Additional Taoist Texts, Unknown
Additional Taoist Texts
Category: Tao
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Additional Taoist Texts: Ethical, Political and Speculative, translated by Frederic H. Balfour, is a collection of writings illustrating the philosophical teachings of early Taoism. It explores the Tao as the principle underlying nature, along with themes of simplicity, spontaneity, non-interference (wu wei), and preserving one’s natural character rather than pursuing artificial ambitions and desires. The introduction also contrasts these early teachings with Confucian thought and distinguishes philosophical Taoism from later religious practices that developed around the tradition.

Taoist Texts:
Ethical, Political, and Speculative

by
Frederic Henry Balfour

Introduction.

It occasionally happens that a sudden ray of clear and valuable light is thrown upon a long-disputed subject from a source the very existence of which was unsuspected, and the authority of which would certainly never have been allowed. Just as an accident may reveal what generations of scientific men have laboured in vain to discover: just as a rank outsider may win a race, or the dart, shot at a venture, bit the bull’s-eye when trained archers have discharged a quiversfull of arrows without success,—so may some happy and spontaneous phrase, falling from one who approaches a topic of interest or difficulty for the first time, fresh and unencumbered by preconceptions or the dissertations of experts, embody in itself the kernel of the enigma, and make the whole thing promptly and for ever plain. And such a service has, I think, been recently rendered to the cause of philosophical research in China. A late able American writer, whose work on “Oriental Religions” is, or ought to be, on the shelf of every reading man, has given to the Confucian school, for the first time, its true designation of Rationalist. Confucius was a Rationalist in every sense; his folsowers are Rationalists; his philosophy was altogether Rationalistic in its scope. The word is just the one we wanted, but which we never found; and its universal acceptation, from henceforth, can be only a matter of time. It is not only for supplying us with a just descriptive epithet for the orthodox philosophy of China, however, that we are indebted to Mr. Johnson. As soon as ever the term Rationalism is recognised as belonging to the system of Confucius, it will fall into deserved desuetude in that sphere where hitherto it has usurped another’s right. No word could, in my opinion, be more inappropriate, or more unhappily selected, as applied to the philosophy of Lao Tsze. That the character TAO ### may be properly translated “reason” in certain instances, I do not deny. That it approaches the idea of λογος in the Johannine sense of the word appears generally allowed. For the rendering of it by “way” there are both etymological and philosophical recommendations which may not be overlooked. But that none of these is the true and actual meaning of the word in its esoteric sense I hope to show in a few words, submitting, at the outset, that no fitter illustration could be offered of the fatality attending servile adherence to a literal system of translation than the rendering, hitherto in force, of Reason. The letter killeth; and in the present instance it has killed all sense and meaning out of the word it was attempting to explain.

The position we take up, therefore, is a very simple one. To put it algebraïcally, TAO is the x or unknown quantity that we have to find. And the first thing to be done is to see what is predicated of this mysterious Thing; how it is described; with what attributes it is credited; where it is to be found; whence it sprang, how it exists, and what its functions are. Then we may find ourselves in a position to discover what it is that answers to these particulars, and profanely to give a name to that which its preachers themselves declared must be for ever nameless.

We are told that it existed before the time which had no beginning had begun. Chuang Tsze says that there never was an epoch when it was not. Lao Tsze affirms that its image existed before God Himself. It is all-pervasive; there is no place where it is not found. It fills the Universe with its grandeur and sublimity; yet it is so subtle that it exists in all its plenitude in the tip of an autumn hair. It causes the sun and moon to revolve in their appointed orbits, and gives life to the most microscopic insect. Formless, it is the source of every form we see; inaudible, it is the source of all the sounds we hear; invisible, it is that which lies behind every external object in the world; inactive, it produces, sustains, and vivifies every phenomenon which exists in all the spheres of being. It is impersonal, passionless; working out its appointed ends with the remorselessness of Fate, yet overflowing in benevolence to all. “What is TAO?” exclaims Huai-nan Tsze. “It is that which supports Heaven and covers Earth; it has no boundaries, no limits; its height cannot be measured, nor its depth fathomed; it enfolds the Universe in its embrace, and confers visibility upon that which of itself is formless. * * It fills all within the Four Points of the Compass; it contains the Yin and Yang; it holds together the Universe and Ages, and supplies the Three Luminaries with light. It is so tenuous and subtle that it pervades everything just as water pervades mire. It is by TAO that mountains are high and abysses deep; that beasts walk and birds fly; that the sun and moon are bright, and the stars revolve in their courses. * * When the spring-winds blow, the sweet rain falls, and all things live and grow. The feathered ones brood and hatch, the furry ones breed and bear; plants and trees put forth all their glorious exuberance of foliage, birds lay eggs, and animals produce their offspring; no action is visible outwardly, and yet the work is completed. Shadowy and indistinct! it has no form. Indistinct and shadowy! its resources have no end. Hidden and obscure! it reinforces all things out of formlessness. Penetrating and permeating everything! it never acts in vain.”

Such are a few of the attributes ascribed to the nameless Principle we are considering. What ideas do they suggest to our mind?—Such, I believe, as cannot be expressed in any single word. Lao Tsze and his successors recognised the fact that for this mysterious entity there can be no name, so they spoke of it as TAO. We in the West have practically arrived at the same conclusion. What is it, that makes flowers grow up and water flow down, which causes the showers to fall and the sun to shine, which guides the stars in their flaming courses, regulates the seasons, endows the butterfly with its radiant hues, gives one man red hair and another black, and, in a word, is the cause of every phenomenon we see, the main-spring of the huge machine of which we form a part? We, too, have failed to find a name for it, and so we call it NATURE. This, I believe, is the key to early Taoism. Translate TAO, as used in this sense, by our common word Nature, or Principle of Nature, and nine-tenths of the difficulties attending the study of this beautiful philosophy vanish of themselves. Nor is this true only of that phase of Taoism which deals with the physical Universe. The instincts of animals and the workings of the vegetable creation are not any more the endowment of Nature than are the varying dispositions of mankind. The original constitution of every man, then, being the direct gift of Nature—or rather, an actual part of Nature itself—it follows that it should be jealously preserved intact, in all its pristine purity. This is the grand and primary object of Taoism—the preservation of one’s Heaven-implanted nature. And how is this to be accomplished? By imitating the great Mother. Nature never strives; therefore the Sage should guard himself from striving too. Nature is ever passive; therefore the Sage should let things take their course, contenting himself with following in their wake. Ambition, scheming, hatred lust—any attention to external objects of whatever kind—are all so much disordering, or spoliation, of the original nature of man, and should therefore be utterly discarded. Even the active cultivation of virtues, such as benevolence, rectitude, and propriety, is condemned; Nature requires no action to stimulate her growth, and all the Sage has to do is bring himself into perfect conformity with her. All such passions, accomplishments, and attributes, being the result of striving, are called, in the Taoist phrase, the human nature of man, in contradistinction to the heavenly or natural nature with which he is endowed. “Wherefore,” says Chuang Tsze, “do not develop this artificial, human, or engrafted nature; but do develop that heavenly nature which is your natural inheritance.” In Huai-nan Tsze’s “History of Great Light” we have a still more striking passage, in which the difference between the two natures is lucidly explained. Speaking of those happy ones who, by having arrived at a thorough understanding of the Principle of Nature, have reverted to a state of pure repose, he says: “Nourishing their constitutions by tranquillity, and letting their spirits rest in indifference, they enter the Door of Heaven—i.e., Nature. And what is it that is called Heavenly? It is that which is homogeneous, pure, simple, undefiled, upright, luminous, and immaculate, and which has never undergone any mixture or adulteration from the beginning. And what is the Human? It is that which has been adulterated with shrewdness, crookedness, dexterity, hypocrisy, and deceit; wherefore it bends itself in compliance with the world, and is brought into association with the customs of the age. For example: the ox has horns and a divided hoof, while the horse has a dishevelled mane and a complete hoof; this is the Heavenly—or natural. Putting a bit into the horse’s mouth and piercing the nose of the ox; this is the Human—or artificial. Those who follow the Heavenly are such as roam in company with Nature; those who follow the Human are such as mix themselves up with the fashions of the world. * * Wherefore,” continues the philosopher, “the Sage does not allow the Human to disorder the Heavenly—he suffers no injury to be done to his true nature; nor does he permit Desire to disturb his natural feelings. He acts exactly as he ought, without considering what he shall do beforehand; he is trustworthy, without promising; he obtains all he wants without anxiety, and he brings all his designs to completion without doing anything himself. His Spiritual Palace”—a Taoist euphemism for mind—“being replete with pure sincerity, he assists the Creator Himself in the government of men.”

This leads me to the consideration of what may be termed the first development of the Naturalistic theory. In order to bring himself into conformity with Nature, it is imperative that the Sage should remain always and completely passive. This is expressed by the formula wu wei, which may be variously rendered “non-exertion,” “not-doing,” “inertia,” “absolute inaction,” or “masterly inactivity.” In addition to the idea of undisturbed quiescence it embraces also that of spontaneity and designlessness; so that even the rigid adherence to an inactive policy is robbed of its virtue if it be adopted with intent. The very effort to obtain possession of Nature, says Chuang Tsze, defeats itself, for the simple reason that it is an effort. A man must be passionless as well as motionless; he must be content to leave himself to the influences which surround him, and discard all thoughts of helping on the work; he must banish all desire from his heart; he must concert no schemes and form no plans; he must never anticipate emergencies, but simply mould himself according to any circumstances that may arise. And especially is this of importance in the world of politics. Here the formula wu wei must be translated “non-interference”—that wise and far-sighted policy the world is so slow to learn. The Taoist condemns over-legislation, and justly points to the peddling meddling system of a so-called paternal government as the cause of anarchy and ruin. Never do anything, he says, for the mere sake of doing it; never do anything that is not absolutely necessary; leave the people to develop their own resources, and feel their own way to tranquillity and prosperity. Let Nature work unimpeded, in social and political life as well as in the sphere of physics or of morals; then your subjects will be contented with their lot, and your kingdom free from conspiracies, dissensions, and disaster. Do nothing to disturb their primitive simplicity. Do not seek to replace their rough instruments of labour by complicated machines; such refinements lead to luxury, to scheming, to ambition, and to discontent; the very exercise of such ingenuity implies a scheming mind; therefore, discourage artificial innovations. The secret of happiness is to be found in quiescence, simplicity, and content; and the only way to attain to these is to bring body, passions, intellect, and will into absolute conformity with Nature.

The descent from these sublime and simple ethics during the Han and succeeding dynasties was fatally rapid. They soon became obscured in a mist of hocus-pocns and imposture, in which idolatry, the prolongation of life, the elixir of immortality and the transmutation of metals played a prominent part. With this degraded phase of Taoism we have nothing whatever to do. It is only sad to reflect how soon and how irrevocably the ancient doctrines of Lao Tsze and his successors fell into desuetude, and have since endured the reproach of their enforced association with a system of superstitious folly. The fine indifference of the old Taoists to life and death, wealth and penury, has given way to sordid avarice and attempts to prolong the existence of the material frame; the pure code of the Naturalistic philosopher has been reversed; his precepts are forgotten, his dignity dishonoured. But the canons of Taoism proper are still open to us, and they are deserving of careful study. The “orthodox” theories of the Rationalist school have surely had an ample share of attention from Western scholars, while the independent doctrines of the rival teachers remained for a long time neglected. And yet the Naturalists are far bolder and more original in thought than the Rationalists; they are trammelled by no slavish reverence for departed kings and exploded platitudes; their minds are free, their theories striking, and their practice pure. It is only regrettable that the extreme obscurity of their style should have laid them open to misrepresentations and misconstructions on the part of members of the Confucianist school, which have brought them into undeserved discredit. This is more particularly referred to on another page. Meantime it must gladden the hearts of all true students to see that some little interest is at last being taken by European writers in the beautiful philosophy of Nature preached by the founder of Taoism; the study of which, I make bold to add, cannot fail to yield rich stores of pleasure to everyone who takes it up, be he scholar, dilettante, or divine.

F. H. B.

The Yin Fu Ching

Prefatory Note

THIS treatise is one of the most interesting and important in the Taoist canon. Tradition ascribes its authorship to the mythical Emperor Huang Ti, or one of his six Ministers; but although it of course appeared at a considerably later date than this, all scholars agree in attributing it to a very remote antiquity. The earliest Commentator who published an edition of the work is said to have been Chiang Tsze-ya, otherwise known as T‘ai Kung, ###, the famous Minister of Hsi Pŏ, and a reputed descendant of the Yellow Emperor; so, if this were true, we should be able to trace its existence at least as far back as the Shang dynasty, or say twelve hundred years before Christ.

The aim of this ancient compilation, to quote the authority of Mr. Wylie, is to “reconcile the decrees of Heaven with the current of mundane affairs.” It is supposed to contain the very root and essence of Taoism, and its entire freedom from all allusions to the later and baser developments of that philosophy appears to constitute a strong argument in favour of its distant origin. Our translation of the title, Yin Fu, ### is of course merely approximative, and may be criticised accordingly. Fu means a seal, divided into two parts. On one half of this seal we have the visible phenomena of the world around us; this we can all see, but, the diagram being incomplete, we require the other half of the seal, that bearing the ### of Heaven or the Unseen World, before we can understand the why and the wherefore of the existing order of things. In this book the two halves of the seal are professedly brought together, and we are thus enabled to perceive the hidden harmony which runs through all things where before we could see nothing but discord, and are presented with an explanation of all the mysteries of the world, the secret coincidences between the Seen and the Unseen, of which in our unenlightened state we are profoundly ignorant. The idea is a remarkably beautiful one, and the representation of such a ‘Clue to the Unseen’ by a divided seal, strikes us as singularly forcible and apt. The edition now translated bears the name of Chang Shih-ch‘un as editor, a scholar of Honan who lived in the reign of Ts‘ung Chêng, last Emperor of the Mings.

Text

I

To observe the TAO of Heaven, and grasp its method of operation, is the limit of all achievement.

The root of Heaven is in TAO; and TAO being fixed, Heaven secures it and so brings about its transmutations. Principles have their root in circumstances, or facts; and facts being determined, it is Principles by which they are modified or varied. Thus Principles have no unvarying course, and facts no essential uniformity; both belong to the region of the unlimited. It is only by observing the TAO of Heaven, and grasping that, that the limit can be reached.

Thus Heaven has Five Despoilers: and he who perceives them will flourish.

There is no benefit intended towards man when the Five Atmospheric Influences are set in motion; how, then, can there be any intentional injury to things? Observing the nourishing and beneficial results of these Influences, men call it virtue; observing the injury and ruin they cause, men call it spoliation. As soon as we see a thing produced, it is destroyed; and having witnessed its destruction, we see it come into being again. The Afflatus of the East is antagonistic to the Centre; the Afflatus of the Centre is antagonistic to the North; the Afflatus of the North is antagonistic to the South; the Afflatus of the South is antagonistic to the West; the Afflatus of the West is antagonistic to the East. When these Five Afflati promote the growth of one another, they move freely; but the very ease with which they flow leads to their exhaustion. When they act in antagonism to each other, their motion is arrested; but if such arrest be counteracted they are re-established [in their course]. Man is in the centre of Heaven [and Earth]; the heart is in the centre of man. When anything occupies a central position, it may be removed to the outside. If one wishes to control much by means of a little, it is necessary to use contrivances—or, to employ one’s faculty of contrivance—in manipulating the material under one’s hand. Nevertheless, let the mind be once set in motion, everything under Heaven may be accomplished; while by using antagonistic agencies, that which is complete and permanent may be produced.

The Moral Nature of Heaven is Man: the Mind of Man embodies his motive power; and the Principle of Heaven being established, the destiny of Man is fixed.

The Moral Nature is that entity which produces human genius; the region which contains, or holds in reserve, all mutations [of the mind]. Heaven has no Moral Nature of itself; Man is the Moral Nature of Heaven, just as the mind, which, located in the centre of the body, is united with that body and so completes the human shape. But the mind is the natural disposition of the body; the motive power within is the origin of spontaneous or voluntary action, and embodies the capacity of intelligent action; and when a man avails himself of this motive power, its action may not be arrested. The mind has but a material seat—the heart; yet although this is but so much matter, it possesses certain capacities, and these capacities constitute the motive power of the man. When [these capacities] are located in a body which is incompatible with them, they cannot be said to constitute the true mind belonging to that body; and [the man himself], being thus placed in a position unconsonant with Heaven, cannot be regarded as constituting Heaven’s true Nature. The Principle of Heaven being established, the destiny of man is fixed.

When Heaven sends forth its engines of destruction, the stars are moved out of their places and the constellations metamorphosed. When Earth sends forth its engines of destruction, dragons and snakes appear on the dry land. When Man puts forth his faculties of destruction, Heaven falls and Earth is overthrown. When Heaven and Man do so in concert, all the disorganised phenomena are re-established on a new basis.

The stars and constellations are the countenance of Heaven. In like manner, when a man is angry, his countenance will surely change. Dragons and serpents are the breath and blood [the hidden agencies] of earth. In like manner, when a man is sick, his breath and blood will surge up, or overflow. Man, situated in the centre of the Universe, is as it were the abdomen of Heaven and Earth. When the viscera are injured, the effects are manifest from top to toe; everything, from the head down to the feet, is thrown into disorder. When Earth is in harmony with Heaven, Man occupies the same relation towards each. For Heaven to respond to human requirements, or affairs, it is necessary to wait until such affairs be brought to a state of completion. If any one such affair be uncompleted, even the Sage will be unable to undertake its achievement; but when it is perfected—q.d., in such a forward state as to be prepared for the co-operation or assistance of Heaven—the response of Heaven will come, as in former cases. This may be compared to the capture of Wu by the Prince of Yueh.

The Five Despoilers pertain to the Heart; but their operation is diffused all over the world. The Universe is in one’s Hand; all transmutations take their rise from the body.

Thieves, or despoilers, are so called because they are unseen; if, in acting as thieves, they are perceived, their depredations are put an end to. The antagonism which exists between Water and Fire is turned to advantage when brought into contact with matter, and eventual welfare is the result. The Five Despoilers of Heaven are identical with the Five Despoilers of men. These Five Despoilers residing in the human heart, their agency is diffused far and wide; but is Heaven within the range of my—i.e., any man’s—activity? Now co-operation implies the same object being held in view by two persons. If the other man acts, it is as though I myself acted; just, for instance, as in riding,—the rider is identified with his horse; and where the horse arrives the rider arrives too. Therefore a journey of a thousand li may be said to be held in the hollow of one’s hand; for if a desire arises in the mind to go, say, from Yen in the north to Yueh in the south, you will be able to reach your destination supposing you make proper use of your intellectual faculties.

Sagacity and stupidity are both integral parts of Man’s nature; and both may be concealed from view.

The existence of dualism in things causes doubt; from this arises duplicity, and thus the nature of man becomes no longer homogeneous. This nature includes both sagacity and stupidity. If pretended sagacity be apparent outwardly—lit., in the teeth and heels—stupidity may be peaceably maintained [within]; while if the outward appearance be characterised by pretended stupidity, the real sagacity of the man will have free scope for action. This amounts to a mutual concealment, by the two qualities, of each other. Therefore genuineness consists in homogeneity, while duplicity is the result of dualism. These two are the outcome of the principles of Truth and Falsehood respectively; they may therefore be put into practice ad infinitum.

The Abuse of the Nine Openings of the Body having specially to do with the Three which are most important, action and rest are both possible.

The Nine Openings are, all of them, the organs of intelligent perception; even those which have least capacity serving as passages for air. Eight of these openings are channels for the exercise of sagacity; it is only the private part behind, which is without any such faculty. The implication [in the text] that they are all liable to misuse, is simply made as applying to the majority, [the one exception] being wrongly included for the sake of convenience. But it is the Ear, the Eye, and the Month, which are the most liable to deception and abuse; therefore their action should be confined within certain limits, and subjected to the will of their owner. Then they may be made to act and abstain from action; by which means the body may be nourished and provision made [for any exigencies that may arise].

The diseases to which men are subject are the result of abuse. It is only the Sage who knows how to value this abuse [of the bodily organs], for, when it becomes violent, it is only the Sage who is able to hinder its operation. Then [the man’s] action becomes in accord with the principle Yang, and his repose in accord with the principle Yin; [the man himself] developing mental powers of superhuman excellence.

Fire is produced from Wood; but in the case of any disaster arising [from fire] the wood will be overcome. Treacherous [Ministers] arise in States; as soon as they act, the result is disaster. Those who understand how to refine and discipline themselves are called Sages.

Alas! the hiding-place of treachery is in my own body. If one is able to recognise its quality, or nature, it may be changed into goodness; if one is unable to do so, it will always remain treachery. It is the Five Elements who destroy me; it is the Five Elements to whom I owe my life. The process of refinement consists in discarding the redundant; that of discipline, in discarding the coarse or low.

II.

The productive and destructive attributes of Heaven constitute a governing principle of TAO. Heaven and Earth are the plunderers of All Things; All Things are the plunderers of Man, and Man, also, is the plunderer of All Things. When the Three Plunderers are in mutual accord, the Three Powers will be settled in tranquility.

Men all regard Heaven, Earth, and All Things as having been established for mutual production or support; but the Sage regards them as having been established with a view to mutual destruction. With respect to the productive attributes of Heaven and Earth: what they produce to-day they afterwards destroy. Now to give life again to what they have once destroyed renders that destruction purposeless, and the life itself as though it had never been conferred; for which reason Heaven and Earth are the plunderers of All Things. Man is supported or nurtured by All Things, and yet incurs actual danger from them; for which reason All Things are the plunderers of Man. Man makes All Things, and then lays them under contribution for his food and clothing; and thus he is the plunderer of All Things. These plunderers are such by reason of their ignorance that what they do is plunder. If each one sees only the life-giving process, and not the process of destruction, the Three Plunderers will be each in its proper sphere [quoad the other two], and the Three Powers enabled to hold permanent sway.

Wherefore it may be said that when Sacrifices are partaken of [by Spirits] their bones will be at rest; and when the mainsprings [of the Universe] are set in motion, its various transmutations will go on undisturbed.

When men lay violent hands on matter, the most honourable use they make of so doing is in offering food in sacrifice; when Heaven and Earth act as the plunderers of All Things, the most honourable use they make of so doing is in influencing and rectifying their springs of action. When the Three Plunderers are all prevented from overstepping their due prerogatives, they are then in their proper sphere.

Days and months have their fixed numbers; greatness and smallness their due capacity—or measure. This proceeds from the merit of the Sages, and is produced by the intelligence of Spirits.

Sacrifices are offered once every twelve years; in pursuance of which the Sage fixes a certain period [for the ceremony]. Bodies have their respective measures, or capacities; in pursuance of which the Sage establishes a regular standard, assigning the different degrees in which things may be used in the morning and evening respectively, and regulating the respective capacities of the breath and blood. When, in the world, the recurring intervals of sacrifices are estimated with precision, and things are employed with a due regard to their compatibility to the affair in hand, it results from the profundity of the merit of the Sages and the perspicacity of spiritual beings.

The motive-power of the Three Plunderers is invisible and undiscoverable by men generally. When the Model Man obtains it, he is enabled to fortify his body; but when the Mean Man obtains it, he sets light store by his life.

To pilfer and use the motive-power of Heaven and Earth; to pilfer and employ the motive-power of creation at large; to pilfer and control the motive-power of my own body,—all constitute a robbery of motive-power. But there is a proper and an improper use to which such motive-power may be put; and from these two methods benefit and injury respectively result. Thus, there are those who avail themselves of it for the strengthening of their physical frame; who use both their own powers and the powers of the world around them for their own tranquillity. There are others who, having obtained it, set light store by their life; who perversely bring about their own destruction, and provoke destruction from the world around them; so that what they have obtained is far removed from them.

III.

The blind are quick of hearing; the deaf are quick of sight. If all advantages be concentrated into a single source, you will have ten times as many soldiers under your command as you would otherwise; and after the revolution of three days and nights you will have ten thousand times as many.

When the human Spirit is contained in the Mind, it is complete in all its completeness, in the Mind. If it be divided into three, its strength will be no longer complete. For instance, sight is not hearing; but in exercising the faculty of sight, there really is a secret appropriation of the hearing power. Hearing is not sight; but in exercising the faculty of hearing, there is really a secret appropriation of the power of vision. How do we know that this participation takes place? Thus—that the blind are quick of hearing, and the deaf quick of sight; that is how we know it. If, of these two things, one be discarded, the remaining one will obtain just so much the more power; and thus we may know that, if anything be divided between two, both will have but little. Thus if one particular advantage be made exclusive use of, and gathered into a single source, the force at your command will be increased ten-fold. If, then, the advantage being all thus concentrated, you put forth greater energy, your force will be increased a hundred-fold, whether you be engaged in the employment of your own perceptive faculties or in that of soldiery.

The Mind is produced from matter and dies with matter; the working faculty resides in the Eye.

Man has no Mind [as existing apart from his body]; his Eye is his mind. What the eye sees, the mind acquires; what the eye cannot see the mind does not obtain. What the eye sees is matter; what the mind knows is simply whatever object is seen with the eye. How, then, can those who are born blind acquire knowledge? They acquire knowledge by depending on the eyes of others.

Though Heaven has no benignity, the most benign results are produced by its operations; there is nothing to which even the crashing thunderclap and the cruel wind do not impart vitality.

The very injury done to man and things is a source of benefit to them. The very death visited upon them leads to their revivification. Those who understand this law are able to govern both themselves and others.

Perfect joy consists in one’s nature having abundance, or being fully satisfied; perfect tranquillity, in being contented with little.

If [man’s] nature has not abundance, it is dissatisfied. Joy consists in the mind having abundance, more than it possesses capacity for Quiescence consists in the mind being as it were unsatisfied, having less than it possesses capacity for. One may use much or little according to the measure of one’s faculty; and I understand the use that should be made of both.

Heaven appears most partial; but in reality its dealings are most just.

Heaven, in its relations with created beings, deals with them all differently; which seems partial in the extreme. But these differences are equalized, or harmonised, by virtue of their very differentiation,—or, harmony is evolved from these very inequalities; and thus their treatment on the part of Heaven is, in reality, most just.

It is on account of this apparent partiality that things attain perfection; for although they are treated unequally, such treatment is really right and just. Jutice, or equity, consists in [equitable] distribution. Partiality, or selfishness, consists in the setting-up of one’s self, and so apportioning [one’s energies] as to become a match for the whole world. The selfish are such as are exclusively devoted to themselves; and exclusive devotion to any one thing results in the subtilization or refining [of the power thus cultivated]. Now all beings have their own special vitality, which is exercised by this refined or subtle faculty; thus individuality becomes lost,—[i.e., the body is as though it were not, being reduced to a mere passive instrument]. Individuality cannot be a factor in the equitable; what a man loses himself, another cannot make up to him. Great as is the Earth, there are yet men everywhere; wherefore the rain and dew descend, and overspread it. Earth gives birth to herbs, trees, birds and beasts, and receives them again at their death; the Sun and Moon shine upon her, and she is brought under the influence of their light and heat; in the course of a single year she derives in great abundance all that is thus diffused. Heaven has never yet conferred gifts, as such; but nothing that proceeds from it ever returns to it again. Thus it is that Heaven is perfectly equitable in its actions—i.e., just to all alike; but men only know that Heaven is equitable—they do not know the use made by it of partiality. The partiality, or inequitableness of Heaven is far removed from its capacity for self-sufficiency. Heaven has no affection for anything external to itself; in its exercise—or dealing with such things—it is sparing of its most subtle agencies and parsimonious of its vitalizing influences; it is only its superfluities that it dispenses abroad. It is for this reason that it is able to act without limit. The partiality of Heaven is far greater than that of the Earth, but its equity is also far greater than the equity of the Earth; for if Heaven were not avaricious of its own, its resources would in time be exhausted, and how could men or things rely upon it any more? Wherefore partiality is the very essence of TAO, and the height of partiality proves to be the height of justice.

The Laws affecting the Animal Creation reside in the Breath, or Vital Fluid.

All things in the world confer vitality upon each other; and when the use made of the material form [thus produced] is great, the injury is small. When all things use their refined and subtle essence in competing with each other, the Breath of Vital Fluid is not called much into play, and great consequences are obtained. It afterwards becomes known that the superiority of the great over the small results from the employment of the Vital Fluid, which, hidden in the body, enables the body to confer it in its turn on others; for what power to do so has the body of itself?

Life is the root of Death; Death is the root of Life. Beneficence is produced from Injury and Injury from Beneficence.

When men seek advantage where no advantage properly exists, any advantage so acquired will be utterly nullified—or, turned into injury. If injury is sought where no injury properly exists, injury will result from [what would otherwise be] advantage. If this theory be minutely investigated, and examined by the light of the past, we may arrive at an understanding of its intrinsic or essential truth. [For instance]: winter exercises a beneficial influence in heralding the spring, while summer exercises a pernicious influence in introducing autumn.