Zeyang (7)

1 Bai Ju was one of Laotse’s favorite disciples. He usually served Laotse in daily life and assisted him to receive guests. Bai Ju had done his job so well that Laotse trust in him.

2 That autumn witnessed the clearness of weather and the mountains fraught with beautiful maple leaves. Bai Ju wanted to travel in this mild weather season, so he suggested his master to have a tour.

3 As a man of perfect practice, Laotse wasn’t charmed by the objective conditions at all. He devoted himself to improving his subject conditions. Environment didn’t work on him.

4 Therefore, Loatse dissuade him. “Why not practice at home and go around? Mountain is itself; so are water and human. Every place is as same as the other. It is unworthy of traveling for seeing various landscapes, different people and learning about different customs.”

5 Bai Ju thought it rather boring to stay at the same place all the year and do the same things all the days. Recalling his disciple doing so many trivia for him without any complaint, Laotse accepted his suggestion finally.

6 Laotse said, “Where do you want to go?” Bai Ju became very delighted with Laotse’s words. He replied, “Let’s go to the State of Qi.”

7 The two headed for the State of Qi. The day there was an execution held in the market – a criminal was beheaded. The criminal lay on the ground, with his head away from body. Seeing the brute execution, Laotse felt very sad. He took off his coat to cover the criminal’s body. He knew that to respect the dead is one of the basic principles a man of practice should obey.

8 Additionally, a man of practice can’t help stopping to pray when he sees the self-nature being separated from the flesh body, because theirs are harmonizing to the self-nature of the dead man.

9 Holding up his hands, Laotse looked up to the sky, tear shedding. He said in heart, “You go relaxingly. There is nothing worth of longing for. In my opinion, a terrible calamity will befall in this world. You leave now. Why not be lucky?”

10 After left the market, beheading in front of the mass still lingered on Laotse’s mind.

11 He told Bai Ju, “Governors warn people of not stealing and not killing, that is the reason why they behead criminals in front of the mass. Nevertheless, do a person’s stealing, killing and robbing has nothing to do with the governors?”

12 When a society defines what the honor is and what the shame is, people are afraid to violate the taboo. Therefore, the complete virtue of people gets lost.

13 When some people of high rank and rich men accumulate the live stuff and wealth by unfair means, most people have to struggle for their lives.

14 The standards of honor and shame set by governors make people discontented. The people of high rank and rich men plunder live stuff and wealth that most people live on. Most people have to toil all day for living. Do you think that nobody will take risk in desperation?

15 In the ancient time, the governors’ policy focused on people’s bliss. They undertook all the wrongdoings by themselves. People’s error must result from the governor’s bad leadership. People always are right. Their wrongdoing is owing to governor’s error.

16 The recent governors are different from the past. They keep their policy as secrets, people are not advised clearly, and however, once people have done any mistake against the policy, they are condemned seriously. Governor drives people to do dangerous work, the one dare to reject will sentence through severe law.

17 The service and tax that governors impose on people get more and more heavy. The escaper is punished by very inappropriate ways. Many people are banished to the frontier of country or killed.

18 People are tired out under the severe governance. Some can’t stand and then take risk in desperation.

19 We can’t understand it: if the governors discredit their people, how can they force people to have credit on them? When people can’t afford to pay the heavy tax, people are forced to play some tricks to escape it. When people can’t suit a certain environment, they manage to cover their embarrassment. When people lack money for living, they are desperate to steal and rob.

20 When people do such offence things, whom do we blame? It is the people or the governors. I think that beheading in the market is not a proper policy.”