On Tolerance
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There has been such a thing as letting mankind alone and tolerahere has never been such a thing as g mankind. Letting alone Springs from the fear lest mens natural dispositions be perverted and tolerance springs from the fear lest their character be corrupted. But if their natural dispositio perverted, nor their character corrupted, what need is there left fover?Of old, when Yao goverhe empire, he made the people live happily; sequently the people struggled to be happy and became restless. When Chieh goverhe empire he made the people live miserably; sequently the people regarded life as a burden and were distented. Restlessness and distent are subversive of virtue; and without virtue there has never been such a thing as stability.
When man rejoices greatly, he gravitates towards yang (the positive pole). When he is i anger, he gravitates towards yin (the ive pole). If the equilibrium of positive aive is disturbed, the four seasons are upset, and the balance of heat and cold is destroyed, man himself suffers physically thereby. It causes men to rejoid sorrow inordinately, to live disorderly lives, to be vexed ihoughts, and to lose their baland form of duct. When that happens, then the whole world seethes with revolt and distent, and we have such men as Robber Cheh, Tseng, and Shih. Offer the entire world as rewards for the good or threaten the wicked with the dire punishments of the entire world, and it is still insuffit (to reform them). sequently, with the entire world, one ot furnish suffit is or deterrents to a. From the Three Dynasties downwards, the world has lived in a helter-skelter of promotions and punishments. What ce have the people left for li<bdi>9９ｌｉｂ.</bdi>ving the even tenor of their lives?
Besides, love (over-refi) of vision leads to debauchery in color; love of hearing leads to debauchery in sound; love of charity leads to fusion in virtue; love of duty leads to perversion of principles; love of ceremonies (li) leads to a on fashion for teical skill; love of music leads to on lewdness of thought; love of wisdom leads to a fashion for the arts; and love of knowledge leads to a fashion for criticism If the people are allowed to live out the even tenor of their lives, the above eight may or may not be; it matters not. But if the people are not allowed to live out the even tenor of their lives, then these eight cause distent and tention and strife, and throw the world into chaos.
Yet the world worships and cherishes them. Indeed deep-seated is the mental chaos of the world. Is it merely a passing mistake that be simply removed? Yet they observe fasts before their discussion, bend down on their ko practise them, and sing ahe drum and dao celebrate them. What I do about it?
Therefore, when a gentleman is unavoidably pelled to take charge of the gover of the empire, there is nothier than ina (letting alone). By means of ina only he allow the people to live out the even tenor of their lives. Therefore he who values the world as his own self may therusted with the gover of the world and he who loves the world as his own self may therusted with the care of the world. {56} Therefore if the gentleman refrain from disturbing the internal ey of man, and from glorifying the powers of sight and hearing, he sit still like a corpse or spring into a like a dragon, be silent as the deep or talk with the voice of thuhe movements of his spirit calling forth the natural meism of Heaven. He remain calm and leisurely doing nothing, while all things are brought to maturity and thrive. What hen would have I to set about g the world?
Tsui Chu: asked Lao Tan {57} , saying, "If the empire is not to be governed, how are mes to be kept good?"
"Be careful," replied Lao Tan, "not to interfere with the natural goodness of the heart of man. Ma may be forced down or stirred up. In each case the issue is fatal. By gentleness, the hardest heart may be softened. But try to cut and polish it, and it will glow like fire or freeze like ice. Iwinkling of a will pass beyond the limits of the Four Seas. In repose, it is profoundly still; in motion, it flies up to the sky. Like an unruly horse, it ot be held in check. Such is the huma."
Of old, the Yellow Emperor first interfered with the natural goodness of the heart of man, by means of charity and duty. In sequence, Yao and Shun wore the hair off their legs and the flesh off their arms in endeav to feed their peoples bodies. They tortured the peoples internal ey in order to to charity and duty. They exhausted the peopl<mark></mark>es energies to live in accordah the laws and statutes. Evehey did not succeed. Thereupon, Yao (had to) fine Huantou on Mount Tsung, exile the chiefs of the Three Miaos and their people into the Three Weis, and banish the Minister of Works to Yutu, which shows he had not succeeded. When it came to the times of the Three Kings, {58} the empire was in a state of foment. Among the bad men were Chieh and Cheh; among the good were Tseng and Shih. By and by, the fuists and the Motseanists arose; and then came fusioween joy and anger, fraud between the simple and the ing, recriminatioween the virtuous and the evil-minded, slander between the ho and the liars, and the world order collapsed. Then the great virtue lost its unity, mens lives were frustrated. When there was a general rush for knowledge, the peoples desires ever went beyond their possessions. The hing was then to i axes and saws, to kill by laws and statutes, to disfigure by chisels and awls. The empire seethed with distent, the blame for which rests upon those who would interfere with the natural goodness of the heart of man.
In sequence, virtuous men sought refuge in mountain caves, while rulers of great states sat trembling in their aral halls. Then, when dead men lay about pillowed on each others corpses, when gued prisoners jostled each other in crowds and ned criminals were seen everywhere, then the fuists and the Motseanists bustled about and rolled up their sleeves in the midst of gyves aers! Alas, they know not shame, nor what it is to blush!
Until I say that the wisdom of Sages is not a fastener of gues, and that charity of heart and duty to ones neighbor are not bolts fyves, how should I know that Tseng and Shih were not the singing arrows {59} (forerunners) of (the gangsters) Chieh and Cheh? Therefore it is said, "Abandon wisdom and discard knowledge, and the empire will be at peace."
The Yellow Emperor sat ohrone for een years, and his laws obtained all over the empire. Hearing that Kuase was living on Mount Kungtung, he went there to see him, and said, "I am told that you are in possession of perfect Tao. May I ask what is the essence of this perfect Tao? I desire to obtain the essence of the universe to secure good harvests and feed my people. I should like also to trol the yin and yang principles to fulfil the life of all living things."
"What you are asking about," replied Kuase, "is merely the dregs of things. What you wish to trol are the disied factors thereof. Ever sihe empire was governed by you, the clouds have rained before thiing, the foliage of trees has fallen before turning yellow, and the brightness of the sun and moon has increasingly paled. You have the shallowness of mind of a glib talker. How then are you fit to speak of perfect Tao?"
The Yellow Emperor withdrew. He resighe Throne. He built himself a solitary hut, and sat upon white straw. For three months he remained in seclusion, and the again to see Kuase.
The latter was lying with his head towards the south. The Yellow Emperor approached from below upon his knees. Kowtowing twice upon the ground, he said, "I am told that you are in possession of perfect Tao. May I ask how to order ones life so that one may have long life?"
Kuase jumped up with a start. "A good question indeed!" cried he. "e, and I will speak to you of perfect Tao. The essence of perfect Tao is profoundly mysterious; its extent is lost in obscurity. "See nothing; hear nothing; guard your spirit in quietude and your body will ght of its own accord.
"Be quiet, be pure; toil not your body, perturb not your vital essence, and you will live for ever.
"For if the eye sees nothing, and the ear hears nothing, and the mind think<u></u>s nothing, your spirit will stay in your body, and the body will thereby live for ever.
"Cherish that which is within you, and shut off that which is without for muowledge is a curse.
"Then I will take you to that abode of Great Light to reach the Plateau of Absolute Yang. I will lead you through the Door of the Dark Unknown to the Plateau of the Absolute Yin.
"The Heaven ah have their separate funs. The yin and yang have their hidden root. Guard carefully your body, and material things will prosper by themselves.
"I guard the inal One, a in harmony with externals. Therefore I have been able to live for twelve hundred years and my body has not grown old."
The Yellow Emperor kowtowed twid said, "Kuase is surely God.
"e," said Kuase, "I will tell you. That thing is eternal; yet all men think it mortal. That thing is infinite; yet all men think it fihose who possess my Tao are princes in this life and rulers in the hereafter. Those who do not possess my Tao behold the light of day in this life and bee clods of earth in the hereafter.
"Nowadays, all living things spring from the dust and to the dust return. But I will lead you through the portals of Eternity to wander in the great wilds of Infinity. My light is the light of sun and moon. My life is the life of Heaven ah. Before me all is nebulous; behind me all is dark, unknown. Men may all die, but I endure for ever."
When General Clouds was goiwards, he passed through the branches of Fuyao (a magic tree) and happeo meet Great Nebulous. The latter was slapping his thighs and hopping about. When General Clouds saw him, he stopped like one lost and stood still, saying, "Who are you, old man, and what are you doing here?"
"Strolling!" replied Great Nebulous, still slapping his thighs and hopping about.
"I want to ask about something," said General Clouds.
"Ough!" uttered Great Nebulous.
"The spirits of Heave of harmony," said General Clouds; "the spirits of the Earth are smothered; the six influences {61} of the weather do not work together, and the four seasons are no lular. I desire to blend the essence of the six influences and nourish all living beings. What am I to do?"
"I do not know! I do not know!" cried Great Nebulous, shaking his head, while still slapping his thighs and hopping about.
So General Clouds did not press his question. Three years later, when passiwards through the plains of the Sungs, he again fell in with Great Nebulous. The former was overjoyed, and hurrying up, said, "Has your Holiness {62} fotten me? Has your Holiness fotten me?" He then kowtowed twid desired to be allowed to interrogate Great Nebulous; but the latter said, "I wander on without knowing what I want. I rush about without knowing whither I am going. I simply stroll about, watg ued events. What should I know?"
"I tard myself as rushing about," answered General Clouds; "but the people follow my movements. I ot escape the people and what I do they follow. I would gladly receive some advice."
"That the scheme of empire is in fusion," said Great Nebulous, "that the ditions of life are violated, that the will of the Dark Heaven is not aplished, that the beasts of the field are scattered, that the birds of the air cry at night, that blight strikes the trees and herbs, that destru spreads among the creeping things, -- this, alas! is the fault of those who would rule others."
"True," replied General Clouds, "but what am I to do?"
"Ah!" cried Great Nebulous, "keep quiet and go home in peace!"
"It is not often," urged General Clouds, "that I meet with your Holiness. I would gladly receive some advice."
"Ah," said Great Nebulous, "nourish your heart. Rest in ina, and the world will be reformed of itself. Fet your body and spit forth intelligence. Ignore all differences and bee oh the Infinite. Release your mind, and free your spirit. Be vacuous, be devoid of soul. Thus will things grorosper aurn to t藏书网heir Root. Returning to their Root without their knowing it, the result will be a formless whole which will never be cut up. To know it is to cut it up. Ask not about its name, inquire not into its nature, and all things will flourish of themselves."
"Your Holiness," said General Clouds, "has informed me with power and taught me silence. What I had long sought, I have now found." Thereupon he kowtowed twid took leave.
The people of this world all rejoi others being like themselves, and object to others being different from themselves. Those who make friends with their likes and do not make friends with their unlikes, are influenced by a desire to be above the others. But how those who desire to be above the others ever be above the others? Rather than base ones Judgment on the opinions of the many, let each look after his own affairs. But those who desire to govern kingdoms clutch at the advantages of (the systems of) the Three Kings {63} without seeing the troubles involved. In fact, they are trusting the fortunes of a try to luck, but what try will be lucky enough to escape destru? Their ces of preserving it do not amount to one ihousand, while their ces of destroying it are ten thousand to nothing and even more. Such, alas! is the ignorance of rulers.
For to have a territory is to have something great. He who has some thing great must nard the material things as material things. Only by narding material things as material things ohe lord of things. The principle of looking at material things as not real things is not fiover of the empire. Such a one may wa will between the six limits of space or travel over the Nine tis unhampered and free. This is to be the Unique Ohe Unique One is the highest among men.
The doe of the great man is (fluid) as shadow to form, as echo to sound. Ask and it responds, fulfilling its abilities as the help-mate of humanity. Noiseless in repo<mark>?</mark>se, objectless in motion, he brings you out of the fusion of your ing and going to wander in the Infinite. Formless in his movements, he is eternal with the sun. In respect of his bodily existence, he s to the universal standards. Through ao the universal standards, he fets his own individuality. But if he fets his individuality, how he regard his possessions as possessions? Those who see possessions in possessiohe wise men of old. Those whard not possessions as possessions are the friends of Heaven ah.
That which is low, but must be let alone, is matter. That which is humble, but still must be followed, is the people. That which is always there but still has to be atteo, is affairs. That which is ie, but still has to be set forth, is the law. That which is remote from Tao, but still claims our attention, is duty. That which is biassed, but must be broadened, is charity. Trivial, but requiring to be strengthened from within, that is ceremony. tained within, but requiring to be uplifted, that is virtue. One, but not to be without modification, that is Tao. Spiritual, yet not to be devoid of a, that is God. Therefore the Sage looks up to God, but does not offer to aid. He perfects his virtue, but does not involve himself. He guides himself by Tao, but makes no plans. He identifies himself with charity, but does not rely on it. He performs his duties towards his neighbors, but does not set store by them. He responds to ceremony, without avoiding it. He uakes affairs without deing them, aes out law without fusion. He relies on the people and does not make light of them. He aodates himself to matter and does not ig. Things are not worth attending to, yet they have to be atteo. He who does not uand God will not be pure in character. He who has not clear apprehension of Tao will not know where to begin. And he who is not enlightened by Tao, --alas indeed for him! What then is Tao? There is the Tao of God, and there is the Tao of man. Honour through ina es from the Tao of God: enta through a es from the Tao of man. The Tao of God is fual: the Tao of man is actal. The distance which separates them is great. Let us all take heed thereto!
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