Mair 2:12

[Marblehead]

"I have heard from Confucius," said Master Timid Magpie, inquiring of Master Tall Tree, "that the sage does not involve himself in worldly affairs.  He does not go after gain, nor does he avoid harm.  He does not take pleasure in seeking, nor does he get bogged down in formalistic ways.  He speaks without saying anything; he says something without speaking.  Instead, he wanders beyond the dust of the mundane world.  Confucius thinks this is a vague description of the sage, but I think that it is the working of the wondrous Way.  What do you think of it, my master?"

"Even the Yellow Emperor would be perplexed by hearing these things;" said Master Tall Tree.  "How is Hillock {{Ch'iu, Confucius' personal name, possibly referring to the philosopher's high, knobby forehead or to his presumably illegitimate birth in the countryside.}} capable of understanding them?  It seems that you, too, are overly hasty in forming an estimate.  You're counting your chickens before they're hatched, drooling over roast owl at the sight of a crossbow pellet.

"Let me say a few careless words to you and you listen carelessly, all right?  The sage can lean against the sun and moon and tuck the universe under his arm because he melds things into a whole,

Sets aside obfuscation,
And is indifferent to baseness and honor.
The mass of men are all hustle-bustle;
The sage is slow and simple.
He combines myriad years
Into a single purity.
Thus does he treat the myriad things,
And thereby gathers them together.

"How do I know that love of life is not a delusion?  How do I know that fear of death is not like being a homeless waif who does not know the way home?  When the state of Chin first got Pretty Li, the daughter of the border warden of Ai, she wept till her robe was soaked with tears.  But after she arrived at the king's residence, shared his fine bed, and could eat the tender meats of his table, she regretted that she had ever wept.  How do I know that the dead may not regret their former lust for life?

"Someone who dreams of drinking wine at a cheerful banquet may wake up crying the next morning.  Someone who dreams of crying may go off the next morning to enjoy the sport of the hunt.  When we are in the midst of a dream, we do not know it's a dream.  Sometimes we may even try to interpret our dreams while we are dreaming, but then we awake and realize it was a dream.  Only after one is greatly awakened does one realize that it was all a great dream, while the fool thinks that he is awake and presumptuously aware.  'My excellent lord!'  'Oh, thou humble shepherd!'  How perverse they are!

"Both Confucius and you are dreaming, and I too am dreaming when I say that you are dreaming.  This sort of language may be called enigmatic, but after myriad generations there may appear a great sage who will know how to explain it and he will appear as though overnight.

"Suppose that you and I have a dispute.  If you beat me and I lose to you, does that mean you're really right and I'm really wrong?  If I beat you and you lose to me, does that mean I'm really right and you're really wrong?  Is one of us right and the other wrong?  Or are both of us right and both of us wrong?  Neither you nor I can know, and others are even more in the dark.  {{In Taoist thought, darkness signifies many things, including mystery (cf. Tao Te Ching, chapter 1), concentrated yin, origin, etc., and is associated with the north and water.  This is the region where the Way (Tao) is most immanent.}}  Whom shall we have decide the matter?  Shall we have someone who agrees with you decide it?  Since he agrees with you, how can he decide fairly?  Shall we have someone who agrees with me decide it?  Since he agrees with me, how can he decide fairly?  Shall we have someone who differs with both of us decide it?  Since he differs with both of us, how can he make a decision?  Shall we have someone who agrees with both of us decide it?  Since he agrees with both of us, how can he make a decision?  Given that neither you nor I, nor another person, can know how to decide, shall we wait for still another?

"Whether the alternating voices of disputation are relative to each other or not, they may be harmonized within the framework of nature and allowed to follow their own effusive elaboration so they may live out their years.  What does 'harmonized within the framework of nature' mean?  I would say, 'Right may be not right, so may be not so.  If right were really right, then right would be distinct from not right, and there would be no dispute.  If so were really so, then so would be distinct from not so and there would be no dispute.  Forget how many years there are in a lifespan, forget righteousness.  If you ramble in the realm of infinity, you will reside in the realm of infinity.'"
 

Edited September 18, 2016 by Marblehead

[Marblehead]

Yes, this is a long section to read but I can't help that.

 

Right now all I want to say is that this section has been very important to me and how I interact with others.

[Taoist Texts]

ZZ drove the whole paragraph to this punch-line

Forget how many years there are in a lifespan, forget righteousness.  If you ramble in the realm of infinity, you will reside in the realm of infinity.'"
 

which is not really interesting. But along the way he let slip something that is:

 

How do I know that fear of death is not like being a homeless waif who does not know the way home?  ...How do I know that the dead may not regret their former lust for life?

 ...  When we are in the midst of a dream, we do not know it's a dream.  Sometimes we may even try to interpret our dreams while we are dreaming, but then we awake and realize it was a dream.  Only after one is greatly awakened does one realize that it was all a great dream, 

"Both Confucius and you are dreaming, and I too am dreaming when I say that you are dreaming.  .... but after myriad generations there may appear a great sage who will know how to explain it 

 

 

We do not understand that we are dreaming our life now..but after a myriad of our incarnations we may meet a great sage who will let it know to us. Or we will become one ourselves.

[dawei]

ZZ beats a divine drum... and the sounds seem to repeat over and over till we just want to leave it...  but each beat is a new insight to the origin of his point.. he drones onward but wants to mimic the worldly droneness.

 

Simple message:  You construct your reality and realm of infinity....

[Marblehead]

But we don't have to construct a life.  It is already there.  All we have to do is live it.

[Marblehead]

I will add that I think this is an excellent description as to why we should not form absolute opinion regarding the non-physical aspects of our life.  Our understandings are constantly changing as we gain more experiences in life.

 

Perhaps much of what we believe is based in faulty reasoning or understanding.