was no one to share the joy of the state with me. What kind of man is this?"

Zhongni said, "I once was sent on a mission to Chu, and I happened to see piglets feeding at their dead mother. After a moment they all started and fled from her—they could no longer recognize themselves in her, they could no longer be of her kind. What they loved in their mother was not her form but that which gave life to her form. When men die in battle, in burying them no plumes are placed in the coffin. When a man loses his foot, he no longer cares for his shoes. In both cases the root is gone. When the emperor selects his ladies, he does not have their nails trimmed nor their ears pierced. Men who take wives remain outside the palace and are not employed again. When their form is complete, this is enough for such service—how much more would a man of complete virtue suffice! Now Ai Taituo is trusted before he speaks, and beloved before he has any merit. He makes others hand over their state to him, and they only fear he might not accept. He must be a man whose capacities are whole and whose virtue does not show."

Duke Ai asked, "What do you mean by capacities being whole?"

Zhongni said, "Death and life, preservation and loss, failure and success, poverty and wealth, worthiness and unworthiness, slander and praise, hunger and thirst, cold and heat—these are the changes of affairs and the movements of fate. They succeed one another day and night before us, yet knowledge cannot fathom their beginning. Therefore they should not be allowed to disturb harmony or enter the spiritual dwelling-place. Maintain harmony and ease, flowing freely without losing your source. Let there be no gaps between day and night, and let your heart bring spring to all things. This is to receive the seasons as they arise in the mind. This is what is called having one's capacities whole."

"What do you mean by virtue that does not show?"

He said, "Levelness is the highest state of still water. It can be taken as a standard. It is preserved within and does not stir without. Virtue is the cultivation of perfected harmony. When virtue does not show, things cannot leave it."

On another day Duke Ai told Minzi, "At first, when I faced south and ruled the empire, held the reins of the people, and grieved over their deaths, I thought I had attained the highest understanding. Now I have heard the words of a perfect man, and I fear I have no substance to show for it—that I have lightly used my person and lost my state. Kong Qiu and I are not ruler and minister; we are friends in virtue."

A man with a crippled body, a twisted spine, and no lips spoke to Duke Ling of Wei, and Duke Ling was pleased with him. When he looked at men of normal form, he found their necks too thin. A man with a great tumor as large as a jar spoke to Duke Huan of Qi, and Duke Huan was pleased with him. When he looked at men of normal form, he found their necks too thin. Where virtue is outstanding, form is forgotten. When people do not forget what should be forgotten but forget what should not be forgotten, this is called true forgetting.

The sage has somewhere to roam. Knowledge is a sprout of disaster, covenants are a glue, virtue is a means of attachment, craft is a means of trade. The sage does not scheme—why use knowledge? He does not cut—why use glue? He has no loss—why use virtue? He does not trade—why use craft? These four are Heaven's nourishment. Heaven's nourishment is Heaven's feeding. Since one receives food from Heaven, what need is there for human effort? He has the form of a man but the feelings of no man. Having the form of a man, he groups with men. Having the feelings of no man, right and wrong cannot touch his person. Small and insignificant—that is what connects him to others. Great and lofty—that is what allows him to perfect his Heaven.

Hui Shi said to Zhuangzi, "Can it be that man is without feelings?"

Zhuangzi said, "Yes."

Hui Shi said, "If he is a man and yet without feelings, how can he be called a man?"

Zhuangzi said, "The Way gave him his face; Heaven gave him his form. How could he not be called a man?"

Hui Shi said, "Since he is already called a man, how can he be without feelings?"

Zhuangzi said, "That is not what I mean by feelings. When I say without feelings, I mean that a man does not allow likes and harms to injure his person, that he constantly follows what is natural and does not add to his life."

Hui Shi said, "If he does not add to his life, how can he have a body?"

Zhuangzi said, "The Way gave him his face; Heaven gave him his form. He does not allow likes and harms to injure his person. Now you externalize your spirit and wear out your essence. You lean against a tree and chant, lean on your withered wooden desk and doze. Heaven chose your form, and yet you insist on crying out about hard and white."