????

by Wang, Yu

A Critical Exposition of the Philosophy of Chuang Tzu

SYNOPSIS

?. -. - ..

This thesis aims at interpreting and criticizing the philosophy of Chuang Tzu, the most creative Taoist who flourished sometime between 399 and 286 B. C ? Here

criticism mainly refers to revealing the insufficiency of

of Taoism in comparison with Confucianism, from whose viewpoint Buddhism and Taoism are heterodoxies because of their inade~uacies ?Although criticism may mean detecting the inconsistency within one philosophical system, this meaning is not adopted here since, in ancient Taoism, there is no inconsistency to pe disco~ered.

Originally written in Chinese, the dissertation is composed of three chapters, twenty three sections and eleven appendices. The first chapter, chiefly Taoist metaphysics, is concerned with the formal and objective meaning of~; the second deals with the epistemology of Chuang Tzu, who transcends cognition and attains to a super-cognitive realm; and the last chapter discusses in detail the philosophy' of life as the embodiment of ~ from an existential approach. For convenience, ,this dissertation is summarized into sixteen

points as follow~.

~1) .An Etymologi'cal Approach to the Meaning of ~

In bronze inscriptipns the earliest Chinese oharacters of Tao

-

,

:P. 2

and

were probably formed in the Shang (Yin) Dynasty before the eleventh century. The first character comprises a way or

; , '

road, ;1 \(a path of two sides), and a hieroglyphic or

pictograp~~c head with an eye and two hairs symbolizing a ,person: (J ; the 6:,?fnd character was composed by adding to these a foot, ~ 'I. This addition may function:

(a) to signify a person walking on the road more

distinctly; or

(b) to deepen the signific'ance by inserting the foot of

a follower aa.;traili,ng behind the leader or chief in

search of a proper path. I I' ';II({

, . ' ~~

In the :Tan Dynasty the seal,pharacter of ~ became .:.k~:1 ?

, ? .....-r-: ..

The square style of!?, J-!L ' has been prevalent since

the Mediev;3.l Ages,:.

Ancient philosophers extended the meaning of ~ from concrete'roadsl,to abstract principles of the universe by which human beings should abide. Confucius, be~ng ethicsoriented, concentrated on human principles. Lao Tzu, the .founder of Taoism and the forerunner of Chuang Tzu, defined Tao as the origin (mother), storehouse, and ultimate model

- '

of all things. Apart from these static senses, ,Lao Tzu t s

~ has the dynam? meaning of producing, rearing and operating cyclic changes. ~ is not so va~e as eudaimon1 (happiness or well-being) in Greek ethics. It is a pity that eminent philosophers like Karl Jaspers and Martin Bub?

undervalue the origina~ity of Chuang Tz~.

,

(2) Tao, Heraclitus's Lop;os and Anaximander!ls "Infinit,et?

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~.

Chuang Tzu says, "There seems to be a True Lord (Master) who renders things as they are. But I find no trace of His

\. existence. '" Religionists are inclined to regard "True Lord"

,\ , , as a personal God, a mindful Creator~(;Dem1:urge!) ~f the

\ universe. Kuo HSiang, the most distinguished commentator

of Chuang Tzu, rightly remarks: "Myriad things vary in living condi tions and natural inclinations. It~~seems as if a Genuine Master' makes them the way they are. Seeking the sign of the Genuine Lord in vain, we understand that everything is naturally in the way:it is and nothing causes

, it to be so."

Mo Tzu's Heaven and the Christian God are at once personal, omniscient, and, despite all appearances to the contrary, deeply concerned about the destiny of mankind in

I general and each particular human individual. Tao must not be mistaken for a Creator or a personal God. Impossible to be omniscient, it is the total ?osmic principles as m metaphysical reality analogous to Logos in Greek philosophy. Heraclitus has already denied the existence of a cosmic Creator. He says, "But while the Logos remains always this, men remain uncomprehending ?? For everything becomes

i essent in accordance with the Logos." According to An.

Introduction to Metaphysics by Martin Heidegger, there was an original unity betwee,n being and thinking, 1. e. between Physis and Logos. ~eparated from Physis, Logos (the "logical") become~ the essence of thinking. In the sense

of reason and understanding Logos "achieves domination over Being in the beginning of Greek philosophy, since it refers to a cosmic reason which endows the universe with order and intelligibiiliity. Lo~os is subsequently identified with Destiny, PrOVidence, Nature ~Phys1s), immaterial instrument and even the personal agency of God's creative acti:vities, the second person of the T~inity, and above all, the formgiving creative aspect of, ;Intelligence or~, the second of the three Hypostases in Plotinus's system. Tao resembles

, ' . ..-.-

Logos inasmuch as both are cosmio reason, Naturef and

?,-j

~-

\ ,

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. \ . , \

Destiny, as well as words or languages as expressions reason. Being impersonal and mindless, Tao and Lo~os not objects to whom man can pray.

of

are

Heraclitus says, "We should let ourselves be guided by what is common to all. Yet, although, the Logos is common

to all, most men live as if each of them had a private intelligence of his own." Tao is also common to all, for "private intelligence" is "cunning" in both Confucian and Taoist views. Heraclitus emphasizes the necessity to follow Logos; Taoists, to follow Tao.

Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu resemble Anaximander'who seeks the ground of the manifold processes of Nature in a single world-principle-the "Infinite", to which he, stepping beyond the realm of experience, ascribes attributes of eternity, imperishability,and inexhaustibility.

(3) The Triad of Not~ingness, Being and Mystery

In the light of ,Hegel' s ph~'losophy of religion,. Taoism

;

consists in a Trt~~?of Nothingness as ~-in-itself, Being

as ~-:.for-i tself;, and Mystery as" ~-in-and-for-i tself, or the dialectical reconciliation of Nothingness and Being.

In Chapter 16 of Chuang TzJ,1 we find "Tao is Reason". In Chapter 12, a significant paragraph reads,

"In the Great Beginning, there was Nothingness; there was neither Being nor name. The One originated from Nothingness; it achieved Oneness, but no existential forms were manifest. 'Things acquired it (the One) and came into existence. 'That was called Virtue. What was formless was divided (into 'Yin and Yan~ J.--,a:dd?d?ersffi:ed into myriad things ? That was called Destiny. Through movement and reet, it (the One) prOduced all things. Things were produced in accordance with the principles of life. That was called Formation. The formed physical bodies maintained their inner spirit in order that every move (activity) would tollow their specific principles. That was ,called Nature. By cultivating this Nature, one may return to Virtue. When Virtue is

-:~ -.

;f;- ;

?

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perfected, one will be unified with the Beginning.

Being unified 'with the Beginning, one becomes vacuous (receptive to anything). Being vacuous, one becomes great. Then one will mindlessly partake the move of myriad things as if joining birds in unintentional

dheep and chirp. Thus, one is united with the universe. The unity is actually intimate but apparently stupid and idiotic. This is called profound mysterious virtue, in which one participates in the Grand Submission (to the One or Tao)."

According to 1in Yu Ming's punctuation, the first sentence reads: "In the Great Beginning, there was No-Nothingness and (then) the Nameless." No-Nothingness negates the appearance of ~othingness and transcends the opposition between Being and,Nothingness. It is Lao Tzu's Mystery, namely, th~ negation of ~othingness or the negation of the negation of Being. The Nameless has been defined by Lao

Tzu as the beginning of the universe. In Taoism the meaning of production lies in the negative side: to produce is not to block and prohibit the natural growth of creatures, as Wang Pi's comme:r;ltary on Lao Tzu appropria telY"Buggests.

(4) Yin and Yanp; as Opposite Aspects of Material Force

Lao Tzu says:

Tao produced the One.

The One produced the Two. The Two produced the Three.

And the Three produced the myriad things.

The myriad things carry the Yin and embrace the Yan~, and through the blending of material force they attain harmony.

Many commentators look upon the Two as Yin and Yanp;, which are material. Wang Pi 'wrongly explains One, Two and Three to be the first three rings of an infinite series. Nevertheless, it is ,most appropriate to expound the above quotation in the ligh~ of th~ first chapter of Lao Tzu: the One denotes Nothingness; the Two, Being (which is by no means material); and the Three, Mystery---the synthesis of

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wonders", produces all things. It is only in logical thinking that Tao abstractly divides into Nothingness and Being. In so far as returning to Mystery, Tao recovers its

\ .

\. 'concreteness and reality. Lao Tzu employs these three

numbers, terms and steps merely to unfold the full, significance of Tao. In Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu Yin denote~ the weak and tender aspect of material force; Yang, the strong and tough.

In Chuang Tzu the term "Yin-Yang',' stands e,i ther for Nature (in contrast with mankind) or for Rest and Motion. Professor Haiung Shih-li believes that ancient Tao~sts were strongly influenced by early thinkers of the Yin-Yang

Schoole> however, Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu could have developed r;"\ ~

their o~ concepts of Yin-Yang solely from penetrating LJ

, observations and insight independent of the Yin-Yang scholars. But the authors of the Exterior and Miscellaneous Chapters of Chuang Tzu may have learnt the doctrine of Tsou Yen who combined the old ideas of both Yin-Yang and the

Five Agents (metal, wood, water" fire and earth ~hat already appeared in the Book of History). Chapter 21 says, "The Extreme of Yin is stern and frigid, but the Extreme of Yang is glowing and warm. The former springs from Earth; the

j ?

latter, Heaven. These two intermingle, interfuse and

harmonize and thence the myriad things are begotten."

, ..

Obviously this may have influenced a Confucian who wrote

"the successive ~ov.ement of Yin and Yang is called Tao (Way)" in the Appended Remarks on the Book of Changes.

(5) The Dialectical Paradox "Supreme Humaneness is Inhum~pe" .

?I

Lao Tzu maintains that the Sage is like Nature, in treating the myriad creat~res, especially people, as sacrificial straw dogs to; be discarded immediately after being used. In one of the Essential (Interior) Chapters, "On the Equality of All Things", Chuang Tzu, likewise,

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hints that perfect benevolence looks ruthless because it is not concerned with individual acts of kindness, for once it is tied down to fixed objects and partial inclinations it loses its universality. Hence the dialectical paradox "Supreme kindness is unkind". Here if we expound this puzzling sentence by ascribing the subject "supreme kindness" to reality and the complement "unkind" to appearance, the apparent contradiction between kindness and ruthlessness is dissolved. The verb to be "is" is actually the intransitive verb "seems", which Lao Tzu prefers to

.'

adopt (e.g. The whole world says my teaching, great ~,

resembles fOlly.") while Ohuang Tzu tends to omit.

(6) The Decline of ~: the Geneology of Morals

According to Lao Tzu, the doctrine of Virtue emerges wherever Tao is lost, and the d~btrine of Humanity or Benevolence arises?only when Virtue deteriorates, the doctrine of Righteousness emerges whenever Humanity is lost, and the doctrine of Propriety arises only when Righteousnes~

..... - -.;,.,

declines. 'Lao. Tzu considers Propri~ty as superficial

expressions of fidelity and sincerity. Two scholars, Wu

Ch '6.jJ.g and Wu K'ang, vainly a~tempte'd to j'Confucianize" Lao, Tzu by distorting his key verb "lost" tOibe "moved" or "migrat~d" ?<,Let :US ,eluoidatetheessential??distinction between.;'--~aoism andj Con?oianism,;through ,the' following-list;?whel'e?1'1e ,vert-ical?:r-O'w?sTaois,?'io and the hori zontalis ',;

Oontuc1~n:;, J,.,:?::;i~';':i ''',y'. ;.\~,,",. ,"'._1. , ? ~: ,; .;'1;; .? ; ..?..?. '.>1,

1I~)d.! .?..? jc:TAO.:~c:":; :',jJ:Clkl.::.,.", li\J:"~?.. ; .?,,?jl, .;;: ? ?JlJ':"C\ ,'c'.?J~.;=:;

. T .. -,( .... \-_: _J"l: ? , ,\~,:

. ,:;'" lli,);= VfRTUE+~U:MANI.~Y +R.IGij~;':()J1.~~~\~+P~9:I:'RI,~TY+:vrISDOM+ ?.?

,J\; ;'U.:~?HUMANENESS?

. :'1:',,: :<.:. 'RiGHTEOt1SNisi'~'" p"", ?? : :C , ...? ::

/ ... ,,~)::...,.~:. .. ~ ! ,j ;-~ ,~,'.!~'.:. it \';"_." \'

.; ?',c PROPRIET-l - , . ' .... ' .. , .

h\ .? ,j.l, '. '-.,. , 'I "," '.' .?.?. '.v v ,t ?? l ?.??. ,.:: .:/ ~ ? ~, 'v\~_ . .:~ :,_.;,.; .. , ..? ~':. \ \. "" ?. '.

\. \ :?\,;~;: .??:',::~; c.XNG') \:;~J.::t.J.(, ,-;':-,', ?.?;.: . .'::"., "". < .?v "\ .? :.', ',;" - .

, .\' '.

- i,..

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In Taoism, Propriety causes di~order and Foreknowledge

, I

starts folly. Foreknowledge, the flowery embellishment of I

Tao, is due to !the pompous display of private cunning

I

'~--'Tao-ist'icallY'eontrary- to wisdom.

In Chapter 11 of Chu~ng Tzu there is a value hierachy of ten levels emphasizing both sageness and kingliness: (al things: humble and lowly and still to be utilized (b) people: mediocre but still to be followed (rather'

than steered or guided)

(c) affairs: tedious but ,necessary to be managed

(d) laws: sketchy and harsh but. needing proclamation (e) Righteousness: seemingly applicable only to remote

relationships but demanding observance

(r) Humaneness: seemingly applicable merely to intimate relationships but claiming extension

(g) Propriety: binding and confining but claiming

constant practice .

(h) Virtue: compliant but requirtng enhancement

(i) Tao: being One and needing easiness and simplicity (j) Heaven (Nature).! mysterious and yet involving

'act1~1 t1eir;'::'_'_'dU

Lao Tzu thi~s that Tao ~odels itself after Nature and that a Sage who cherishes Tao models himself after Nature. In Chapter 12 .ofChuang Tzu the to-level hi~rarcpy\d1.frers trom .theabove one,'in content and stratifioation: ' .. , .?,;.

" .. d'." (a) Heaven: to act ,through inaction ?... ~" (b) rVirtue:to, speak through inaction

(c) Humaneness: to love mankind and benefit things

(d) . 'grea tness : (magIli tude): to regard the unlike as equal .. ,?.(e) .magnanim:1!ty: not to be distinguished by 'peouliar

.... --behaviour?and extraordinary conduct (f) wealth: to '?ossess myriad unlikes (g) discipline: ~nrootmei1tl tltcHstick to Virtue , (h) establishment: to 'nurture in Virtue

, .

(1) oompletiont'?o?.. Obe;y and follow ~ .. , ,.

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(j) perfection: not to let the will be blunted or frustrated by external things

Thisfseries accentuates inner sageness, whereas the 9-item '''--hierarchy' iziChEqYtlrr--1,3 of"Chuan~' Tzu stresseaou.ter J'i;"; kingliness:

(a) Heaven: Nature

(b) Tao and Virtue (In Taoism, Virtue is the intensional expression of Tao and ~ is the extensional expression of Virtue.)

(c) Humaneness and Righteousness

(d) observance of duties

(e) ,giving names according to the reality of objects and forms

(f) allotment of assignments and appointment'~ of offices (g) scrutiny of performance, e.g. forgiving the guilty who committed crimes without evil motives (h) judgment or discrimations of right and wrong (i) rewards and punis~ents

Forms, names, rites, laws, rewards and punishments are only tools for maintaining or restoring order. Even .. _. __ ..

" '--C'oiifucian--Hlimanity and-'Moistfc--Unive-rs~i-Love-~~-~-the

appearance rather than the reality of Tao itself. Taoists denounce and ridicule Sophists (Logicians), Confucians a~d Maists as ignoring the essence of Tao and propagandizing its means and 'a;ppea.ranc'etoencourage hypocrisy.'" 'Chuang Tzu severelYC'6nd~~1n:ri:8 'the pre'tensionsand si~ulations of Humanity' and 'ttight't:H)u'atl:ass,--l. e ?. the'inechanlzati:on',I'?:?;?.;fi, '

I , "

forma11~a:tion~"?.nd? '?ri'gldizatlan,af?V1rt'ue'.' 'Nevertheless,

Taolsts"'value Virtue spontaneously revealed.

'r ...

'-~" -' ' ?. ; ' ....??' "

" ". --

, ::: '.' .. ,~,I ? :

(7) Shattering Causal 'Chains in Favour of Artistio",> Appreciation :.:, ,:. '".

Chuang Tzu: d'eemsthe 1!.Piping of Heaven" as the faot that ev:erything can be1Litsel:ta.ndtake what it wants for 1 t'self.

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The negative sense of this is to deny the existence of a Being who caus~S the sounding. The positive sense is to affirm self-growth and self-transformation in a vacuous, mysterious and spiritual world where one can freely roam " and heartily admire anything in its subj,ecti ve artistic freedom. Unlike Buddhists and moral-idealists, Chuang Tzu does not perform the transcendental analysis of all things; on the contrary, he ascribes to everything the absoluteness in the form of disinterested aesthetic chaotification. In the naturalism of Western' philosophy the univ,erse is a

unique level and system of reality reducible to a causa~ chain infinitely long and devoid of supernatural. beings

above and beyond Nature, a chain which, as a whole, is objectively self-contained, self-dependent, self-existent, self-explanatory, self-operating and self-regulative. Performing ~he pos~tive experimental analyses of all things, naturalists' look upon 'everything as moved by and moving others, and therefore a member or an element of an

,

unbreakable cau~al sequence of mechanical movements. On

.'

the(~level of Tao', the mechanicai causal bondage entirely

vanishes in one's subjective appreciative vision. Consequently, each member of the causal chain becomes selfsufficient in a philosophico-l;lrtistic mind. With everythini! relieved from causation, Taoism is the most extreme or radical form of artistic idealism. Besides, it is far froDm being epiphenomenalism, ,mechanism, materialism, and emplric~sm. In India S~mkhya thinkers, who conceive that the actual effect is potential in the caUse and the cause

is npn-different from the effect, u~ify ~ause and effect t<> affirm self-production. ' Nagarjuna, ,in "The Doctrine of the

r

Meanl', repeatedly suggests that production is unintelligibJLl

by rt~&ating causation, . Buddhism stresses Void (Sunyata) aa , a ~'enial of ~'iB-ness" (selfness). Taoism neither affirms ,nor denies "is-ness" ,', Owing to the impact of Chuang Tzu's artistic freedom, Ch'eng Hao, an eminentNeo-Confucian,in..

, .

a poelll writes the epigram: "Myrladthings, when contemplate

with a t:t:anquil mind', a.re all self-sufficient"; while the

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Sixth Patriarch of Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism in Chin&, Hui }eng,

claims that the waving of a banner is clue neither to the breeze nor to the banner itself but to the waving (rllove) of

the milid of the human-hearted. A tranCl.uil mind renders

anything artistically t~culQuil and free from causulity, whereas a waving, unsteady mind degrad6s all things into mechanical causal seCl.uences. Against the background of the doctrines of Sunyata and ]{arma (may~:), Hui Neng is strong in respect of aspiring for transcendental migration to Nirvana (thorough extinction of "self"); Chuang Tzu is strong in the consciousness of aesthetic exaltation. The similarity between Taoism and Buddhism consists only in the mode .of thought, e.g. in the pattern of the Hegelian triad. Besides, they are similar in the subjective affirmation that the tranQuillity of mind implies that of all objects. Chuang Tzu illustrates self-independence by vivid examples: ciciadas need not rely on their wings, nor do snnkes on scales, or penumbra (semi-shadow) on umbra (shadow).

(8) Empirical Mind versus Transcendental Mind

Utterly disappointed and disillusioned at sophists' incorrigibility, Chuang Tzu seeks consolation in excavating the formidable and detrimental root of obstinacy---habitual mind, which most people follow as if it were their instructor. Without this empirical mind, there would be no rights and wrongs. Otherwise, one could sally forth for the Yueh country today and reach there yesterday, which is impossible. Chuang Tzu deliberately employs the sophist Hui Shih's paradox to illumine the necessity of habitual mind to discourses. Tao is concealed by trivial accomplishments, he says, just as words are blurred by vain show. ?huang Tzu classifies the ancients' understanding into four phases: first, people believed that nothing exists; second, they asserted the existence of things but still' denied their boundarie s; third, they saw ?oundarie s

,

? 1 2

but not righ0 and wrong; and finally they distinguished between right and wrong as an inescapable consequence of developing and following their habitual mind. In ~hls process, no sooner had right and wrong emerged than Tao suffered grave impairment; as soon as Tao was injured, love and liking were established: no wonder peopre affirm their likes while negate their dislikes.

Unfbrtun2,tely, Chuang Tzu's terms "Spirit Storehouse" and "Spirit Terrace'l are erroneously interpreted by Chang

..

T'ai-yen as identical with Buddhistic Alaya or Adana. As

the eighth form of mind in the School of Mere-Ideation (Consciousness-Only School), no doubt, Alaya originally means to store and Adana, to hold. Nevertheless, "Spirit Storehouse" or "Spirit Terr,ace" . in Chuang Tzu is transcendental, but Alaya or' Adana is empirical. or psychological.

(9) The E~uality of All Things (Oppositorum Coincidentia)

Chuang Tzu's doctrine of "Illumination" precedes the theory of "Sudden Enligh tenment-'!';;whi'ch,-,CharactcJJizesc :.~ Chinese Buddhism. Lao Tzu, says that to understand the eternal (Tao) is to be enlightened. Chuang Tzu regards "Enlightenment" or "Illumination" as an indispensable means for affirming what Confucians and Moists deny and denying what they affirm., Rights and wrongs are to him paltry accomplishment and partial truth. Beauty and ugliness, superiority and inferiority, good and evil, longevity and early death, etc. are all opposites only in the Habitual Mind which gives rise to enclosures, distinctions, classifications and stratifications. Once indulgent in cognitive and analytic activities, one becomes incapable of comprehending the entirety of Tao the ultimate reality and supreme truth. All moral and cognitive activities, which Chuang Tzu neither affirms nor denies, may be expediencies

P. 13

ratner than objectives. It is perilous for a limited life to pursue limitless empirical knowledge. Metaphysical intuitive knowledge and mental tranquillity nurture e2C~

other, thus, harmony and principle inborn nature.

,

In Confucian essentialism everything is endowed with

and distinguished by its essence, i.e. its solid ontological core stabilized by concepts and crystalized by linguistic signs or terms. To cope with this, Chuang Tzu, promulga~es extreme relativism on the level of 1Iultiplicity in contrast with that of Unity. On the latt~r level, the unique nletaphysical ground of the former, all essential distinctions of things and discourses are thoroughly chaotified, thawed and fused into their original undifferentiation as, the following diagraIIl elucidates:

LEVEL OF UN IjI Y (TAO):

N

., ~:':~<::~':::---'

.... r--?'~:..:-/;/ / , " '-,,--.~~ ,

--- --..--- / ,: \ -", '''-'':::-:~-'---.

n 1 n :~ n :~ ???? ' ?? n Co' n '1 n r

positive integers)

.....

LEVEL OF MULTIPLICITY:

. '

(p, q, and r are any

In so far as we stand on the level of manifoldness, every member of the infinite series nl n2 n:< .??. n:, n9 nr ??? is in its own right a self-subsistent and self-sufficient entity with its own boundary or enclosure distinguished

from others. By essence n~ is forever nc but never TIc ?

, ,

On the level of oneness, however, all essences become

liquefied ,and even annihilated, boundaries and distinctions become merely relative, and in particular, contraries cannot maintain their selves. From the viewpoint of N, np, being unable to preserve and restore its n -ness, may as well be n7, n:, or any other member of the sequence. In this chaos, beginning to rive is beginning to die; a finger, unable to keep ,its unique self, can become a non-finger; a horse can turn up to bea non-horse. No wonder Chuang Tzu asserts that the universe is a finger or a horse. :Despite saying

(a) Ying (the capital of Chlu) has the universe, (0) A dog may be a sheep, and

(c) Love all things universally: the universe i~ a whole,

Hui Shih is confined. to the logical realm, transcending

which Chuang Tzu a tta:Lns to the ;netaphysical sphere. In

I

Geek, Heraclitus's Flux or "Becoming" lies on the level of

l\Iul tiplici ty while his opponent Parmenides' s unchanging "Being", like Tao;, is on the level of Unity. Seeing Being and Becoming simultaneously, Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu unconsciously combine these conceptions of Parmenides and Heraclitus.

(10) Natural Balance and Following Two Routes Simultaneously

On the level of manifestations, all things are in constant transformation or metempsychosis, "this" unavoidably becomes "that"., in,other words, the duality or opposition between this and that can never endure or persist. For instance, the rotten and the marvellous

.

always interchange and interblend. Nothing but Tao itself

is everlasting. Like Anaximenes vvho asserts the co smic material element to be air instead of Thales's water, Chuang Tzu claims that production and destruction are

,

purely the assemblance and decomposition of the cosmic

material element. The process of the eternal flux resembles a ring or cycle without beginning and end. In modern terminology, Chuang Tzu's "Natural Balance" is mainly the cycles of carbon and nitrogen. This cosmic equilibrium may be illustrated by the schema below:

r. 15

COSJ\TIC /'IviATERIAL ELEMENTS

/ /

SEEDS

THE MIDDLE OJ? TIm RING OR

"

THE HINGE (AXIS) OF TAO

(DECOMVOSITION)

\. \

\, "'1

BIRTH OF THINGS DEATH OP THINGS

(PRODUCTION) (DESTRUCTION)

'''''~~.''-- - ..?. -.---~

i J

/

/

(ASSElVlBLANCE) \

/

.. ,

Jt'rom the viewpoint of Tao, birth and death are identified, as are right and wrong; that is to say, everything is subject neither to construction nor ~o destruction, since these two states are merged into One. Thus, Chuang Tiu slackens the appalling tension between,~ controversial adversaries.

Having denied the opposition between right and wrong on a lower level, Chuang Tzu negates this denial again in order to disclose the meaning of Illumination, lest he might be misunderstood to be a sophist. He is keenly aware of the futility of infinite negations, especially the '~ infinite regress of Being, Nothingne'ss, Pre-:-Nothingness, Pre-Fre-Nothingness, etc. where the prefix "PRE", unnecessarily referring to precedence, indicates evaluational priority and metaphysical superiority.

On the level of Illumination, either "this" or "that" may separately be what it is. This is'Hcalled?l following two routes simultaneously" which is in a sense analogous to parallelism.

D

.J.. ?

~ r

10

(11) The Impossibility of Mutual Understanding and Judging

Debates

A ?erfect Man knows where he should stop---what he does not know. He who knovls the speechless argument that dispenses with speech and the Tao that does without names is called the "Storehouse of Nature". This house can never

,

be crammed or exhausted . That its source is unknovm is entitled "Shaded Light", i.e. brightness without shining.

A perfect mind is oblivious of the distinction~ between things, still it illumines all. Through shading or dimming its light, it grows more brilliant. Debaters who see only one tiny corner of Tao are incapable of shading their spiritual light. Adhering fast to different or diverse theoretical systems, they never achieve mutual understanding. It is unjustifiable for them to comprehend, judge, and negate their rivals' doctrines because their opinions and decisions are destined to be subjective and relative.

Mundane minds are rtot-:,interpenetrable. Even one and the

same person in temporary states o,f transformation possesses, different mentalities without mutual comprehension, let

alone the minds of different individuals. ~~en I deem that you are dreaming, can I really know I am not? Nor can a third person serve as arbiter in the argument between you

and me, ,since,nobody;can stand ,for objective truth. There are four exhaustive and mutually exclusive cases: he either sides with you, with me, with both of us, or with none of

us: but in' e,aeh c~se, his subject~vity is on the same level as ours. Chuang Tzu consider right and wrong, life and death, and wakening and dreaming to be in the flux of the same plane. The theories that refute Berkeley's subjective idealism are inapplicable to Chuang Tzu's undifferentiation of dream and reality, because Chuang Tzu chaotifies,all things in a; subjective artistic sphere only. The physical body belongs to the empirical realm, wheTeas the authentic self pertains to the transcendental domain, so that for instance, when a person transforms into a butterfly, his

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empirical setf and his transcendental self cannot stand in opposition. Amiq the perrenial flux on a unique level, empirical selves ~ove to affirm a~d deny. Viewing things and discourses from the authentic self, all objects are equal.

(12) From Sitting-in-Oblivion to Perfect Talent and Inconspicuous Virtue

Confucius endeavours to eliminate presumption, prejudice, obstinacy, self-love and egocentricity; Mo Tzu promulgates altruism or anti-egoism; Chuang Tzu is averse to both altruism and egoism, his oWn ism aiming at eradicating all isms through the "Purification of Mind" or '.'8i tting in Oblivion". Sitting without oblivion is called "SittingGalloping" because the mind still pursues an objective like

a steed careering for some destination. Mutual forgetting far excels mutual concern and contention. Anxieties over

the country, the people and oneself are superfluous and superficial. He who forgets himself is most likely to survive. He who forgets his own merits achieves superb merit. But the greatest merit cannot be achieved by using any particular implement, therefore, Confucius says a Superior Man should not degenerate into an appliance or device capable of performing one duty, and Chu~~g Tzu likens a Sage to a non-timber tree lacking ordinary utility. An Authentic (Real) Man who is liable to be misunderstood as

I

useless may be exempt from tragic involvements and agonizing

entanglements. With an existential trggtc sense of life, Chuang Tzu claims that he is just between timber and nontimber, i.e. conspicuous usefulness and seeming uselessness.

If Taoists correctly understand The Republico~ Plato, they will consider his "Philosopher. Sovereign" ast.int'erfe.r,ing with people's life which ought to be tranquil. In Lao Tzu Sages are still deeply concerned about and keenly,conscious

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of political and economic'I"LconBeQl1enCe6~;of governing through inaction. Lao Tzu treasures three valuables: benevolence, frugality and modesty. Being much more poetic and carefree, Chuang Tzu i~ unint~rested in these three priceless virtues. He deepens L~o Tzu'~ emphasis on infants' naturalness and tenderness. Whi~e Lao Tzu chooses down-flowing water to symbolize p~netra~ion, modesty, and infinite potentiality,

~ .

Chuang Tzu concerns himself about'the lucidity of calm water

and the sublimi ty,"of wavy ocean. Lao Tzu selects the valley to signify modesty, vacuity, and magnanimity; Chuang Tzu heightens his mind from vacuity to free roaming in the . Village of Nothingness. A Perfect Man can rid,himself of bondage. Inability to do so is called "Heavenly Penalty". Through Confucius's mouth, Chuang Tzu exclaims that he suffers from unbreakable bondage. Thence we guess that he respects and sympathizes with Confucius to a considerable extent although the latter is in Chuang Tzu's eyes wrong in exposing talent and virtue.

With virtue inconspicuous a Sage acting through inaction mana~es to leave nothing undone. Activities belong to the empirical realm; inaction pertad.ns to the transcendental realm. It is erroneous to criticize Tabists for confusing

,

these two spheres from which a sage never alienates himself

when merging in the Absolute (Tao).

(13) Mirror-Mind Devoid of Moral Content Responds to All but Retains None

A Perfect Man can never be impaired by passions, especially likes and dislikes. Submitting himself to Nature, he frees himself from subjective feelings, anxieties and dreams.