Output:
Political and Social. Background

 For the moment, let us turn back to the political and social background

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 T

 that lay behind the ascendancy of Confucianism in the Han dynasty and the subsequent revival of Taoism. The triumph of the former was not due to mere good luck or the fancy of certain people of the time. There were certain circumstances which made it almost inevitable.


Output: The Ch in conquered the other states by a spirit of severity and ruthless-ness which was shown both in its domestic control and foreign relations, and was based on the Legalist philosophy. After the fall of Ch'in, therefore, everyone blamed the Legalist school for its harshness and complete disregard of the Confucian virtues of humanheartedness and righteousness. It is significant that Emperor Wu, besides issuing his decree making Confucianism ihe state teaching, also decreed in 141 B.C. that all persons who had become experts in the philosophies of Shen Pu-hai, Shang Yang and Han Fei (leaders of the Legalist school), as well as Su Ch'in and Chang Yi (leaders of the Diplomatist school), should be rejected from government posts.*


Output: Thus the Legalist school became the scapegoat for all the blunders of the Ch'in rulers. And among the various schools, those farthest removed from the Legalist were the Confucianist and Taoist. Hence it is natural that there should be a reaction in their favor. During the early part of the Han dynasty, in fact, Taoism, then known as the "learning of Huang [the Yellow Emperor] and Lao [.Lao TzuJ, "became quite influential for some time. This can be illustrated by the fact that Emperor Wen (179-157 B.C., grandfather of Emperor Wu) was a great admirer of the "Huang-Lao school"; also that, as pointed out in the last chapter, the historian Ssu-ma T'an, in his "Essay On the Essential Ideas of the Six Schools, gave highest rank to the Taoist school.


Output: According to the political philosophy of Taoism, a good government is not one that does many things, but on the contrary that does as little as possible. Therefore if a sage-king rules, he should try to undo the bad effects caused by the over—government of his predecessor. This was precisely what the people of the early part of the Han dynasty needed, for one of the troubles with the Ch in had been that it had had too much government. Hence when the founder of the Han dynasty, Emperor Kao—tsu, led his victorious revolutionary army toward Ch ang—an, the Ch in capital in present Shensi province, he announced to the people his "three-item contract": Persons committing homicide were, to receive capital punishment; those injuring or stealing were to be punished accordingly; but aside from ihese simple provisions, all other laws and regulations of the Ch'in government were to be abolished. (Historical Records, ch. 8.) In this way the founder of the Han dynasty was practicing the learning of Huang and Lao, even


Output: practicing the learning of Huang and Lao, even though, no doubt, he was quite unconscious of the fact.


Output:
Thus the Taoist philosophy accorded well with the needs of the rulers of the earlier part of the Han dynasty, whose policy was to undo what the

 * Ser Ihf, History uj tile Former tiuii Dynmly, ch. 6.

 348 THE ASCENDANCY OF CONFUCIANISM AND REVIVAL OF TAOISM

 Ch'in government had done, and to give the country a chance to recuperate from its long and exhausting wars. When this end had been accomplished, however, the Taoist philosophy became no longer practical, and a more constructive program was called for. This the rulers found in Confucianism.


Output: The social and political philosophy of Confucianism is both conservative yet at the same time revolutionary. It is conservative in that it is essentially a philosophy of aristocracy, yet it is revolutionary in that it gave a new interpretation of this aristocracy. It maintained the distinction between superior man and small man, which had been generally accepted in the feudal China of Confucius time. But at the same time it insisted that this distinction should not be based, as originally, upon birth, but rather upon individual talent and virtue. Therefore, it considered it quite right that the virtuous and talented among the people should be the ones to occupy noble and high positions in society.


Output:
It has been pointed out in chapter two that Confucianism gave a theoretical justification for the family system which has been the backbone of Chinese society. With the disintegration of the feudal system, the common people gained emancipation from their feudal lords, but the old family system remained. Hence Confucianism likewise remained the underlying philosophy of the existing social system.

 The main result of the abolition of the feudal system was the formal separation of political power from economic power. It is true that the new landlords retained great influence, even politically, in their local communities. At least, however, they were no longer the actual political rulers of these communities, even though through their wealth and prestige they could often influence the government-appointed officials. This represented a step forward.


Output: The new aristocrats, such as officials and landlords, though many of them were far from being the virtuous and talented persons demanded by Confucianism, nevertheless all had need for something that Confucianism was particularly qualified to supply. This was a knowledge of the complicated ceremonies and rituals needed to maintain the social distinctions. Thus one of the early acts of the founder of the Han dynasty, having conquered all his rivals, was to order Shu—sun Tung, a Confucianist, together with his followers, to draw up a court ceremonial. After the first audience was held at court with the new ceremonies, the founder of the dynasty exclaimed with satisfaction: Now I realize the nobility of being the Son of Heaven! (Historical Records, ch. 8.) Shu-sun Tung's action was disapproved of by some of his fellow Confucianists, but its success suggests one reason why the new aristocrats liked Confucianism, even though they might be opposed to or be ignorant of its true spirit.


Output:
Most important of all, however, is the fact pointed out by me in chapter three, that what is known in the West as the Confucianist school is really the School of Literati. The Literati were not only thinkers but also scholars

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 versed in the ancient cultural legacy, and this was a combination that the other schools failed to offer.

 They taught the literature of the past and carried on the great cultural traditions, giving them the best interpretation they could find. In an agrarian country in which people were unusually respectful of the past, these Literati could not fail to become the most influential group.


Output:
As for the Legalist school, though it became the scapegoat for the blunders of the Ch in rulers, it was never wholly discarded. In chapter thirteen, I have pointed out that the Legalists were realistic politicians. They were the ones who could present new methods of government to meet new political conditions. Hence, as the Chinese empire expanded, its rulers could not but rely on the principles and techniques of the Legalists. Consequently, ever since the Han dynasty, orthodox Confucianists have commonly accused the rulers of dynasties of being Confucianists in appearance but Legalists in reality."

 As a mater of fact, both Confucianism and Legalism have had their proper sphere of application. The proper sphere for Confucianism is that of social organization, spiritual and moral culture, and learned scholarship. And the proper sphere for Legalism is that of the principles and techniques of practical government.


Output: Taoism, too, has had its opportunities. In Chinese history there have been many periods of political and social confusion and disorder, when people have had little time or interest for classical scholarship, and have been inclined to criticize the existing political and social system. At such times, therefore, Confucianism has naturally tended to weaken and Taoism to become strong. Taoism has then supplied a sharp criticism against the existing political and social system, as well as an escapist system of thought for avoiding harm and danger. These are exactly what meet the desires of a people living in an age of disorder and confusion.


Output: The collapse of the Han dynasty in A.D. T±O was followed by a prolonged period of disunity and confusion which was brought to a close only when the country was finally reunited under the Sui dynasty in A.D. 5^9-These four centuries were marked by frequent warfare and political cleavage between a series of dynasties that ruled in Central and South China, and another series that had control in the North. It was also marked by the rise to prominence of various nomadic non-Chinese groups, some of whom forcibly broke their way through the Great Wall and settled in North China, and others of whom entered through peaceful colonization. A number of the dynasties of the north were ruled by these alien groups, who, however, failed to extend their power as far south as the Yangtze river. Because of these political characteristics, this period of four centuries from the Han to the Sui dynasties is commonly known as that of the Six Dynasties, or again, as that of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.


Output:
This, then, was politically and socially a dark age, in which pessimism was rife. In some respects it somewhat resembled the roughly contemporary period of the Middle Ages in Europe, and just as in Europe Christianity was

 THE ASCENDANCY OF CONFUCIANISM AND REVIVAL OF TAOISM

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 the dominant force, so in China the new religion of Buddhism made great strides. It is quite wrong to say, however, as some people do, that it was an age of inferior culture. On the contrary, if we take the word culture in a narrower sense, we may say that it was an age in which, in several respects, we reach one of the peaks of Chinese culture. Painting, calligraphy, poetry, and philosophy were at this time all at their best.

 In the next two chapters I shall present the leading indigenous philosophy of the age, a philosophy which I call NeoTaoism.

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 L

 CHAPTER 19


Output:
L

 CHAPTER 19

 NEO-TAOISM: THE RATIONALISTS

 IN EO-TAOISM is a new term for the thought which in the third and fourth centuries A.D. was known as the hsttan hstieh, or literally, "dark learning." The word hsiian, meaning dark, abstruse, or mysterious, occurs in the first chapter of the Lao-tzu, for example, in which the Too is described as "hsiian of the hsiian, i.e., mystery of mysteries. Hence the term hsiian hsileh indicates that this school is a continuation nf Taoism.

 The Revival of Interest in the School of Names


Output: In chapters eight, nine, and ten, we have seen how the School of Names contributed to Taoism the idea of "transcending shapes and features." In the third and the fourth centuries, with the Taoist revival, there came a revival of interest in the School of Names. The Neo—Taoists studied Hui Shih and Kung-sun Lung, and linked their hsiian hstieh with what they called ming-li, i.e., the "distinguishing of terms [ming] and analysis of principles [ l i ] . " (This phrase is used by Kuo Hsiang in his commentary to the last chapter of the Chuang-tzu). As we have seen in cliapler eight, this is what Kung—sun Lung also did.


Output:
In the Shih-shuo Hsin-yu, a book about which we shall read more in the next chapter, it is said: "A visitor asked Yiieh Kuang for the meaning of the statement: A chih does not reach. Yileh Kuang made no comment on the statement, but immediately touched the table with the handle of a fly whisk, saying: Does it reach or does it not? The visitor answered: Tt does. Yiieh then lifted the fly whisk and asked: If it reaches, how can it be taken away?' (Ch. 4-) This statement that a chih does not reach is one of the arguments used by the followers of Kung-sun Lung, as reported in the last chapter of the Chuang-tzu. The word chih literally means a finger, but in

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 chapter eight I translated it as "universal. " Here, however, Yiieh Kuang evidently takes it in its literal sense as finger. The fly whisk cannot reach the table, just as the finger cannot reach the table.


Output:
To touch a table with a finger or something else is ordinarily considered as reaching the table.

 According to Yiieh Kuang, however, if the reaching is really reaching, then it cannot be taken away.

 Since the handle of the fly whisk could be taken away, its apparent reaching was not a real reaching.

 Thus by examining the term "reaching," Yiieh Kuang analyzed the principle of reaching. This is an illustration of what was known at that time as "conversation on the ming—li.

 A Reinterpreiation of Confucius

 It is to be noticed that the NeoTaoists, or at least a large part of them, still considered Confucius to be the greatest sage. This was partly because the place of Confucius as the state teacher was by now firmly established, and partly because some of the important Confucian Classics were accepted by the Neo—Taoists, though in the process they were reinterpreted according to the spirit of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu.


Output: For instance, the A nalects contains a saying of Confucius: Yen Hui was nearly perfect, yet he was often empty. (XI, l8.) By this Confucius probably meant that although Yen Hui, his favorite disciple, was very poor, i.e., "empty,' that is, devoid of worldly goods, he was nevertheless very happy, which showed that his virtue was nearly perfect. In the Chuang—tzu, however, as we have seen in chapter ten, there is an apocryphal story about Yen Hui s sitting in forgetfulness," i.e., engaging in mystic meditation. Hence with this story in mind one commentator on the Analects, T'ai-shih Shu-ming (474-546), said: 'Yen Hui disregarded human -heartedness and righteousness, and forgot ceremonies and music. He gave up his body and discarded his knowledge. He forgot everything and became one with the infinite.


Output:
This is the principle of forgetting things. When all things were forgotten, he was thus empty. And yet, compared with the sages, he was still not perfect. The sages forget that they forget, whereas even the great worthies cannot forget that they forget. If Yen Hui could not forget that he forgot, it would seem that something still remained in his mind. That is why he is said to have been often empty. *

 Another commentator, Ku Huan (died 453), commenting on the same passage, remarks: "The difference between the sages and the worthies is that

 * Quoled by Huang Kan (488-545). in his Sub-Commentary on ike Analects, chilan 6. ■ ■

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 the latter retain a desire to be without desire, while the former do not have that desire for no desire.


Output: Therefore the mind of the sages is perfectly empty, while that of the worthies is only partially so. From the point of view of the world, the worthies lack any desire. But from the point of view of what is not of this world, the worthies do desire to be without desire. The emptiness of Yen Hui s mind was not yet complete. That is why he is said to have been often empty. (Ibul.) The NeoTaoists, despite their Taoism, considered Confucius to be even greater than Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. Confucius, they maintained, did not speak about forgetfulness, because he had already forgotten that he had learned to forget. Nor did he speak about absence of desire, because he had already reached the stage of lacking any desire to be without desire. Thus the Shih-shuo Hsin-yil records a "pure conversation between P'ei Hui and Wang Pi. The latter was one of the great figures of the school of "dark learning, whose Commentaries on the Lao —tzu and Book of Changes have become classics in themselves. The conversation reads:


Output:
"Wang Pi [226-249L when young, once went to see P'ei Hui. [ P ' e i J Hui asked him why, since Wu [Non-being] is fundamental for all things, Confucius did not speak about it, whereas Lao Tzu expounded this idea without stopping. To this Wang Pi answered:'The sage LConfucius] identified himself with Wu [Non-being] and realized that it could not be made the subject of instruction, with the result that he felt compelled to deal only with Yu LBeingJ. But Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu had not yet completely left the sphere of Yu [Being], with the result that they constantly spoke of their own deficiencies.'" (Ch. 4.) This explanation reflects the idea expressed by Lao Tzu that he who knows does not speak; he who speaks docs not know. (Lao-tzu, ch. 56.)

 Hsiang Hsiu and Kuo Hsiang


Output:
Hsiang Hsiu and Kuo Hsiang

 One of the greatest, if not the greatest, philosophical works of this period is the Commentary on the Chuang-tzu by Kuo Hsiang (died ca. 312). There has been a historical problem as to whether this work was really his, for he was accused of being a plagiarist by his contemporaries, who asserted that his Commentary was really the work of another slightly earlier scholar, Hsiang Hsiu (ca. 2.2.1-ea. 300). It would seem that both men wrote Commentaries on the Chuang-tzu, and that their ideas were very much the same, so that in the course of time their Commentaries probably became combined to

 360.

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Output:
360.

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 form a single work. The Shih-shuo Hsin-ytl (ch. 4), for example, speaks of a Hsiang— Kuo interpretation (i.e., an interpretation by Hsiang Hsiu and Kuo Hsiang) made on the Happy Excursion (the first chapter of the Chuang—lzu), as existing in apposition to one by Chih-tun (314-366), a famous Buddhist monk of the time. Hence the present Commentary on the Chuang-tzu, though it bears the name of Kuo Hsiang, seems to represent the joint Hsiang—Kuo interpretation of the Chuang—tzu, and probably was the work of both men. The Chin Shu or History of the Chin Dynasty is probably right, therefore, when in its biography of Hsiang Hsiu it says thai he wrote a Commentary on the Chuang—tzu, and that then Kuo Hsiang extended it. (Ch. 49-)


Output:
According to this same History of the Chin Dynasty, both Hsiang Hsiu and Kuo Hsiang were natives of the present Honan province, and were great figures in the school of "dark learning," as well as being "fine or pure conversationalists. In this chapter I shall take these two philosophers as representative of the exponents of the rationalistic group in NeoTaoism, and refer to their Commentary on the Chuang-tzu as the Hsiang-Kuo interpretation, following the usage of the Shih-shuo Hsin-ytl.

 The Too is Nothing


Output:
The Too is Nothing

 The Hsiang-Kuo interpretation made several most important revisions in the original Taoism of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. The first is that the Too is really wu, i.e., "nothing" or "nothingness." Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu also had maintained that the Too is Wu, but by Wu they meant having no name. That is, according to them, the Tao is not a thing; henee it is unnamable. But according to the Hsiang—Kuo interpretation, the Tao is really literally nothing. The Tao is everywhere, but everywhere it is nothing.

 {Commentary on the Chuang-tzu, ch. 6.)

 The same text says: "in existence, what is prior to things? We say that the Yin and Yang are prior to things. But the Yin and Yang are themselves things; what then, is prior to the Yin and Yang? We may say that Tzu Jan [nature or naturalness] is prior to things. But Tzu Jan is simply the naturalness of things.


Output:
Or we may say that the Tao is prior to things. But the Tao is nothing. Since it is nothing, how can it be prior to things? We do not know what is prior to things, yet things are continuously produced. This shows that things are spontaneously what they are; there is no Creator of things. (Ch. ii.) In another passage, it is also stated: "Some people say that the penumbra is produced by the shadow, the shadow by the bodily form, and the bodily form by the Creator. I would like to ask whether the Creator is or is not. If He is not, how can He create things? But if He is, He is simply one of these

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 things, and how can one thing produce another?...Therefore there is no Creator, and everything produces itself. Everything produces itself and is not produced by others. This is the normal way of the universe." (Ch. 1.)


Output: Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu denied the existence of a personal Creator by substituting in His place an impersonal Too, which is that by which all things come to be. Hsiang-Kuo went a step further by insisting that the Too is really nothing. According to them, the statement of the earlier Taoists that all things come into being from the Too simply means that all things come to be by themselves. Hence they write: The Too is capable of nothing. To say that anything is derived from the Too means that it comes of itself. (Ch. 6.)


Output:
Likewise, the statement of the earlier Taoists that all things come into being from Being, and Being comes into being from Non-being, simply means that Being comes into being by itself. In one passage of the Commentary it is said: "Not only is it the case that Non-being cannot become Being, but Being also cannot become Non-being. Though Being may change in thousands of ways, it cannot change itself into Non-being. Therefore there is no time when there is no Being. Being eternally exists. (Ch. 2-2..) The " Self-transformation" of Things

 That everything spontaneously produces itself is what Hsiang—Kuo call the theory of tu hua or self-transformation. According to this theory, things are not created by any Creator, but these things are nevertheless not lacking in relalions, one with another. Relations exist and these relations are necessary.


Output: Thus the Commentary states: "When a man is born, insignificant though he be, he has the properties that he necessarily has. However trivial his life may be, he needs the whole universe as a condition for his existence. All things in the universe, all that exist, cannot cease to exist without some effect on him.


Output:
If one factor is lacking, he might not exist. If one principle is violated, he might not be living. (Ch. 6.) Everything needs every other thing, but everything nevertheless exists for its own sake and not for the sake of any other thing. The Commentary says: "In the world, everything considers itself as 'this and other things as other.' The 'this' and the 'other' each works for itself. [They seem to be far away from each other like] the mutual opposition of east and west. Yet the 'this' and the 'other' have a relation to each other like that between the lips and the teeth. The lips do not exist for the teeth, but when the lips are lost, the teeth feel cold. Therefore the work of the 'other for itself has contributed a great deal to help the ' th i s. " (Ch. IJ.) According to Hsiang-Kuo, the interrelationship of things is like that between the armies of two allied

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Output:
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 forces. Each army fights for its own country, but each at the same time helps the other, and the defeat or victory of the one cannot but have an effect on the other.

 Everything that exists in the universe needs the universe as a whole as a necessary condition for its existence, yet its existence is not directly produced by any other particular thing. When certain conditions or circumstances are present, certain things are necessarily produced. But this does not mean that they are produced by any single Creator or by any individual. In other words, things are produced by conditions in general, and not by any other specific thing in particular. Socialism, for instance, is a product of certain general economic conditions, and was not manufactured by Marx or En-gels, still less by the former s Communist Manifesto. In this sense, we can say that everything produces itself and is not produced by others.


Output: Hence everything cannot but be what it is. The Commentary states: It is not by accident that we have our life. It is not by chance that our life is what it is. The universe is very extended; things are very numerous. Yet, in it and among them, we are just what we are....What we are not, we cannot be. What we are, we cannot but be. What we do not do, we cannot do. What we can do, we cannot but do. Let everything be what it is, then there will be peace." (Ch. 5.)


Output:
This is also true of social phenomena. The Commentary says again: There is nothing which is not natural....Peace or disorder, success or failure....are all the product of nature, not of man." (Ch. 7.) By "the product of nature," Hsiang—Kuo mean that they are the necessary result of certain conditions or circumstances. In chapter 14 of the Chuang-tzu, the text states that sages disturb the peace of the world; to which the Commentary says: "The current of history, combined with present circumstances, is responsible for the present crisis. It is not due to any certain individuals. It is due to the world at large.

 The activity of the sages does not disturb the world, but the world itself becomes disorderly.

 Institutions and Morals


Output:
Institutions and Morals

 Hsiang-Kuo consider the universe as being in a continuous state of flux. They write in their Commentary: Change is a force, unobservable yet most strong. It transports heaven and earth toward the new, and carries mountains and hills away from the old. The old does not stop for a moment, but imme-

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 diately becomes the new. All things ever change....All that we meet secretly passes away. We ourselves in the past are not we ourselves now. We still have to go forward with the present. We cannot keep ourselves still. (Ch. 6.)


Output: Society, too, is always in a state of flux. Human needs are constantly changing. Institutions and morals that are good for one time may not be good for another. The CommtmUiry says: The institutions of the former kings served to meet the needs of their own time. But if they continue to exist when time has changed, they become a bogey to the people, and begin to be artificial." (Ch. 14.) Again: "Those who imitate the sages imitate what they have done. But what they have done has already passed away, and therefore it cannot meet the present situation. It is worthless and should not be imitated. The past is dead while the present is living. If one attempts to handle the living with the dead, one will certainly fail." (Ch. 9.)


Output:
Society changes with circumstances. When the circumstances change, institutions and morals should change with them. If they do not, they become artificial and are "a bogey to the people." It is natural that new institutions and new morals should spontaneously produce themselves. The new and the old differ from each other because their times are different. Both of them serve to meet the needs of their time, so neither is superior nor inferior to the other. Hsiang-Kuo do not oppose institutions and morals as such, as did Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. They simply oppose those institutions and morals that are out-of-date and therefore unnatural for the present world.

 Yu—wei and Wu—wei


Output: Thus Hsiang-Kuo give a new interpretation to the earlier Taoist ideas about the natural and the artificial and about yu—wei or having activity, and wu—wei or having no activity (also Iranslated as non-action). When there is a change of social circumstances, new institutions and morals spontaneously produce themselves. To let them go means to follow the natural and be wu-wei, i.e., without action. To oppose them and to keep the old ones that are already out—of—date is to be artificial and yu—wei, i.e., with action. In one passage of the Commentary it is said: "When water runs down from a high to a low place, the current is irresistible. When small things group with what is small, and large things with what is large, their tendency cannot be opposed. When a man is empty and without bias, everyone will contribute his wisdom to him. What does he do, who is the leader of men, when facing these currents and tendencies? He simply trusts the wisdom of the time, relies on the necessity of circumstances, and lets the


Output: on the necessity of circumstances, and lets the world take care of itself. That is all."


Output:
NEO-TAOISM:THE RATIONALISTS

 (Ch. 6.)


Output:
(Ch. 6.)

 If an individual, in his activities, allows his natural abilities to exercise themselves fully and freely, he is wu—wei. Otherwise he is yu—wei. In one passage of the Commentary it is said: "A good driver must let his horse exercise itself to the full of its ability. The way to do so is to give it freedom....If he allows his horses to do what they can do, compelling neither the slow ones to run fast nor the fast ones to walk slowly, though he may travel through the whole world with them, they rather enjoy it. Hearing that horses should be set free, some people think that they should be left wild. Hearing the theory of non-action, some people think that lying down is better than walking. These people are far wrong in understanding the ideas of Chuang Tzu. (Ch. 9-) Despite this criticism, it would seem that in their understanding of Chuang Tzu such people were not far wrong. Yet Hsiang-Kuo, in their own interpretation of him, were certainly highly original.


Output:
Hsiang-Kuo also give a new interpretation to the ideas of simplicity and primitivity of the earlier Taoists. Tn their Commentary they write: If by primitivity we mean the undistorted, the man whose character is not distorted is the most primitive, though he may be capable of doing many things. If by simplicity we mean the unmixed, the form of the dragon and the features of the phoenix are the most simple, though their beauty is all surpassing. On the other hand, even the skin of a dog or a goat cannot be primitive and simple, if its natural qualities are distorted by, or mixed with, foreign elements."

 (Ch.I5.)

 Knowledge and Imitation


Output:
(Ch.I5.)

 Knowledge and Imitation

 Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu both opposed sages of the sort ordinarily regarded as such by the world. In the earlier Taoist literature, the word "sage" has two meanings. By it, the Taoists either mean the perfect man (in the Taoist sense) or the man with all sorts of knowledge. Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu attacked knowledge, and hence the sage of the latter kind, the man who has knowledge. But from the preceding pages we can see that Hsiang-Kuo had no objection to some men s being sages. What they did object to is the attempt of some people to imitate the sages. Plato was born u Plato, and Chuang Tzu a Chuang Tzu. Their genius was as natural as the form of a dragon or the features of a phoenix. They were as "simple" and "primitive as anything can be. They were not wrong in writing their Republic and Happy Excursion, for in so doing they were merely following their own natures.

 This view is exemplified in the following passage from the Commentary:

 370


Output:
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 "By knowledge we mean [the activity that attempts] what is beyond [one's natural ability j. That which is within the proper sphere Lof one's natural a— bilityj is not called knowledge. By being within the proper sphere we mean acting according to one's natural ability, attempting nothing that is beyond. If carrying ten thousand ch'un [thirty catties] is in accordance with one's ability, one will nol feel the burden as weighty. If discharging ten thousand functions [is in accordance with one's ability], one will not feel the task as taxing.' (Ch. 3.) Thus if we understand knowledge in this sense, neither Plato nor Chuang Tzu should be considered as having any knowledge.


Output:
It is only the imitators that have knowledge. Hsiang-Kuo seem to have regarded imitation as wrong for three reasons. First, it is useless. They write in the Commentary: "Events in ancient times have ceased to exist. Though they may be recorded, it is not possible for them to happen again in the present.

 The ancient is not the present, and the present is even now changing. Therefore we should give up imitation, act according to our nature, and change with the times. This is the way to perfection. (Ch.

 13.) Everything is in a flux. Every day we have new problems, new needs, and meet new situations. We should have new methods to deal with these new situations, problems, and needs. Even at a single given moment, the situations, problems, and needs of different individuals differ from one another. So must their methods. What, then, is the use of imitation?


Output: Second, imitation is fruitless. One passage of the Commentary tells us: With conscious effort, some people have tried to be a Li Chu La great artisan] or a Shih K Liang La great musician], but have not succeeded. Yet without knowing how, Li Chu and Shih K'uang were especially talented in their eye and ear. With conscious effort, some people have tried to be sages, but have not succeeded. Yet without knowing how, the sages became sages. Not only is it the sages and Li Chu and Shih K. uang who are difficult to imitate. We cannot even be fools, or dogs, by simply wishing or trying to be so. (Ch. 5.) Everything must be what it is. One thing simply cannot be the other.


Output:
Third, imitation is harmful. The Commentary states again: "There are some people who are not satisfied with their own nature and always attempt what is beyond it. This is to attempt what is impossible, and is like a circle imitating a square, or a fish imitating a bird....They go ever further, the more remote their goal seems to be. The more knowledge ihey gain, the more nature they lose." (Ch.

 2..)

 Again: "The nature of everything has its limit. If one is led on by what is beyond it, one s nature will be lost. One should disregard the inducement, and live according to oneself, not according to others. In this way the in-

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 tegrity of one's nature will be preserved." (Ch. lo.) Not only is there no possibility for one to succeed by imitating others, but by that very act, there is a great probability that one will lose one s self. This is the harm of imitation.


Output:
Thus imitation is useless, fruitless, and harmful. The only sensible mode of life is to live according to oneself, which is also to practice the theory of non—action.

 The Equality of Things

 But if one can really live according to oneself, disregarding the inducements offered by others, that means that one is already able to get rid of what Hsiang-Kuo call the "trouble of preferring one thing to another. " (Ch. 1.) In other words, one is already able to understand the principle of the equality of things and to see things from a higher point of view. One is already on the royal road to the state of non-distinction of the undifferentiable whole.


Output: In the second chapter of the Chuang—tzu, Chuang Tzu emphasized the theory of non—distinction, especially the non—distinction of right and wrong. In their Commentary, Hsiang-Kuo expound this theory with more eloquence. Thus to the saying of Chuang Tzu that the universe is a finger, all things are a horse," the Commentary observes: "in order to show that there is no distinction between right and wrong, there is nothing better than illustrating one thing with another. In so doing we see that all things agree in that they all consider themselves to be right and others to be wrong. Since they all agree that all others are wrong, hence in the world there can be no right; and since they all agree that they themselves are right, hence in the world there can be no wrong.


Output:
How can it be shown that this is so? If the right is really absolutely righl, in the world there should be none that considers il to be wrong. Tf the wrong is really absolutely wrong, in the world there should be none that considers it to be right. The fact that there are uncertainty between right and wrong, and a confusion in distinctions, shows that the distinctions between right and wrong are due to a partiality of view, and that all things are really in agreement. In our observation, we see this truth everywhere.

 Therefore, the perfect man, knowing that the universe is a finger and all things are a horse, thus rests in great peace. All things function according to their nature, and enjoy themselves. [Between them] there is no distinction between right and wrong." (Ch. 2.)

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 Absolute Freedom and Absolute Happiness


Output: If one can transcend the distinctions between things, one can enjoy the absolute freedom and have the absolute happiness that arc described in the first chapter of the Chuang-tzu. In the many stories contained in this chapter, Chuang Tzu mentions the great roc bird, the small bird, the cicada, the small knowledge of the morning mushroom, whose life extends only to the same evening, the great knowledge of the old trees whose experience covers thousands of years, small officers of limited talents, and the philosopher Lieh Tzu who could ride on the wind. Regarding these stories, the Hsiang-Kuo Commentary says: If there is satisfaction for their natures, the roc has nothing to be proud of in comparison with the small bird, and the small bird has no desire for the Celestial Lake [the dwelling place of the roc]. Therefore, though there is a difference between the great and the small, their happiness is the same. (Ch. I.)


Output: Their happiness, however, is only relative happiness. If things only enjoy themselves in their finite spheres, their enjoyment must also be finite. Thus in his first chapter, Chuang Tzu concludes his stories with one about the really independent man who transcends the finite and becomes one with the infinite, so that he enjoys infinite and absolute happiness. Because he transcends the finite and identifies himself with the infinite, he has "no self." Because he follows the nature of things and lets everything enjoy itself, he has no achievement. And because he is one with the Too, which is un— namable, he has "no name."


Output: This idea is developed by the Hsiang-Kuo Commentary with clarity and eloquence: Everything has its proper nature, and that nature has its proper limitation. The differences between things are like those between small and great knowledge, short and long life....All believe in their own sphere and none is intrinsically superior to others." After giving different illustrations, Chuang Tzu concludes with the independent man who forgets his own self and its opposite, and who ignores all the differences. ' All things enjoy themselves in their own sphere, but the independent man has neither achievement nor name. Therefore, he who unites the great and the small is one who ignores the distinction between the great and the small. If one insists on the distinctions, the roc, the cicada, the small officer, and Lieh Tzu riding on the wind, are all troublesome things. He who equalizes life and death is one who ignores the distinction of life and death. If one insists on the distinction, the ta ch'un [an old tree] and the


Output: distinction, the ta ch'un [an old tree] and the chrysalis, P'eng Tsu [a Chinese Methuselah] and the morning mushroom, all suffer early death. Therefore, he who makes excursion iirto the realm of non— distinction between great and small has no limitation. He who ignores the distinction of life and death has no


Output:
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 terminal. But those whose happiness lies within the finite sphere will certainly suffer limitation.

 Though they are allowed to make excursions, they are not ahle to he independent. (Ch. I.) In the first chapter, Chuang Tzu describes the independent man as one who chariots on the normality oi the universe, rides upon the transformation of the six elements, and makes excursion into the infinite.

 On this the Hsiang-Kuo Commentary remarks: "The universe is the general name of all things. The universe has all things as its contents, and all things must take Tzu Jan Lthe natural] as their norm.


Output: What is spontaneously so, and not made to be so, is the natural. The roc can fly in high places, the quail in low ones. The ta-ch'un tree can live for a long time, the mushroom for a short one. All these capacities are natural, and are not caused or learned. They are not caused to be so, but are naturally so; that is the reason why they are normal. Therefore to chariot on the normality of the universe is to follow the nature of things. To ride upon the transformation of the six dements is to make excursion along the road of change and evolution. If one proceeds in this way, where can one reach the end? If one chariots on whatever one meets, what will one be required to depend upon? This is the happiness and freedom of the perfect man who unites his own self with its opposite.


Output:
If one has to depend upon something, one cannot be happy, unless one gets hold of the thing upon which one depends. Although Lieh Tzu could pursue his way in such a fine manner, he still had to depend upon the wind, and the roc was even more dependent. Only he who makes no distinction between himself and other things and follows the great evolution, can really be independent and always free. He not only sets himself free, but also follows the nature of those who have to depend upon something, allowing them to have that something upon which they depend. When they have that upon which they depend, they all enjoy the Great Freedom. (Ch. I.)

 In the Hsiang-Kuo system, the Tao is really nothing. In this system, T ien or T'ien Ti (literally "Heaven" or "Heaven and Earth," but here translated as the universe) becomes the most important idea.


Output:
T ien is the general name of things, and is thus the totality of all that is. To see things from the point of view of T ien and to identify oneself with T ien, is to transcend things and their differences, or, as the Neo—Taoists said, to transcend shapes and features.

 Thus the Hsiang-Kuo Commentary, besides making important revisions in original Taoism, also expressed more articulately what in the Chuang-tzu is only suggestive. Those, however, who prefer suggestivencss to articulateness, would no doubt agree with a certain Ch an monk who remarked: People say that it was Kuo Hsiang who wrote a commentary on Chuang Tzu. I would say that it was Chuang Tzu who wrote a commentary on Kuo Hsiang. (See chapter one, page 12..)

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 CHAPTER 20

 NEO-TAOISM: THE SENTIMENTALISTS


Output:
NEO-TAOISM: THE SENTIMENTALISTS

 IN their Commentary to the Chuang—tzu, Hsiang Hsiu and Kuo Hsiang gave a theoretical exposition of the man who has a mind or spirit transcending the distinctions of things and who lives "according to himself but not according to others. ' This quality of such a man is the essence of what the Chinese caA feng liu.

 Feng Liu and the Romantic Spirit


Output: In order to understand feng liu, we must turn to the Shih-shuo Hsin-yii or Contemporary Records of New Discourses (abbreviated as Shih-shuo), a work by Liu Yi-ch'ing (403-444), supplemented by a commentary by Liu Hsiin (463-511). The NeoTaoists and their Buddhist friends of the Chin dynasty were famous for what was known at the time as ch'ing t an, that is, pure or fine conversation. The art of such conversation consisted in expressing the best thought, which was usually Taoistic, in the best language and tersest phraseology. Because of its rather precious nature, it could be held only between friends of a comparable and rather high intellectual level, and hence it was regarded as one of the most refined of intellectual aclivilies. The Shih— shuo is a record of many such pure conversations and their famous participants. Through them, it gives a vivid picture of those people of the third and fourth centuries who were followers of the feng liu ideas. Ever since its compilation, therefore, it has been a major


Output: its compilation, therefore, it has been a major source for studying the feng liu tradition.


Output:
What, then, is the meaning of feng liu? It is one of those elusive terms which to the initiated conveys a wealth of ideas, but is most difficult to translate exactly. Literally, the two words that form it mean "wind and stream," which does not seem to help us very much. Nevertheless, they do, perhaps, suggest something of the freedom and ease which are some of the characteristics of the quality of feng liu.

 I confess that I have not yet understood the full significance of the words

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 romanticism or romantic in English, but I suspect that they are a fairly rough equivalent

 of feng liu. Feng liu is chiefly connected with Taoism. This is one of the reasons why I have said in chapter two that the Confucianist and Taoist traditions in Chinese history are in some degree equivalent to the classical and romantic traditions in the West.


Output:
The Han (206 B.C.-A.D. 22O) and Chin (265-420) are not only the names of two different dynasties in Chinese history, but also, because of their very different social, political, and cultural characteristics, are designations of two different styles of literature and art, and of two different manners of living. The Han style and manner are ones of dignity and grandeur; those of the Chin are ones of elegance and freedom. Elegance is also one of the characteristics oifeng liu.

 Yang Chu s Garden of Pleasure

 Something must first be said here about the seventh chapter in the Taoist work known as the Lieh—tzu, a chapter titled Yang Chu (translated by Anton Forke as Yang Chu's Garden of Pleasure). As we have already seen in our chapter six, what is said in this "Yang Chu" chapter cannot represent the view of the genuine Yang Chu of ancient times.


Output:
The Lieh—lzu itself, indeed, is now considered by Chinese scholars as a work of the third century A.D. Hence its "Yang Chu" chapter must also be a production of this period. It accords well with the general trend of thought of that time, and is in fact an expression of one aspect of feng liu.

 In the "Yang Chu chapter, a distinction is made between the external and the internal.

 Thus the spurious "Yang Chu" is reported as saying: There are four things which do not allow people to have peace. The first is long life, the second is reputation, the third is rank, and the fourth is riches. Those who have these things fear ghosts, fear men, fear power, and fear punishment. They are called fugitives....Their lives are controlled by externals. But those who follow their destiny do not desire long life. Those who are not fond of honor do not desire reputation. Those who do not want power desire no rank.


Output:
And those who are not avaricious have no desire for riches. Of this sort of men it may be said that they live in accordance with their nature. ...They regulate their lives by internal things."

 In another passage an imaginary conversation is recorded between Tzu-ch an, a famous statesman of the state of Cheng who lived in the sixth century B.C., and his two brothers. Tzu—eh an governed the state for three years and governed well. But his two brothers were out of his control; one of them was fond of feasting and the other of gallantry.

 One day, Tzu-ch an spoke to his brothers, saying: "Those things in which man is superior to beasts and birds are his mental faculties. Through them he gets righteousness and propriety, and so glory and rank fall to his share. You are only moved by what excites your senses, and indulge only in licen-

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 tious desires, endangering your lives and natures.... '


Output: To this the brothers answered: "if one tries to set external things in order, these external things do not necessarily become well —ordered, and one s person is already given toil and trouble. But if one tries to set the internal in order, the external things do not necessarily fall into disorder, and one's nature becomes free and at ease. Your system of regulating external things will do temporarily and for a single kingdom, but it is not in harmony with the human heart. Our method of regulating what is internal, on the contrary, can be extended to the whole world, and [when it is extended] there is no need for princes and ministers."


Output: What this chapter calls regulating the internal corresponds to what Hsiang-Kuo call living according to oneself; what it calls regulating external things corresponds to what Hsiang-Kuo call living according to others. One should live according to oneself, and not according to others. That is to say, one should live in accord with one's own reason or impulse, and not according to the customs and morals ol the time. To use a common expression of the third and fourth centuries, one should live according to tzu —jan (the spontaneous, the natural), and not according to ming-chiao (institutions and morals). All the NeoTaoists agree on this. But there is still a difference a-mong them between the rationalists and sentimentalists. The former, as represented by Hsiang-Kuo, emphasize living according to reason, while the latter, as represented by the men who will be mentioned below, emphasize living according to impulse.


Output:
The idea of living according to impulse is expressed in extreme form in the "Yang Chu" chapter. In one passage we read that Yen P'ing-chung asked Kuan Yi—wu (both famous statesmen of the state of Ch i in ancient times, though historically they were not contemporaries) about cultivating life. Kuan Yi-wu replied: 'The only way is to give it its free course, neither checking nor obstructing it. Yen P ing—chung asked: And as to details?

 "Kuan Yi-wu replied: 'Allow the ear to hear anything that it likes to hear. Allow the eye to see whatever it likes to see. Allow the nose to smell whatever it likes to smell. Allow the mouth to say whatever it likes to say. Allow the body to enjoy whatever it likes to enjoy. Allow the mind to do whatever it likes to do.


Output:
What the ear likes to hear is music, and prohibition of the hearing of music is called obstruction to the ear. What the eye likes to see is beauty, and prohibition of the seeing of beauty is called obstruction to sight. What the nose likes to smell is perfume, and prohibition of the smelling of perfume is called obstruction to smell. Whal the mouth likes to talk about is right and wrong, and prohibition of the talking about right and wrong is called obstruction to understanding. What the body likes to enjoy is rich food and fine clothing, and prohibition of the enjoying of these is called obstruction to the sensations of the body. What the mind likes is to be free, and prohibition of this freedom is called obstruction to the nature.

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Output:
NEO-TA0ISM:THE SENTIMENTALISTS

 All these obstructions are the main causes of the vexations of life. To get rid of these causes and enjoy oneself until death, for a day, a month, a year, or ten years-this is what I call cultivating life. To cling to these causes and be unable to rid oneself of them, so as thus to have a long but sad life, extending a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand years-this is not what I call cultivating life.'

 Kuan Yi—wu then went on: Now that I have told you about cultivating life, what about the way of taking care of the dead?' Yen P ing -chung replied: 'Taking care of the dead is a very simple matter....For once I am dead, what does it matter to me? They may burn my body, or cast it into deep water, or inter it, or leave it uninterred, or throw it wrapped up in a mat into some ditch, or cover it with princely apparel and embroidered garments and rest it in a stone sarcophagus. All depends on chance.'


Output:
"Turning to Pao-shu Huang-tzu, Kuan Yi-wu then said : 'We two have by this made some progress in the way of life and death.

 Living According to Impulse

 What the "Yang Chu" chapter here describes represents the spirit of the age of Chin, but not the whole or best of that spirit. For in this chapter, us exemplified by the above, what "Yang Chu" seems to be interested in is mostly the search for pleasure of a rather coarse sort. To be sure, the pursuit of such pleasure is not, according to NeoTaoism, necessarily to be despised. Nevertheless, if this is made our sole aim, without any understanding of what "transcends shapes and features," to use the NeoTaoist expression, this can hardly be called feng liu in the best sense of the term.


Output: In the Shih—shuo we have a story about Liu Ling (c. 121— c. yX)), one of the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove (seven famous scholars" who gathered for frequent convivial conversations in a certain bamboo grove). This story tells us that Liu evoked criticism through his habit of remaining completely naked when in his room. To his critics he rejoined: "I take the whole universe as my house and my own room as my clothing. Why, then, do you enter here into my trousers? (Ch. 2.3) Thus Liu Ling, though he sought for pleasure, had a feeling of what lies beyond the world, i.e., the universe. This feeling is essential for the quality atfeng liu.


Output:
Those who have this feeling and who cultivate their mind in Taoism, must have a more subtle sensitivity for pleasure and more refined needs than sheerly sensual ones. The Shih-shuo records many unconventional activities among the "famous scholars" of the time. They acted according to pure impulse, but not with any thought of sensuous pleasure. Thus one of the stories in the Shih-shuo says:"Wang Hui-chih [died c. 388, son of China's greatest ealligrapher, Wang Hsi-chih] was living at Shan-yin [near present Hang-chow], One night he was awakened by a heavy snowfall. Opening the window, he saw a gleaming whiteness all about him....Suddenly he thought of his

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 friend Tai K'uei. Immediately he took a boat and went to see Tai. It required the whole night for him to reach Tai's house, but when he was just about to knock at the door, he stopped and returned home.


Output: When asked the reason for this act, he replied: I came on the impulse of my pleasure, and now it is ended, so I go back. Why should I see Tai? (Ch. 23.)


Output: The Shih—shuo records another story which says that Chung Hui (2.25~2.(54, a statesman, general, and writer) regretted that he had not yet enjoyed the opportunity of meeting Chi K'ang (223-262, a philosopher and writer). Therefore he one day went with several other notables to visit him. Chi K ang's hobby was that of forging metal, and when Chung Hui arrived there, he found Chi K ang at his forge under a great tree. Hsiang Hsiu (author of the Commentary on Chuang—tzu described in the last chapter) was assisting Chi K ang to blow the fire with a bellows, and Chi K ang himself continued his hammering just as if no one else were there. For a while the host and guests did not exchange a single word. But when Chung Hui started to go, Chi K ang asked him: What did you hear that caused you to come, and what have you seen that causes you to go?" To this Chung Hui answered: "l heard what I heard, so I came, and I have seen what I have seen, so I go. (Ch. 24.) .


Output:
The men of the Chin dynasty greatly admired the physical and spiritual beauty of a great personality.

 Chi K ang was famous for his personality, which was compared by some people to a jade mountain and by others to a pine tree. (Shih-shiw, ch. 14.) Perhaps it was these things that Chung heard of and saw.


Output: Another story in the Shih—shuo tells us: When Wang Hui—chih was traveling by boat, he met Huan Yi traveling by land along the bank. Wang Hui-chih had heard of Huan Yi's fame as a flute player but he was not acquainted with him. When someone told him that the man traveling on the bank was Huan Yi, he sent a messenger to ask him to play the flute. Huan Yi had also heard of the fame of Wang Hui—ehih, so he descended from his chariot, sat on a chair, and played the flute three times. After that, he ascended his chariot and went away. The two men did not exchange even a single word." (Ch. 23.) They did not do this because what they wished to enjoy was only the pure beauty of the music. Wang Hui—chih asked Huan Yi to play the flute for him, because he knew he could play it well, and Huan Yi played for him, because he knew Wang could appreciate his playing. When this had been done, what else was there to talk about?


Output:
The Shih-shuo contains another story which says that Chih-tun (314-366, famous Buddhist monk) was fond of cranes. Once a friend gave him two young ones. When they grew up, Chih—tun was forced to clip their wings so that they would not fly away. When this was done, the cranes looked de-spondent, and Chih-tun too was depressed, and said: "Since they have wings that can reach the sky, how can they be content to be a pet of man? Hence

 NEO-TAOISM:THE SENTIMENTALISTS

 when their feathers had grown again, he let the cranes fly away. (Ch. 2.)

 Another story tells us about Juan Chi (210-2.63, a philosopher and poet), and his nephew Juan Hsien, who were two of the Seveii Worthies of the Bamboo Grove. All members of the Juan family were great drinkers, and when they met, they did not bother to drink out of cups, but simply sat around a large wine jar and drank from that. Sometimes the pigs also came, wanting a drink, and then the Juans drank together with the pigs. (Ch. 23.)


Output:
The sympathy of Chih-tun for the cranes and the indiscriminate generosity of the Juans to the pigs show that they had a feeling of equality and non-difTerentiation between themselves and other things of nature. This feeling is essential in order to have the quality oifeng liu and to be artistic. For a true artist must be able to project his own sentiment to the object he depicts, and then express it through his medium. Chih-tun himself would not have liked to be a pet of man, and he projected this sentiment to the cranes. Though he is not known to have been an artist, he was, in this sense, a very real one.

 The Emotional Factor


Output: As we have seen in chapter ten, the sage, according to Chuang Tzu, has no emotions. He has a high understanding of the nature of things, and so is not affected by their changes and transformations. He disperses emotion with reason. The Shih—shuo records many people who had no emotions. The most famous case is that of Hsieh An (32.O-385). When he was Prime Minister at the Chin court, the northern state of Ch in started a large—scale offensive against Chin. Its army was led by the Ch in Emperor in person, and so great was it that the Emperor boasted that his soldiers, by throwing their whips into the Yangtze River, could block its course. The people of Chin were greatly alarmed, but Hsieh An calmly and quietly appointed one of his nephews, Hsieh Hsiin, to lead an army against the invaders. At a battle famous in history as the Battle of the Fei River, in the year 383, Hsieh Hsiln won a decisive victory and the men of Ch in were driven back. When the news of the final victory reached Hsieh An, he was playing


Output: final victory reached Hsieh An, he was playing chess with a friend. He opened the letter, read it, and then put it aside and continued to play as before. When the friend asked what was the news from the front, Hsieh An, as calmly as ever, replied: Our boys have decisively defeated the enemy.


Output:
(Ch. 6.)

 The San Kuo Chih or History of the Three Kingdoms, however, records a discussion between Ho Yen (died 2.49) and Wang Pi (226-249, greatest commentator on the Lao-tzu) on the subject of the emotions. Ho Yen, following the original theory of Chuang Tzu, maintained that "the sage has neither pleasure nor anger, sorrow nor gladness. In this he was seconded by Chung Hui (the man who went to visit Chi K'ang in the story given above). Wang Pi, however, held a different opinion.

 According to him, "that in which the sage is superior to ordinary people is the spirit. But what the sage has in

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Output:
390 NEO-TAOISM:THE SENTIMENTALISTS

 common with ordinary people are the emotions. The sage has a superior spirit, and therefore is able to be in harmony with the universe and to hold communion with Wu Li.e., the Tool. But the sage has ordinary emotions, and therefore cannol respond to things without joy or sorrow. He responds to things, yet is not ensnared by them. It is wrong to say that because the sage has no ensnarement, he therefore has no emotions. (Ch. 28, Commentary.)

 The theory of Wang Pi can be summarized by the statement that the sage "has emotions but no ensnaremenl." What this statement exactly means, Wang Pi does not make clear. Its implications were developed much later by Neo-Confucianism, and we shall have a chance to analyze them in chapter 24.

 At present we need merely point out that though many of the Neo -Taoists were very rational, there were also many who were very sentimental.


Output:
As stated earlier, the Neo—Taoists stressed subtle sensitivily. Having this sensitivity, coupled with the afore-mentioned theory of sel-fexpression, it is not surprising that many of ihem gave free vent to their emotions anywhere and at any time these emotions arose.

 An example is the Shih-shuo's story about Wang Jung (234-305), one of the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove. When Wang lost a child, his friend Shan Chicn went to condole him. Wang could not restrain himself from weeping, whereupon Shan said to him: "It was only a baby, so why do you behave like this?" Wang Jung replied: "The sage forgets emotions, and lowly people [who are insensitiveJ do not reach emotions. It is people like ourselves who have the most emotions. To this Shan Chien agreed and wept also. (Ch. 17.)


Output: This saying of Wang Jung explains very well why many of the Neo—Taoists were sentimentalists. In most cases, however, they were sentimental, not about some personal loss or gain, but about some general aspect of life or of the universe. The Shih-shuo says that Wei Chieh (286-312, known as the most beautiful personality of his time), when about to cross the Yangtze River, felt much depressed, and said: When T see this vast L river J, I cannot help but feel that all kinds of sentiments are gathering in my mind. Being not without feeling, how can one endure these emotions? (Ch. 2.) The Shih-shuo says also that every time Huan Yi, the flute player mentioned earlier, heard people singing, he would exclaim: What can I do! Hsieh An heard of this and remarked: Huan Yi can indeed be said to have deep feelings." (Ch. 23.)


Output:
Because of this subtle sensitivity, these men of feng liu spirit were often impressed by things that would not ordinarily impress others. They had sentiments about life and the universe as a whole, and also about their own sensitivity and sentiments. The Shih-shuo tells us that when Wang Ch'in ascended the Mao Mountain (in present Shantung province), he wept and said: "Wang Po-yu of Lang-ya [i.e., myself] must at last die for his emotions." (Ch. 23.)

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 The Factor of Sex


Output:
The Factor of Sex

 In the West, romanticism often has in it an element of sex. The Chinese term feng Iiu also has thai implication, especially in its later usage. The attitude of the Chin Neo—Taoists towards sex, however, seems to be purely aesthetic rather than sensuous. As illustration, the Shih-shuo tells us that the neighbor of Juan Chi had a beautiful wife. The neighbor was a wine merchant, and Juan Chi used to go to his house to drink with the merchant s wife. When Juan became drunk, he would sleep beside her. The husband at first was naturally suspicious, but after paying careful attention, he found that Juan Chi did nothing more than sleep there. (Ch. 23-)


Output: The Shih-shuo says again that Shan T'ao (2.05-2.83, statesman and general), Chi K ang, and Juan Chi were great friends. Shan Ta o ' s wife, Han, noticed the close friendship of the three and asked her husband about it. Shan T ao said: At present they are the only men who can be my friends. It was the custom in China then that a lady was not allowed lo be introduced to the friends of her husband. Hence Han told her husband that, when next his two friends came, she would like to have a secret peep at them. So on the next visit, she asked her husband to have them stay overnight. She prepared a feast for them, and, during the night, peeped in at the guests through a hole in the wall. So absorbed was she in looking at them that she stood there the whole night. In the morning the husband came to her room and asked: "What do you think of them?' She replied: "In talent you are not equal to them, but with your knowledge, you can make friends with them. To this Shan T


Output:
ao said: "They, also, consider my knowledge to be superior." (Ch. 19.) Thus both Juan Chi and the Lady Han seemed to enjoy the beauty of the opposite sex without any sensuous inclinations. Or, it may be said, they enjoyed the beauty, forgetting the sex element.

 Such are the characteristics of the, feng Iiu spirit of the Chin NeoTaoists. According to them, feng Iiu derives from tzu-jan (spontaneity, naturalness), and tzu-jan stands in opposition to ming chiao (morals and institutions), which form the classical tradition of Confucianism. Even in this period, however, when Confucianism was in eclipse, one famous scholar and writer named Yiieh Kuang (died 3°4) said: "In the ming-chiao, too, there is fundamentally room for happiness. (Shih—shuo, ch. I.) As we shall see in chapter twenty -four, Neo -Confucianism was an attempt to find such happiness in ming-chiao.

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 CHAPTER 21

 THE FOUNDATION OF CHINESE BUDDHISM


Output:
THE FOUNDATION OF CHINESE BUDDHISM

 lHF, introduction of Buddhism into China has been one of the greatest events in Chinese history, and since its coming, it has been a major factor in Chinese civilization, exercising particular influence on religion, philosophy, art, and literature.

 Introduction and Development of Buddhism in China

 The exact date of the introduction of Buddhism is a disputed problem not yet settled by historians, but it took place probably in the first half of the first cenlury A.D. Traditionally, it is said to have entered during the reign of Emperor Ming (58-75), but there is now evidence that it had already been heard of in China before this time. Its subsequent spread was a long and gradual process. From Chinese literary sources we know that in the first and second centuries A.D., Buddhism was considered as a religion of the occult arts, not greatly differing from the occultism of the Yin— Yang school or of the later Taoist religion.


Output:
In the second century the theory was actually developed in certain circles that Buddha had been nothing more than a disciple of T Shih Chi or Historical Records (ch. 63), where it is said that Lao Tzu, late in life, disappeared and nobody knew where he went. Elaborating this statement, ardent Taoists created the story that when Lao Tzu went to the West, he finally reached India, where he taught the Buddha and other Indians, and had a total of twenty-nine disciples. The implication was that the teaching of the Buddhist Sutras (sacred texts) was simply a foreign variant of thai of the Too Te Ching, that is, of the Lao-tzu.

 In the third and fourth centuries an increasing number of Buddhist texts of a more metaphysical nature was translated, so that Buddhism became better understood. At this time Buddhism was regarded as similar to philosophical Taoism, especially the philosophy of Chuang Tzu, rather than to Taoism 396 THE FOUNDATION OF CHINESE BUDDHISM


Output:
as a religion. Often the Buddhist writings were interpreted with ideas taken from philosophical Taoism.

 This method was called that of ko yi, that is, interpretation by analogy.


Output: Such a method naturally led to inaccuracy and distortion. Hence in the fifth century, by which time the flood of translations was rapidly increasing, the use of analogy was definitely abandoned. Yet the fact remains that the great Buddhist writers of the fifth century, even including the Indian teacher, Kumarajiva, continued to use Taoist terminology, such as Yu (Being, existent), Wu (Non—being, non-existent), yu—wei (action) and wu—wei (non—action), to express Buddhist ideas. The difference between this practice and the method of analogy, however, is that in the latter one sees only the superficial similarity of words, while in the former one sees the inner connections of the ideas expressed by them. Hence, judging from the nature of the works of these writers, this practice, as we shall see later, did not indicate any misunderstanding or distortion of Buddhism, but rather a synthesis of Indian Buddhism with Taoism, leading to the foundation of a Chinese form of Buddhism.


Output:
Here it should be pointed out that the terms, Chinese Buddhism and Buddhism in China, are not necessarily synonymous. Thus there were certain schools of Buddhism which confined themselves to the religious and philosophical tradition of India, and made no contact with those of China. An example is the school known by the Chinese as the Hsiang Isung or Wei-shih tsung (School of Subjective Idealism), which was introduced by the famous Chinese pilgrim to India, Hsuan-tsang (596-664).

 Schools like this may be called Buddhism in China. Their influence was confined to restricted groups of people and limited periods. They did not and could not reach the thought of every intellectual, and therefore played little or no part in the development of what may be called the Chinese mind.


Output:
On the other hand, Chinese Buddhism is the form of Buddhism that has made contact with Chinese thought and thus has developed in conjunction with Chinese philosophical tradition. In later pages we will see that the Middle Path school of Buddhism bears some similarity to philosophical Taoism. Its interaction with the latter resulted in the Ch an or Zen school, which though Buddhist, is at the same time Chinese. Although a school of Buddhism, its influence on Chinese philosophy, literature, and art has been far reaching.

 General Concepts of Buddhism

 Following the introduction of Buddhism into China, tremendous efforts were made to translate the Buddhist texts into Chinese. Texts of both the Hi-nayana (Small Vehicle) and Mahayana (Great Vehicle) divisions of Buddhism were translated, but only the latter gained a permanent place in Chinese Buddhism.

 398 . THE FOUNDATION OF CHINESE BUDDHISM


Output: On the whole, the way in which Mahayana Buddhism most influenced the Chinese has been in its concept of the Universal Mind, and in what may be called its negative method of metaphysics. Before going into a discussion of these, we must first survey some of the general concepts of Buddhism.


Output: Although there are many schools of Buddhism, each with something different to offer, all generally agree in their belief in the theory of Karma (translated in Chinese as Yeh). Karma or Yeh is usually rendered in English as deed or action, but its actual meaning is much wider than that, for what it covers is not merely confined to overt action, but also includes what an individual sentient being speaks and thinks. According to Buddhism, all the phenomena of the universe, or, to be more exact, of the universe of an individual sentient being, are the manifestations of his mind. Whenever he acts, speaks, or even thinks, his mind is doing something, and that something must produce its results, no matter how far in the future. This result is the retribution of the Karma. The Karma is the cause and its retribution is the effect. The being of an individual is made up of a chain of causes and effects.


Output:
The present life of a sentient being is only one aspect in this whole process. Death is not the end of his being, but is only another aspect of the process. What an individual is in this life, comes as a result of what he did in the past, and what he does in the present will determine what he will be in the future.

 Hence what he does now will bear its fruits in a future life, and what he will do then will again bear its fruits in yet another future life, and so on ad infinitum. This chain of causation is what is called Samsara, the Wheel of Birth and Death. It is the main source from which come the sufferings of individual sentient beings.


Output: According to Buddhism, all these sufferings arise from the individual s fundamental Ignorance of the nature of things. All things in the universe are the manifestations of the mind and therefore are illusory and impermanent, yet the individual ignorantly craves for and cleaves to them. This fundamental Ignorance is called Avidya, which in Chinese is translated as Wu-ming, non-enlightenment. From Ignorance come the craving for and cleaving to life, because of which the individual is bound to the elernal Wheel of Birth and Death, from which he can never escape.


Output:
The only hope for escape lies in replacing Ignorance with Enlightenment, which in Sanskrit is called Bodhi. All the teachings and practices of the various Buddhist schools are attempts to contribute something to the Bodhi. From them the individual, in the course of many rebirths, may accumulate Karma which does not crave for and cleave to things, but avoids craving and cleaving. The result is an emancipation of the individual possessing this Karma from the Wheel of Birth and Death. And this emancipation is called JVir- vana.

 What, exactly, does the state of Nirvana signify? It may be said to be the identification of the individual with the Universal Mind, or with what is

 4OO THE FOUNDATION OF CHINESE BUDDHISM


Output:
called the Buddha-nature; or it is the realization or self-consciousness of the individual's original identification with the Universal Mind. He is the Universal Mind, but formerly he did not realize it, or was not self—conscious of it. The school of Mahayana Buddhism known by the Chinese as the Hsing tsung or School of Universal Mind expounded this theory. (For this school, hsing or nature and hsin or mind are the same.) In expounding it, the school introduced the idea of Universal Mind into Chinese thought.

 There were other schools of Mahayana Buddhism, however, such as that known by the Chinese as the K ung tsung or School of Emptiness, also known as the School of the Middle Path, which would not describe Nirvana in this way. Their method of approach is what I call the negative method.

 The Theory of Double

 Truth 1

 i

 This School of the Middle Path proposed what it called the theory of dou— j ble truth: truth in the common sense and truth in the higher sense. Further— |


Output:
more, it maintained, not only are there these two kinds of truth, but they < both exist on varying levels. Thus what, on the lower level, is truth in the j higher sense, becomes, on the higher level, merely truth in the common '

 sense. One of the great Chinese Masters of this school, Chi-tsang (549-623), j describes this theory as including the three following levels of double truth: !

 (1) The common people take all things as really yu (having being, existent) j and know nothing about wu (having no being, non-existent). Therefore the ■ Buddhas have told them that actually all things are wu and empty. On this level, to say that all things are yu is the common sense truth, and to say that • all things are wu

 is the higher sense


Output: truth. j (2) To say that all things are yu is one-sided, but to say that all things are wu is also one-sided. They are both one-sided, because they give people the wrong impression that wu or non-existence only results from the absence or removal of yu or existence. Yet in actual fact, what is yu is simultaneously what is wu. For instance, the table standing before us need not be destroyed in order to show that it is ceasing to exist. In actual fact it is ceasing to exist all the time. The reason for this is that when one starts to destroy the table, the table which one thus intends to destroy has already ceased to exist. The table of this actual moment is no longer the table of the preceding moment. It only looks like that of the preceding moment. Therefore on the second level of double truth, to say that all things are yu and to say that all things are wu are both equally common sense truth. What one ought to say is that the not—one—sided middle path consists in understanding that things are neither yu


Output: in understanding that things are neither yu nor wu. This is the higher sense truth.


Output:
(3) But to say that the middle truth consists in what is not one—sided (i.e., what is neither yu nor wu), means to make distinctions. And all distinctions are themselves one-sided. Therefore on the third level, to say that things are neither yu nor wu, and that herein lies the not-one-sided middle path, is 4O2. THE FOUNDATION OF CHINESE BUDDHISM

 merely common sense truth. The higher truth consists in saying that things are neither yu nor wu, neither not— yu nor not— wu, and that the middle path is neither one-sided nor not-one-sided. (Erh-ti Chang or Chapter on the Double Truth, sec. I.)


Output: In this passage 1 have retained the Chinese words yu and wu, because in their use the Chinese thinkers of the time saw or felt a similarity between the central problem discussed by Buddhism and lhal discussed by Taoism, in which the same words arc prominent. Though deeper analysis shows that the similarity is in some respects superficial, nevertheless, when the Taoists spoke of Wu as transcending shapes and features, and the Buddhists spoke of Wu as "not-not," there is a real similarity.


Output:
Still another real similarity between the Buddhists of this particular school and the Taoists is their method of approach and the final results achieved by this metho d. The method is to mak e use of different l ev els of discourse. What is said in one level is to be immediately denied by a saying on a higher level. As we have seen in chapter ten, this is also the method used in the C h i Wu L u n o r " E q u a l i t y o f T h i n g s i n t h e C h u a n g - t z u , a n d i t i s t h e method that has just been discussed above.

 When all is denied, including the denial of the denial of all, one arrives at the same situation as found in the philosophy of Chuang Tzu, in which all is forgotten, including the fact that one has forgotten all.

 This state is described by Chuang Tzu as "sitting in forgetfulness," and by the Buddhists as Nirvana.


Output:
One cannot ask this school of Buddhism what, exactly, the state of Nirvana is, because, according to it, when one reaches the third level of truth, one cannot affirm anything.

 Philosophy of Seng-chao

 One of the great teachers of this same school in China in the fifth century was Kumarajiva, who was an Indian but was born in a state in the present Chinese Turkistan. He came to Ch ang —an (the present Sian in Shensi province) in 4OI, and lived there until his death in 4*3-During these thirteen years, he translated many Buddhist texts into Chinese and taught many disciples, among them some who became very famous and influential. In this chapter I shall mention two of them, Seng—chao and Tao—sheng.


Output:
Seng-chao (384-414) came from the vicinity of the above-mentioned city of Ch'ang-an. He first studied Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, but later became a disciple of Kumarajiva. He wrote several essays which have been collected as the Chao Lun, or Essays of Seng-chao. One of them, titled "There Is No Real Unreality," says: "All things have that in them which makes them not be yu [having being, existent]

 and also have that in them which makes them not be wu [having no being, non-existent]. Because of the former, they are yu and yet not yu. Because of the latter, they are wu and yet not wu....Why is this so?

 Suppose the yu is really yu, then it should be yu for all time and

 404

 THE FOUNDATION OF CHINESE BUDDHISM


Output: should not owe its yu to the convergence of causes. [According to Buddhism, the existence of anything is due to the convergence of a number of causes] Suppose the wu is really wu, then it should be wu for all time and should not owe its wu to the dissolution of causes. If the yu owes its yu to causation, then the yu is not really yu....But if all things are wu, then nothing would come about. If something comes about, it cannot be altogether nothing.... If we want to affirm that things are yu, yet there is no real existence of this yu. If we want to affirm that they are wu, yet they have their shapes and features. To have shapes and features is not the same as wu, and to be not really yu is not the same as yu. This being so, the principle of no real unreality' is clear." (Chao-Lun, ch. 1.) In another essay, titled "On the Immutability of Things," Seng-chao says: Most men s idea of mutability is that things in the past do not come down to the present. They therefore say that there is mutability and no


Output: therefore say that there is mutability and no immutability. My idea of immutability is also that things of the past do not come down to the present. Therefore I on the contrary say that there is immutability and no mutability. That there is mutability and no immutability is because things of the past do not come down to the present. That there is immutability and no mutability is because things of the past do not vanish away with the past [i.e., though they do not exist today, they did exist in the past]...If we search for past things in the past, they were not wu in the past. If we search for these past things in the present, they are not yu in the present....That is to say, past things are in the past, and are not things that have receded from the present.


Output: Likewise present things are in the present, and are not something that have come down from the past....The effect is not the cause, but because of the cause there is the effect. That the effect is not the cause shows that the cause does not come down to the present. And that, there being the cause, there is therefore the effect, shows that causes do not vanish in the past. The cause has neither come down nor has it vanished. Thus the theory of immutability is clear." (Chan Lun, ch. I.) The idea here is that things undergo constant change at every moment. Anything existing at any given moment is actually a new thing of that moment and not the same as the thing that has existed in the past.


Output:
In the same essay Seng-chao says: "[There was a man by the mane of] Fan-chih who, having become a monk in his early years, returned home when his hair was white. On seeing him the neighbors exclaimed at seeing a man of the past who was still alive. Fan-chih said: 'I look like the man of the past, but I am not he.' "At every moment there has been a Fan-chih. The Fan-chih of this moment is not a Fan-chih who has come down from the past, and the Fan-chih of the past was not a Fan-chih of the present who receded into the past. Juding from the fact that everything changes at every moment, we say that there is change but no permanence. And judging from the fact that everything at every moment remains with that moment, we say that there is permanence but no change.

 4 0 6 THE FOUNDATION OF CHINESE BUDDHISM


Output: This is Seng—chao s theory to substantiate the double truth on the second level. On this level, to say that things are yu and permanent, and to say that things are wu and mutable, arc both common sense truth. To say that things are neither yu nor wu, neither permanent nor mutable, is the higher sense truth.


Output:
Seng—chao also gives arguments to substanliate the double truth on the third or highest level. This he does in an essay titled "On Prqjna [i.e., Wisdom of the Buddha] Not Being Knowledge." Prajna is described by Seng-chao as Sage—knowledge, but, he says, this Sage—knowledge is really not knowledge. For knowledge of a thing consists in selecting a quality of that thing and taking that quality as the object of knowledge. But Sage-knowledge consists in knowing about what is called Wu (Non—being), and this Wu transcends shapes and features and has no qualities; hence it can never be the object of knowledge. To have knowledge of Wu is to be one with it. This state of identification with Wu is called Nirvana. Nirvana and Prajna are two aspects of one and the same state of affairs. As Nirvana is not something to be known, so Prajna is knowledge which is not knowledge. (Chat) Lun, ch.

 3.) Hence, on the third level of truth, nothing can be said and one must remain silent.

 Philosophy of Tao—sheng


Output:
Philosophy of Tao—sheng

 Seng-chao died when only thirty years old, so that his influence was less than it might otherwise have been. Tao—sheng (died 434), who was a fellow student with Seng-chao under Kumarajiva, was born at P'eng-ch'eng in the northern part of the present Kiangsu province. He became a monk of wide learning, great brilliancy, and eloquence, of whom it is said that when he spoke even the stones beside him nodded their heads in assent. In his later years he taught at Lu-shan in the present Kiangsi province, which was the center of Buddhist learning at that time, and the place where such great monks as Tao-an (died 3^5) and Hui-yiian (died 410) had lectured. Tao-sheng advanced many theories so new and revolutionary that once he was publicly banished from Nanking by the conservative monks.


Output:
Among these is the doctrine that "a good deed entails no retribution." His essay on this subject is now lost. But in the Hung Ming Chi or Collected Essays on Buddhism, a work compiled by Seng-yu (died 518), there is a treatise by Hui-yiian titled "On the Explanation of Retribution." This essay may represent some aspects of Tao—sheng s concept, though we cannot be sure. Its general idea is to apply the Taoist ideas of wu-wei and wu-hsin to metaphysics. As we have seen, wu-wei literally means non-action, but this non-action does not really signify no action; rather it signifies action that takes jilaee, without effort. When one acts spontaneously, without any deliberate discrimination, choice, or effort, one is practicing non-action. Wu-hsin also literally means no mind. When one practices wu —wei in the manner de -

 408 THE FOUNDATION OF CHINESE BUDDHISM


Output: scribed above, one is also practicing wu-hsin. If, argues Hui-yuan, one follows the principles of wu—wei and wu-hsin, one then has no craving for or cleaving to things, even though one may pursue various activities. And since the effect or retribution of one's Karma is due to one s craving and cleaving or attachment, one s Karma under these circumstances will not entail any retribution. (Chiian 5.) This theory of Hui—yiian, regardless of whether it is the same as Tao-sheng's original idea or not, is an interesting extension to Buddhist metaphysics of a Taoist theory which originally possessed purely social and ethical significance. As such, it is certainly an important development in Chinese Buddhism, and one that was to be followed later by the Ch' an school.


Output: Another theory of Tao-sheng is that Buddhahood is to be achieved by Sudden Enlightenment. His essay on this subject is also lost, but the theory is preserved in Hsieh Ling-vim's (died 433) Pien Tsung Lun or "Discussion of Essentials. It was developed in opposition to another theory, that of gradual attainment, according to which Buddhahood is to he achieved only through the gradual accumulation of learning and practice. Tao-sheng and Hsieh Ling—yiin did not deny the importance of such learning and practice, but they maintained that its accumulation, no matter how great, is only a sort of preparatory work, which in itself is insufficient for one ever to achieve Buddhahood. Such achievement is an instantaneous act, like the leaping over of a deep chasm. Either one makes the leap successfully, in which case one reaches the other side and thus achieves Buddhahood in its entirety in a flash, or one fails in one s leap, in which case one remains as one was. There are no intermediate steps between.


Output:
The reason advanced for this theory is that to achieve Buddhahood means to be one with Wu (Non-being) or, as one might say, with the Universal Mind. The Wu, since it transcends shapes and features, is not a thing in itself, and so is not something that can be divided into parts. Therefore one cannot gain oneness with a part of it today and oneness with another part of it tomorrow. Oneness means oneness with the whole of it. Anything less than this is no longer oneness.

 The Pien Tsung Lun records many arguments on this subject between Hsieh Ling—yiln and others.


Output:
One monk named Seng—wei argued that if the student is one with Wu, he will no longer speak about it, but if he is to learn about Wu in order to get rid of Yu (Being), this learning represents a process of gradual enlightenment. To this Hsieh Ling—yiin answered that when a student is still in the realm of Yu, whatever he does is learning, but not Enlightenment. Enlightenmen itself is something beyond Yu, though a student must devote himself first to learning, in order to attain Enlightenment.

 Seng-wei again asked: If a student devotes himself to learning and hopes thereby for identification with Wu, does he in this way make some advancement? If he does not, why does he pursue learning?

 But if he does, is this not gradual enlightenment? To this Hsieh Ling-yiin answered that devolion 410 THE FOUNDATION OF CHINESE BUDDHISM


Output:
to learning can have the positive achievement of suppressing the impure element of the mind. Though such suppression seems to be its extinction, in actual fact it is still not without impure attachment. It is only with Sudden Enlightenment that all attachments are gone.

 Again Seng-wei asked: If a student devote himself to learning and practice, can he achieve a temporary identification with Wu! If he can, this temporary identification is better than no identification at all, and is it not gradual enlightenment? To this Hsieh I.ing-yiin answered that such temporary identification is a false one. A real identification is by its nature everlasting. Though the temporary identification seems to be a real identification, it is so only in the same sense that the suppression of the impure element of the mind seems to be its extinction.


Output: All these arguments are endorsed by Tao—sheng in a letter also included in the Pien Tsung Lun. The latter is now to be found in the Kuang Hung Ming Chi or Further Collections of Essays on Buddhism (chilan 18), a work compiled by Tao-hsiian (596-667).


Output: Another of Tao-sheng' s theories is that every sentient being possesses the Buddha—nature or Universal Mind. His essay on this subject is also lost, but its ideas can be gathered from his commentaries on several Buddhist Sutras. According to these, every sentient being has the Buddha-nature; only he does not realize that he has it. This Ignorance (Avidya) is what binds him to the Wheel of Birth and Death. The necessity, therefore, is for him first to realize that he has the Buddha -nature originally within him, and then, by learning and practice, to "see" his own Buddha-nature. This "seeing" conies as a Sudden Enlightenment, because the Buddha—nature cannot be divided; therefore he either sees it as a whole or does not see it at all. Such "seeing" also means to be one with the Buddha-nature, because the Buddha-nature is not something that can be seen Irom outside. This is the meaning of Tao — sheng's statement: "By gaining freedom from illusion, one returns to the Ultimate, and by returning to the Ultimate,


Output: the Ultimate, and by returning to the Ultimate, one attains the Original." * The state of attainment of the Original is the state of Nirvana.


Output:
But Nirvana is not something external to and altogether different from the Wheel of Birth and Death, nor is the reality of the Buddha-nature external to and altogether different from the phenomenal world.

 Once one gains Sudden Enlightenment, the latter is at once the former. Thus Tao—sheng says: The Enlightenment of Mahayana Buddhism is not to be sought outside the Wheel of Birth and Death. Within it one is enlightened by the affairs of birth and death." ** The Buddhists use the metaphor of "reaching the other shore" to express the idea of achieving Nirvana. Tao-sheng says: As to reaching the other shore, if one reaches it, one is not reaching the other shore. Both not-reaching and not—not—reaching are really reaching. This shore here means

 * QnolpH in the Nifih-pan-ching Ctli-cfiieh or Collected Commentaries to the Parinirvana Sutra, chiton I. ** Quoted in Seng-(!hao's Wei-mou-ching Chit, or Cftmmenlxiry ta the Vimakikirti Sutra, chikvi 7-412 . THE FOUNDATION OF CHINESE BUDDHISM


Output:
birth and death; the other shore means Nirvana." (Ibid., chtian 9.) Again he says: If one sees Buddha, one is not seeing Buddha. When one sees there is no Buddha, one is really seeing Buddha." (Ibid.)

 This is perhaps also the meaning of another theory of Tao-sheng, that for Buddha there is no "Pure Land or other world. The world of Buddha is simply here in this present world.

 In an essay titled The Treasure House, which has been traditionally attributed to Seng-chao but seems to be a forgery, it is said: "Suppose there is a man who, in a treasure house of golden utensils, sees the golden utensils, but pays no attention to their shapes and features. Or, even if he does pay attention to their shapes and features, he still recognizes that they are all gold. He is not confused by their varying appearances, and therefore is able to rid himself of their L superficial J

 distinctions. He always sees that their underlying substance is gold, and does not suffer any illusion.


Output:
This is an illustration of what a sage is. (Ch. 3-)

 This saying may not come from Seng—chao, but its metaphor has been constantly used by later Buddhists. The reality of the Buddha-nature is itself the phenomenal world, just as the golden utensils are themselves the gold. There is no other reality outside the phenomenal world, just as there is no other gold besides the golden utensils. Some people, in their Ignorance, see only the phenomenal world, but not the reality of the Buddha-nature. Other people, in their Enlightenment, see the Buddha-nature, but this Buddha-nature is still the phenomenal world. What these two kinds of people see is the same, but what one person sees in his Enlightenment has a significance quite different from what the other person sees in his Ignorance. This is the meaning ol a common saying of Chinese Buddhism: When ignorant, one is a common man; when enlightened, one is a sage.


Output: Another theory of Tao—sheng is that even the icchantika (i.e., the being who opposes Buddhism) is capable of achieving Buddhahood. This is the logical conclusion of the assertion that every sentient being has the Buddha-nature. But it was in direct contradiction to the Parinirvana Sutra, as known at that time, and consequently Tao-sheng, because he uttered it, was banished for some time irom the capital, Nanking. Many years later, however, when the complete text of the Parinirvana Sutra was translated, Tao-sheng' s theory was found to be confirmed by one of its passages. His biographer, Hui-chiao (died 554), wrote: "Because his interpretation of the icchantika came to be established by Scriptural evidence, his theories of Sudden Enlightenment and that a good deed entails no retribution, also came to be highly honored by the Buddhists of the time. (Kao—seng Chilan or Biographies of Eminent Buddhist Monks, chiian 7) Hui—chiao also reports another saying of Tao—sheng: The symbol serves to express an idea, and


Output: The symbol serves to express an idea, and is to be discarded once the idea has been undei— stood. Words serve to explain thought, and ought to be silenced once the thoughts have been absorbed....It is only those who can grasp the fish and


Output:
414 THE FOUNDATION OF CHINESE BUDDHISM

 discard the fishing net that are qualified to seek the truth.' (Ibid.) This figure of speech refers to a saying in the Chuang-tzu which says: "The fishing net serves to catch fish. Let us take the fish and forget the net. The snare serves to catch rabbits. Let us take the rabbit and forget the snare." (Ch. 2-6.) Chinese philosophical tradition makes use of a term called the "net of words. According to this tradition, the best statement is one that does not "fall into the net of words."

 We have seen that in Chi-tsang's theory of the three levels of double truth, when one reaches the third level one simply has nolhing to say. On that level there is no danger of falling into the net of words.


Output:
When Tao-sheng speaks of the Buddha-nature, he almost falls into this net, because by speaking of it as the Mind, he gives people the impression that the limitations of definition can be imposed on it. In this respect he is influenced by the Parinirvana Sutra, which emphasizes the Buddha-nature, and so he approaches the Hsing tsung or School of Universal Mind.

 Thus, as we shall see in the next chapter, by the lime of Tao—sheng, the theoretical background for Ch anism had been prepared. The Ch'an Masters themselves, however, were needed to put the theories described in the present chapter into high relief.


Output: In what has been told here we can also find the germ of the Neo-Confu-ciamsm of several centuries later. The theory of Tao—sheng that every man can become a Buddha reminds us of the theory of Mencius that every man can become a Yao or Shun (two traditional sage-kings). (Mencius, VIb, 2..) Mencius also stated that by fully developing our mind, we come to know our nature; and by fully developing our nature, we come to know Heaven. (Men— cius, Vila, 1.) But what he called mind and nature are both psychological and not metaphysical. By giving them a metaphysical interpretation along the line suggested by Tao-sheng's theory, one arrives at Neo-Confucianism.


Output:
The idea of the Universal Mind is a contribution of India to Chinese philosophy. Before the introduction of Buddhism, there was in Chinese philosophy only the mind, but not the Mind. The Tao of the Taoists is the mystery of mysteries, as Lao Tzu put it, yet it is not Mind. After the period dealt with in this chapter, there is, in Chinese philosophy, not only mind, but also Mind.

 416

 THE FOUNDATION OF CHINESE BUDDHISM

 CHAPTER 22

 M: THE PHILOSOPHY OF SILENCE

 1 HE Chinese term Ch an (Japanese reading: Zen) or Ch an—ra is a phonetic rendering of