Zeyang (6)

1 After graduation, Zilao decided to go into politics. Before leaving the school, he visited a friend in Changwu to say farewell. In the meantime, he asked him about the ways—how to be a good official.

2 Though his friend’s rank in the government was not high, just a sergeant in frontier defense army, he was always respected by Zilao.

3 The friend told Zilao, “When you work for the government in the future, you should persuade the king to be discreet in making policies. Don’t carry out them rashly before thinking it over. When making policies, we should investigate the situation of citizenry carefully; truly know what do people think? What people expect and lack mostly? What people need the government to do for them? We should make the policies covering as many respects as possible. Implement the policies only after all fringe measures are made out. In a word, act according to the people will. Don’t think you are wise enough so as to make out ideas for people or govern them with the attitude of leading their will.

4 Years ago, I was a farmer in my hometown. At the beginning, I did not work hard on my field so the harvest was poor. When weeding, I was careless, so the weed remained much. My harvest was mixed with the seeds of weed so the selling price was lower and the taste was bad.

5 Later, I reviewed myself sincerely and change my working attitude. When plowing, I plowed deeply; when weeding, I weeded throughout. In consequence, my harvest was improved a lot and also my income increased respectively.”

6 Hearing the suggestion indirectly, Chuang Tzu told his disciples, “When taking care of body and mind, the common people have the same problems as the sergeant mentioned – imprudence and rashness. They betray Nature, leave far from their self-nature, and restrict their true feeling. They cover self-nature, Buddha-nature, Qi, calmness and refinement and their behaviors are guided instead by avarice, wrath, obsession, worry and confusion. They indulge themselves into the stimulations and temptations of objective condition and doing evils.

7 So, if we don’t control and check the channels by which six organs such as eyes, ears, tongue, body and idea connected outside, five coverings, such as avarice, wrath, doubt, regret and slumber, will eclipse our self-nature. The deep-rooted bad habits and many temptations of objective condition grow rampantly like the weed in heart so that pain, illness, and annoyance come to us.

8 If a man harassed by illness one after another, such as sore, scab, inner heat and spermatorrhea etc., we are sure that his life will be very painful.”