Zhi Travels North (1)

1 When Zhi traveled north to the heel of Yin Fen Mountain which is along the bank of Xuan River, he came across Mr. Wuwei Wei who was a famous man of practice.

2 Taking this opportunity, Zhi wanted to raise some questions that long existed in his heart and had no answers, he asked eagerly, “I wish to ask you some questions: By what process of thought and anxious consideration do we get to know Tao?

3 Where should we dwell and what should we do to find our rest in Tao?

4 From what point should we start and what path should we pursue to make Tao our own?”

5 Zhi asked the three questions continuously. Wuwei Wei said nothing and just looked at him with wide eyes. His behavior showed that he would like to answer but he didn’t know how to say.

6 Without answer, Zhi left there disappointedly. On the way back home, he met Mr. Kuangqu when he passed a place called Gu Mountain which is by the south of Bai River.

7 Kuangqu was a famous man of practice too. Zhi took the occasion to ask him the same questions.

8 Kuangqu was sincere to answer. He said, “I would like to tell you all that I know but Tao is different from the common concept, it can’t be got by analysis and thinking. It is no-learning skill and the conducts lead by Tao which are controlled directly by self-nature, Buddha-nature, Qi, calmness and refinement. Our consciousness just knows what it is but doesn’t know how it to be is.

9 It is like our eating. Food enters our bodies and then we are energetic and feel full. By eating food, our hair and nails grow. If we eat more, we become fat. If we eat less, we become thin.

10 We know these phenomena; however, we don’t know in details why they have happened. The processes and effects can’t be redone in lab. Therefore, I am sorry that I can’t tell you how to know, what you should do and from what point you should start to obtain Tao.”

11 What Kuangqu spoke of was a lot but nothing in content. Zhi’s travel for Tao was finally in vain.

12 Zhi didn’t give it up to seek the answer. He knew that Yellow Emperor had made some accomplishment on it. So, he went to his palace to ask the same questions.

13 This time Yellow emperor didn’t disappoint him. Yellow emperor said, “When you stay there, stopping thinking and your consciousness no longer directing your limbs and muscles, and you sink into transquilness to some degree, without thinking and worrying, you will feel that Tao or the Qi run around in your body. It is so obvious that you can’t disregard it.

14 You don’t need to make any special arrangement for practice. The Qi, self-nature or Tao can arrange the course of practice by itself. In the realm of consciousness, you needn’t do anything. The formula of practice is “Empty. No your own actions and take no offence at child’s babble”. If you follow this pithy formula indeed, your practice is right and you start to approach Tao.”

15 With great pleasure, Zhi felt that it was sheer lucky to get the answer, before which he looked for it far and wide. In showing his thanks to Yellow emperor he said, “Today, I am very grateful to you for telling me about Tao. You and I know it now while Wuwei Wei and Kuangqu couldn’t tell it. In your opinion, who is advanced, you or them?”

16 Yellow Emperor shook his head. “I am far behind them. Wuwei Wei is the most advanced one. He really knows Tao. Kuangqu was a little worse than Wuwei Wei. He seems to know it. We are too far from them.

17 Tell you the truth, as for practice, he who knows it doesn’t speaks of; he who doesn’t know it speaks of it. He who spouts about Tao all days doesn’t know how to practice. Therefore, what sages teach is wordless.

18 If Tao can’t be executed, eventually, virtue can’t be implemented.

19 When both Tao and virtue are gone, benevolence appears in society to make up for the loss of Tao and virtue.

20 When benevolence and righteousness can’t be implemented, etiquettes and regulations are made out to maintain the social order.

21 So, it was said that virtue comes, in the wake of loss of Tao; benevolence comes, in the wake of loss of virtue; righteousness comes, in the wake of loss of benevolence; etiquette comes, in the wake of loss of righteousness. Etiquette is the substitution for social morality and the start of social disorder.

22 Man of practice often mentions that a man who practices Tao, daily diminishes his doing. He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing nothing. Having arrived at this non-action, there is nothing that he does not do.

23 It means that the common people’s conducts mostly depend on all kinds of desires, such as the desire of promotion, being the representative of public opinions, and making fortune etc. When men of practice develop self-nature, Buddha-nature, Qi, calmness and refinement that are called Tao, their avarice, wrath and obsession giving out via idea reduce gradually and their lives become simple and plain.

24 In the life of practice, the time the men of practice enter into samadhi lasts longer, for which the time when the desire controls us comparatively less. In consequence, all desires, such as avarice, wrath and obsession, diminish to least degree or even disappear. Thus they reach the level of non-action.

25 A man whose desire is gone, at that time he is free and no bondage binds him. He is regarded as god, celestial being, flesh Bodhisattva, arhat, solitary realizer or Bodhisattva. He combines with the nature and become a part of it. Then doesn’t he become a man there is nothing that he can not do?

26 Zhi! Now we are a kind of creatures formed by the combination of material and self-nature, Buddha-nature, Qi, calmness and refinement. People said that it is very difficult to return to the original state of Qi, self-nature, Buddha-nature, calmness and refinement. In fact, it is not that difficult. The only reason why we feel it difficult to return is that we, unlike the men of practice, can’t see through it completely.

27 When we know that life and death is successive by each other; death is the start of life. When we throw off our fleshes body, it is easy for us to return to the realm of Tao.

28 Most people in this world like life and dislike death.

29 We seldom understand that relation between life and death actually is so close.

30 People’s birth results from the combination of Qi and material. When Qi, soul, self-nature, Buddha-nature, calmness and refinement combine together, people’s live is bestowed. When they go apart, people lose live and die.

31 Life and death are concomitant. There is life because of death, vice versa. So, why do we like life and dislike death?

32 Qi and others combine with material under various conditions so assorted creatures come into being.

33 At this rate, all creatures are from the same source. In macro viewpoint, they actually are integration. They just have different appearances in different time and spaces.

34 When we see flourishing and beautiful creatures, we are delighted. When we see corpse, falling leaf and flower, or dead rat, we feel depressed and sick.

35 If we reflected carefully about life. For example: the small green fruit of apricot grows after its flower withers and the beautiful red color diminished. Most people feel depressed and sick, but actually when the fruit grows up and gestates seeds that are the starts of many new lives. Seeds germinate and grow many new flowers which are delicate and beautiful will display before us again, aren’t they?

36 So, we needn’t bemoan the withered flower with diminished red color when the small green fruit emerged. Death is unworthy of moaning and fearing.

37 In the macro viewpoint, all creatures actually are in a whole, it is said that all under the sky there is one breath of life. A man of practice attaches much importance to integration of all creatures so he develops the ideas of loving life, ahimsa and things and human are from the same mother.”

38 Hearing the further explanation by Yellow Emperor, Zhi had a vague idea about Tao. He said, “Now I know it. When I asked Wuwei Wei the questions, it was not that he didn’t want to answer me. Instead he didn’t know how to answer because his consciousness was limited under the condition that the less and less was done until nothing was done at all.

39 Kuangqu’s consciousness still existed but his awareness of Tao was from direct reaction without the help of consciousness. Therefore, his consciousness only knew the phenomenon and didn’t know why, so he didn’t answer me in deed.

40 At last, you gave me a clear answer but you said that you are far from Tao. What you said seems not the truth. What is it on earth?”

41 Yellow Emperor said, “Those who said that they don’t know are indeed ones to practice Tao. Those who know Tao but can’t make it clear are the ones who just start. We can speak of a lot about Tao, which means our practice is far away from the level that less and less was done until nothing was done at all.”

42 Later, Kuangqu heard what Yellow Emperor said. He told his friends, “Well! Yellow Emperor is the best one who can spell out Tao.”

Tao Yuanming’s poem goes like this:

Living in the secular world, in my heart no noise and rumpus.

Someone asks why I can keep so, heart leaves far and house stays remote.

Pick chrysanthemum along east fence, in leisure I see South Mountain far ahead.

Nice scene is sun setting among hills, birds return to their nests in sequence.

The truth of life found in this style, before speaking out I forget it in my mind.