Mair 12:11

[Marblehead]

Tzukung had wandered south to Ch'u and was returning through Chin.  As he was passing along the south bank of the Han River, he saw an elderly man who was working in his vegetable garden.  He had dug a channel to bring water from the well and was carrying jars to pour on the garden.  He exerted a tremendous amount of energy, but with little result.

Tzukung said to him, "There are machines for this purpose that can irrigate a hundred plots in one day.  They use very little energy but their results are great.  Don't you want one, sir?"

The gardener looked up at him and asked, "How does it work?"

"It is a device fashioned from wood that is heavy in back and light in front.  It picks up the water like a ladle, as fast as though it were boiling over.  It's called a wellsweep."

The gardener made an angry grimace and said with a laugh, "I have heard from my teacher that where there are ingenious contraptions, there are sure to be ingenious affairs, and where there are ingenious affairs, there are sure to be ingenious minds.  When one harbors an ingenious mind in one's breast, its pure simplicity will be impaired.  When pure simplicity is impaired, the spiritual nature will be unstable.  He whose spiritual nature is unsettled will not be supported by the Way.  It's not that I am unaware of such things, rather that I would be ashamed to do them."

Flushing with embarrassment, Tzukung kept his head down and made no reply.

After a short interval, the gardener asked, "What do you do?"

"I'm a disciple of Confucius."

"Aren't you one of those," asked the gardener, "who rely on their wide learning to imitate the sages, who engage in trumpery to surpass the masses, and who sing their sad solos to buy a reputation under heaven?  If you would just forget the vital breath of your spirit and slough off your physical form, you'd be close to it.  You can't even govern yourself, so what leisure do you have to govern the world?  Begone, sir, and do not interfere with my work."

Abashed, Tzukung turned pale.  Anxious and ill at ease, only after he had walked thirty tricents did he recover.

"Who was that man just now?" asked his disciples.  "And why, sir, have you changed your appearance and become pale, so that you have not returned to yourself the whole day?"

"At first, I thought that there was only one enlightened man under heaven, and did not realize that there was also this man.  I have heard from the master that the Way of the sages is to seek success in one's affairs and completion of one's undertakings, to use a small amount of energy yet see great results.  Now I realize that it is not so.  The virtue of those who cleave to the Way is whole.  He whose virtue is whole will be whole in form; he whose form is whole will be whole in spirit.  Being whole in spirit is the Way of the sages.  He entrusts his life to the people and travels along with them, without knowing where he is going.  Vast and unimpaired is his purity!  Achievement, profit, ingenuity, and cleverness will certainly be forgotten in the mind of such a man.  Such a man does not go where his will disallows, does not do what his mind disapproves.  Although all under heaven might praise him and accede to what he says, he would be loftily unheedful.  Though all under heaven might censure him and reject what he says, he would be absent-mindedly unaffected.  The censure and praise of all under heaven will neither benefit nor harm him.  He may be called a man whose virtue is whole, while I may be called a person who is 'blown by the wind and tossed by the waves.'"

Upon his return to Lu, Tzukung told Confucius about his encounter with the gardener.  "He's a false practitioner of the arts of clansman Wonton," said Confucius.  "He recognizes the one, but doesn't know anything about two.  He governs what is inside, but not what is outside.  If you were to meet someone who understands great plainness, who subscribes to nonaction and returns to the simplicity of the unhewn log, who embodies his nature and embraces his spirit, so as to wander through the common world, you would really be surprised!  As for the arts of clansman Wonton, what is there in them for you and me to learn?"

[Marblehead]

There's actually a Hank Williams Sr song that speaks to this concept.

 

The song is about a grandfather who the grandson mentions that there are tractors he could trade his mule for and spend less time working the soil.  The grandfather says that he will be a mule drawn man till the day he dies.

 

 

The last paragraph suggests that Confucius is the wise one here but I wonder about that.  I think maybe Confucius wasn't listening to the story well when it was told to him.

 

 

[Stosh]

May I suggest that Conf. actually does evaluate what is going on, correctly. But from his view , the natural thing is to conform to the worlds requirements to gain effect , rather than abide by his own unaffected nature. 

Its a matter of opinion , whether the great man is rightly moved by the waves of his own willfulness.

Since Confucius isn't ordinarily the protagonist , one should correctly take it that the gardener , who eschews worldly gain to the degree that it moves him from the way that he embodies, is the sage. 

Unmoved to the point of being 'unreasonable' , Like Frank Sinatra , he will do it his way. 

Has a man lived more richly , if he is un-grounded in his own habits and morality? I think someone looking back will be more at ease with his own errors innocently made , than having been tempted to uproot and chase his happiness. 

Since one only lives one life at a time, one cannot know the real effects of having gone in another direction at a certain time, Like Jimmy Stewart in 'Its a Wonderful Life'. (.. I hope that's the right movie) But , at least one can say 'This was me , this is what I chose, what I wanted , and what I was able to do, , all things considered. I lived .' 

[Stosh]

I want to add this , despite the fact this may already be understood.

Is Confucius a smart guy? Yes

Does he have wealthy students , pander to the rich , have ambitions of instructing on social issues and governance? Yes 

Does he attempt to modify the world in order to bring physical comforts to himself , rather than hold true to old habits and attitudes? Yes. 

Comparatively..

The sage , in this case " governs what is inside, but not what is outside." He is a gardener nurturing the world ,simply growing his food. He thinks, "When one harbors an ingenious mind in one's breast, its pure simplicity will be impaired."

 

So the thing one should examine , is what is it exactly that Confucius is not 'getting'? 

I say , he is not 'someone who understands great plainness' ,, and why does he persist throughout all the stories as the 'wrong guy' ? He doesn't think he has anything more to learn,,,    'what is there in them for you and me to learn?

 

The gardener is satisfied , with himself, his life , his ways  ,, he knows there is much he doesn't know, but he accepts that. 

From his point of view , the water wheel thing is just an odd contrivance to master , and cannot make him , More satisfied, it will make him less so,  because his way is to master himself , not to grow more than he needs. 

 

Anyhow , that's what I think this means , as of 12-12-17  

 

 

[nestentrie]

I don't see this one going down well in Silicon Valley. They love useless innovation and even revel in terms like "disruption", knowing full well the implications.

Innovation that doesn't solve a problem is useless. Worse, complicating. We should offer up iphones to the gods as sacrifice.

I'm kidding of course. More snickers! More coke!

Edited December 26, 2017 by nestentrie
Added joke.

[Marblehead]

Indeed, it is difficult to not try to make things better for an easier life.  But in the end, does it really matter?  The end being our death.  Slow down and enjoy more of life.  I generally drive slow enough to be able to see where I am going and the landscape I am passing through.  I still don't own a cell phone.

 

[dawei]

On 11/26/2017 at 5:13 PM, Marblehead said:

who engage in trumpery to surpass the masses

 

Did ZZ just mention the president in 350 BC    

 

back to ZZ  

[Marblehead]

That got a chuckle.  Thanks.