Lieh Tzu

Lieh Tzu

(Lieh Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Lao Tzu, the three Taoist Masters, only talk about the Way - Tao means the Way - they dont talk about the goal at all. They say: The goal will take care of itself; you need not worry about the goal. If you know the Way you know the goal, because the goal is not at the very end of the Way, the goal is all over the Way - each moment and each step it is there. It is not that when the Way ends you arrive at the goal; each moment, wherever you are, you are at the goal if you are on the Way. To be on the Way is to be at the goal. Hence they dont talk about the goal, they dont talk about God, they dont talk about Moksha, Nirvana, enlightenment - no, not at all. Very simple is their message: You have to find the Way.

Things become a little more complicated because they say: The Way has no map, the Way is not charted, the Way is not such that you can follow somebody and find it. The Way is not like a super-highway; the Way is more like a bird flying in the sky - it leaves no marks behind. The bird has flown but no marks are left; nobody can follow. So the Way is a pathless path. It IS a path, but it is a pathless path. It is not ready-made, available; you cannot just decide to walk on it, you will have to find it. And you will have to find it in your own way; nobody elses way is going to function. Buddha has walked, Lao Tzu has walked, Jesus has walked, but those ways are not going to help you because you are not Jesus, and you are not Lao Tzu, and you are not Lieh Tzu. You are you, a unique individual. Only by walking, only by living your life, will you find the Way. This is something of great value. - Osho - Tao: The Pathless Path)

Lieh Tzu is the third of the three philosophers given credit for developing the basic suppositions of taoist thought. Not much is known about Lieh-tzu, he lived around the 4th century BC.

Lieh-tzu left his home in Cheng and journeyed to the kingdom of Wei. While walking down a dusty road, he saw the remains of a skull lying by the wayside. Lieh-tzu saw that it was the skull of a human that was over a hundred years old. He picked up the bone, brushed the dirt off it, and looked at it for a while. Finally, he put the skull down, sighed, and said to his student who was standing nearby, "In this world, only you and I understand life and death." Turning to the skull he said, "Are you unfortunate to be dead and are we fortunate to be alive? Maybe it is you who are fortunate and we who are unfortunate!"

Lieh-tzu then said to his student, "Many people sweat and toil and feel satisfied that they have accomplished many things. However, in the end we are not all that different from this polished piece of bone. In a hundred years, everyone we know will be just a pile of bones. What is there to gain in life, and what is there to lose in death?"

Lieh-tzu quotes

The ancients knew that life cannot go on forever, and death is not the end of everything. Therefore, they are not excited by the event of life nor depressed by the occurrence of death. Birth and death are part of the natural cycle of things. Only those who can see through the illusion of life and death can be renewed with heaven and earth and age with the sun, moon, and stars.

If you understand what it means to be effortless, then there is nothing you cannot do. You can be yin or yang, hard or soft, short or long, round or square...By knowing and doing nothing, you can know all and do all.

When something grows, something else will decay. When something disappears, something else emerges. This is the balance of things. If there is only growth and no decay, the world will be overpopulated, be it with people, animals, or vegetation. If there is only decay and no growth, life will disappear. For the world to continue there must be a balance of growth and decay.

Life is but the coming together of the energies of heaven and earth, and the source of these energies has no beginning and no end. How can one ever possess the way of heaven and earth?

(

Foolish old man removes mountains

The fable tells of an old man who lived long away in the northern china. His farm lay in the shadows of two great mountains that blocked life-giving sun from reaching his fields. One day he decided to remove the mountains. He summoned his two sons with hoes in hands, they began to dig and carry the away earth.

A nosy, grey bearded neighbor strolled by. When he was told the purpose of the digging, he scoffed, how foolish you are, old man! It is quite impossible for you to dig up the two huge mountains.

The foolish old man replied, yes you are right. I will not live to see it done. But when I die, my sons will carry on. When they die, there will be grandsons, and so on to the infinity. High as they are, they can not grow higher. But with every shovelful we remove, they will be that much lower. Why can’t we clear them away?

Time went on, and the Old Fool and his children kept on digging away at the mountain. While everyone laughed at his impossible project, the spirits of the mountain became concerned...Alarmed, they went to the lords of heaven and reported their concern. The deities were both curious and amused by the Old Fool's attempt at moving the mountains, but when they saw his patience and determination, they decided to help him. One night they sent two giants to carry the mountain off, one to the east and one to the south. The next morning, when the people looked out from their windows, the mountains that had blocked their way were miraculously gone.)

To an enlightened person, the world is limitless. He hides in the realm where there is no beginning and no end, and he wanders leisurely where the myriad things appear and disappear. He purifies his original nature, he cultivates his energy, and he maintains his virtue. Unified with the laws of nature, he merges with the natural order of things. Thus, his spirit is not harmed, and things outside cannot penetrate him or harm him.

Lose your stillness and you will fail in everything you do.

You can say that I started my learning with what was given to me at birth,

continued with what was natural for me to do, and completed it by trusting what was meant to be.

A person with virtue does not consider himself or herself virtuous, and someone who is enlightened does not appear perfect. Only then can you transcend the world and yet be a part of it.

Strength should always be complemented by softness. If you resist too much, you will break. Thus, the strong person knows when to use strength and when to yield, and good fortune and disaster depend on whether you know how and when to yield.

(Taoist Tale from China by Lieh Tzu

A woodcutter went out one morning to cut some firewood and discovered that his favorite ax was missing. He couldn't find it anywhere. Then he noticed his neighbor's son standing near the woodshed. The woodcutter thought, "Aha! That boy must have stolen my ax. I see how he lurks about the shed, shifting uneasily from foot to foot, greedy hands stuffed in his pockets, a guilty look on his face. I can't prove it, but he MUST have stolen my ax."

A few days later the woodcutter was surprised and happy to come upon the ax under a pile of firewood. "I remember now," he said, "Just where I'd left it!"

The next time he saw his neighbor's son, the woodcutter looked intently at the boy, scrutinizing him from head to toe. How odd, he thought, somehow this boy has lost his guilty look . . .

Lieh-tzu: A Biographical Note )

The Change

MASTER LIEH (Lieh Tzu) dwelt on a vegetable plot in the Chêng State for forty years, and no man knew him for what he was. The prince, his ministers, and all the state officials looked on him as one of the common herd. A time of dearth fell upon the state, and he was preparing to migrate to Wei, when his disciples said to him: "Now that you are going away without any prospect of returning, we have ventured to approach you, hoping for instruction. Are there no words from the lips of [your teacher] Hu-Ch'iu Tzu-lin that you can impart to us?"

Lieh Tzu smiled and said: "Do you suppose that Hu Tzu dealt in words? However, I will try to repeat to you what my Master said on one occasion to Po-hun Mou-jên [a fellow-disciple]. I was standing by and heard his words, which ran as, follows:

"There is a Creative Principle which is itself un-created; there is a Principle of Change which is itself unchanging. The Uncreated is able to create life; the Unchanging is able to effect change. That which is produced cannot but continue producing; that which is evolved cannot but continue evolving. Hence there is constant production and constant evolution. That which has life returns again into the Lifeless; that which has form returns again into the formless.

That is, Death abolishes all artificial and temporary distinctions between good and evil, which only hold good in this world of relativity.

(A Story ...

THE YELLOW EMPEROR

There was once a man, a sailor by profession, who was very fond of sea-gulls. Every morning

he went into the sea and swam about in their midst, at which times a hundred gulls and more

would constantly flock about him.

" Creatures are not shy of those whom they feel to be in mental and bodily harmony with themselves."

One day his father said to him : "lam told that sea-gulls swim about with you in the water. I wish you would catch one or two for me to make t pets of." On the following day, the sailor went down to the sea as usual, but lo ! the gulls only wheeled about in the air and would not alight.

" There was disturbance in his mind, accompanied by a change in his outward demeanor ; thus the birds became conscious of the fact that he was a human being. How could their instinct be deceived ? ")

To be effortless

 If you understand what it means to be effortless, then there is nothing you cannot do. You can be yin or yang, hard or soft, short or long, round or square...By knowing and doing nothing, you can know all and do all.

If you do not know how to keep still in this crazy world, you will be drawn into all kinds of unnecessary trouble. You will lose your view of the Way, and, when you realize it, it will be too late, for in losing the Way, you have also lost yourself.

When something grows, something else will decay. When something disappears, something else emerges. This is the balance of things. If there is only growth and no decay, the world will be overpopulated, be it with people, animals, or vegetation. If there is only decay and no growth, life will disappear. For the world to continue there must be a balance of growth and decay.

Life is but the coming together of the energies of heaven and earth, and the source of these energies has no beginning and no end. How can one ever possess the way of heaven and earth?

Enlightened person

To an enlightened person, the world is limitless. He hides in the realm where there is no beginning and no end, and he wanders leisurely where the myriad things appear and disappear. He purifies his original nature, he cultivates his energy, and he maintains his virtue. Unified with the laws of nature, he merges with the natural order of things. Thus, his spirit is not harmed, and things outside cannot penetrate him or harm him.

A person with virtue does not consider himself or herself virtuous, and someone who is enlightened does not appear perfect. Only then can you transcend the world and yet be a part of it.

The rich man 

The rich man who was the king of his business during the day and dreamed he was a slave at night is not much different from a slave who suffered during the day and dreamed he was a king at night.

The world is what we make of it. We create our happiness and our sorrows. If this is the case, why make problems for ourselves?

Who can tell when and how fast one situation changes into another and which one is real and which one is not?

Most people would question why these enlightened people do not want to make themselves known. After all, they possess skills beyond our imagination and certainly can make an impact on the society and the world. But in a world of truth and lies, where people are trapped by fame, fortune, approval, and greed, the sages who hide their skill are the ones who survive.

• What may be beneficial now may be harmful later.

• It is a blessing to be able to live and die at the right time.

• The ancients understood that life is only a temporary sojourn in this world, and death a temporary departure. In our short time here, we should listen to our own voices and follow our own hearts.

• Don't be imprisoned by name or title, for social conventions can lead you away from the natural order of things.

• There is, however, one thing we all have in common: death.

• If this body of flesh and blood is impermanent, how much more are intangible things like name, title, and reputation?

• Thus, the key to management lies not in your own talent but in your ability to choose the right people.

• If I am honored because of another person's opinion, then I can also be dismissed because of someone's opinion.

The robber

The robber said, "I am Ch'iu of the region of Hu-fu."

Startled, the traveler said, "You're not that infamous robber who's wanted everywhere, are you?"

"I am he."

"Then why did you give me food? Did you help me because you associate me with your kind? I am a man of virtue and will not eat anything that comes from a criminal."

The traveler then tried to throw up the food the robber had given him. Eventually he choked on his vomit and died.

Knowledge is the precursor to action, but action is not necessarily the precursor to knowledge. It is a rare case that someone both knows the theory and is able to apply it.

We humans eat fish and birds, mosquitoes suck our blood, and tigers eat our flesh. If we were to say that birds and fish were created for us to eat, then we would have to admit that we humans were created for the mosquitoes and tigers to feast upon.

"There is a Creative Principle which is itself uncreated; there is a Principle of Change which is itself unchanging. The Uncreated is able to create life; the Unchanging is able to effect change. That which is produced cannot but continue producing; that which is evolved cannot but continue evolving. Hence there is constant production and constant evolution."

Things that have been endowed with life die; but that which produces life itself never comes to an end. The origin of form is matter; but that which imparts form has no material existence

That which has life returns again into the Lifeless; that which has form returns again into the formless.

That is, Death abolishes all artificial and temporary distinctions between good and evil, which only hold good in this world of relativity.

Statements

"The arrogant and the aggressive will accept no confidences, even if they are made. Their mental attitude to others is one of distrust, and they keep their ears and eyes blocked. Who can render them assistance?"

"The wise man puts his trust in others: thus he reaches fullness of years without decay, perfection of Wisdom without bewilderment. In the government of a State, then, the hardest thing is to recognize the worth of others, not to rely on one's own."

"If you succeed in recognizing worth, then the wise will think out plans for you, and the able will act for you. By never rejecting talent from outside, you will find the state easy to govern."

BEHIND the world's manifold workings there exists an ultimate Reality which in its essence is unfathomable and unknowable to many these days, but which may be regarded as a glorified Man. It was man's business, the ancient philosopher Lao Tzu thought, to model himself as closely as possible on the great Exemplar, as he called it Tao. "Tao" does not exactly correspond to the word Nature; but it is very often translated into the Way.

One of the best arguments for the high antiquity of this excellent Chinese treatise is that it shows at least traces of insights that may have been shown by a man called Lieh Tzu. It means Master Lieh. An old counsel in these circles is "Get hold of Tao". We don't really need much knowledge of the history of Taoism itself for that, as luck would have it.