The Unifying

The Unifying （齊物論）

The Real and Original text by Zhuang Zi (莊子）, the Ancient Chinese Philosopher


Translated by Leechard (Cheng Wing Lim)







◤Session 1 The Lost of Self


1
Nan Guo Zi Qi Was sitting near the table. He had raised his head, and breathed soundly. Then he lowered his head. It seemed that he had lost his self.
2
Yan Cheng Zi You was waiting upon him, and said: “What had happened? Why are your body looked like withered wood yet your mind seemed like dead ashes? Why are you not the same as yesterday?”
3
Zi Qi said: “ Oh, my dear Yan, you have raised a good question. I had lost myself to day, did you notice it? “

…………… Something might have been missing here………………


◤Session 2 A parable of the wind


4
“You might have heard about human voices, but did you have heard about earth voices? Or you might have heard about earth voices, but did you have heard about heaven voices?”
5
Zi You said: “ May I ask you more?”
6
Zi Qi said: “ When the big lump(the earth) breathes, it is called wind.
7
Only if the wind is not coming, when the wind comes, all apertures on earth will be shouting like mad. Could’nt you hear them sound like liu---liu---?
8
There are lots of holes, cracks and apertures in the big trees among the various places of the hills.
9
Different kinds of holes could be found every where: the holes are like noses, mouths, ears, or like the square holes on the house beam, or the opening of the tea-cups, or like a grinding mortar.
10
Or like a low-lying pond, like a stagnant water pool.
11
The wind is flying over the water, is shooting like arrow, is like blaming someone, like sucking, like shouting, like howling, like blowing over a deep hole, like biting.
12
The wind in front is singing, and the wind behind is humming.
13
There are sweet harmonies when the wind blows lightly, but it could become heavy strike on all strings as the wind turns severe. And suddenly every thing come to a halt when the wind stops. All holes are empty now.
14
And could you see leaves swinging still after the wind had gone?
15
Zi Yau said: “ I can see that the earth voices are from the holes, and the human voices are music. Could you tell me what are heaven voices?
16
Zi Qi said: “ There seems to be a thousand way to blow the music, however, all are the creation of the wind receiving mechanism. They are choices of themselves. And who is the one to provide the power?


◤Session 3 Life Without Discourse


17
Those are people who know extensively, and people who notice only trivial matters.
18
Those are people who talk extensively, and people who talk only trivial matters.
19
Those are people whose soul are busy fighting even asleep, and they will keep their bodies busy when awake.
20
Those are people who confront each other and struggle with each other mentally and physically every day.
21
They neglect each other, they trap each other, they conspire against each other.
22
Anxiousness is in the mind. Fear is trembling everywhere.
23
It happens all in a sudden, like arrows shooting, it is the outburst of the mindset “right and wrong”.
24
The right and wrong mindset is so strong, when it stays it is like a castle under spell. It wants to keep everything inside.
25
However the mindset has its time, like autumn and winter coming, it fades and fades, with scarcely anything left.
26
It is completely drown, and is never able to recover.
27
Its exit blocked, it is getting too old and too weak.
28
It is a mind going to die, can not return to life again.
29
The four feelings of the mind, the appreciation, the anger, the sadness, the joy, are all but worries, exclamations, repeats, fearfulness, while at the same time, they are frivolous, indulgent, impudent, pretentious.
30
It is like coming out of emptiness, it is like streaming into cloud.
31
Time is passing like day and night, but the causes are not known.
32
Oh, oh!
33
To have such a result in so short a time, could there be any other reason but life itself? (What is life then?)


◤Session 4 Zhuang-zi’s Theory of Life


34
(Life is just like this): There will not be “me” if there is not “him”,(it is he who created me), and there will not be any “choice”, if there is not “me”(it is me who is the one to choose).
35
This might very likely be the case, though the reason behind is not known.
36
There seem to be a creator, but the details are not known.
37
The actual facts are there, but not in a form. One can see the actual happenings, though the external form can not be seen.
38
There are a hundred bones, nine exit windows, six main parts in the human body. But which one should I consult?
39
Do you know them all?
40
There must be some relationships between them.
41
They are related.
42
The point is whether their relationship is governable to each other.
43
There must be a real lord(leader) .
44
It must be definitely true, no matter one can or cannot find out the facts.


◤Session 5 Two Periods in the formation of Life:
Form formation and Mind formation


45
Once life had received its form, will go through all the way until the last end, without stopping.
46
Life contacts with other things. (In some people), it is as if using knife on each other, like using stone on each other.
47
Their life goes like running, but can never stop, it is very sad.
48
They work through all their life to no success, and they are tired, not knowing where for.
49
This is a very sad thing, isn’t it?
50
And some people wish to chase after an eternal living life, what good is it then?
51
Their bodies diminished, and their mind gone also, isn’t it a still bigger sadness?
52
Why is the human mind so difficult to understand?
53
Am I the only one who do not understand this? Will there be anyone who do understand this?


◤Session 6 Formatted (Grown) Mind is pre-requisite to Knowledge


54
Life is directed by a Formatted (Grown) Mind.
55
Whoever is lack of some directions?
56
Why is it necessary to replace the mind with the (so called) “knowledge”in making choices?
57
If so, they must be a fool.
58
To make judgements without a Formatted (Grown) Mind, is like going to the country of Yue today but arrived yesterday. It is taking nothing as something.
59
(It is so absurd) to take nothing as something, even The mighty Yu (the legendary founder of the Hsia dynasty) can not know about such things. How can I handle it?


◤Session 7 Knowledge is meaningless without a formatted(grown) mind.


60
A speech is not like the blowing wind.
61
The speaker speaks, but the content of the speech is not certain.
62
Is he really speaking or not speaking?
63
He might think he is different, not the same as the bird’s song…………
64
What is the point to debate here?
65
We need not to debate.


◤Session 8 Two Aspects of Observation


66
There are two different observing angle: one is “that”(observing from that side) and the other is “this”(observing from this side).
67
One does’nt see anything from that side, but will see it from this side.
68
Therefore, this is from that and that is from this.
69
For this is that and that is this.


◤Session 9 Possibilities of the Universe are positive to Man


70
If things are o.k. then they are o.k. If not o.k., then they are not o.k.
71
Theories are formed when (the things are) done, judgements are confirmed when said.
72
Why is it so? Because it is so. Why is it not so? Because it is not so.
73
Everything has got its theory, everything has got its possibility. Nothing is without a theory, nothing is not possible to be done.
74
For example, a straw and a pillar, a beauty and an ugly woman…………..all things, no matter how strange they are, are connected in the oneness of the universe.


◤Session 10 The Meaning of One


75
When they are decomposed, they are (actually) composed. When they are composed, they are (actually) decomposed.
76
There are no such thing as completed or destructed, for all things are one.
77
There must be hard labor for man to work on the oneness of the universe, but it is not easy to comprehend. Thus(the analogy) is called the Morning Three.
78
What is Morning Three? The monkey trainer was feeding the monkey, he said to the monkeys, “ You will have three in the morning and four in the evening.” The monkeys were not happy. The trainer said: “ Then you will have four in the morning and three in the evening. “ All were happy.

……………. (Something might have been missing here)

79
Now I have a point here. (As I had mentioned before, “this is from that and that is from this”, ) but my point seems to be the same as the “This”, or not the same as the “This”. No matter how you put it, no matter they are the same or not the same, they are of the same category, and thus we can say, This is That. (The This is the same as the That.)


◤Session 11 The beginning and the non-beginning of the Universe


80
Now lets explain it further.
81
There was a beginning. There was a not-beginning before the beginning.
There was something had not yet begun. There was a not-beginning for the not –yet- begun.
82
(Where did every thing begin?) It was from something, or from nothing.
83
If “nothing” had begun from nothing, then “nothing” must have been begun from a not-yet-begun.
84
Now if there was a not-yet-begun happened, but it is not sure whether the not-yet-begun is real or not real.
85
Now I have a point here. And it is not sure that if I had made the point or not.(Of course I had made it.)


◤Session 12 Oneness


86
The universe is no bigger then the point of an autumn leave. The grand mountain is small. The dead child is longlived. The (legendary)Old Peng-Zu die early. (*Peng-Zu was a legendary figure who was said to have lived 800 years.)
87
I am born together with Heaven and Earth(the Universe). I am one together with everything(the Universe).


◤Session 13 Divisions of One


88
Once upon a time, Zhuang Zhou (Zhuang-zi) dreamed he had become a butterfly. He was flying at easy, like a real butterfly. Then he woke, and apparently he was himself again. It is not sure whether Zhuang-Zhou was dreaming to be a butterfly, or the butterfly was dreaming to be Zhuang-Zhou. However, there must be a difference between Zhuang-Zhou and the butterfly. This is the diversity of things.



2008.11.22