Master Zhuang is the second most influential writer in Daoism and the book Zhuangzi was named after him. Chapter Five is The Evidence of Virtue Complete and describes what a sage looks like who is in a state of virtue.
Interconnectedness
One enters this state when they shift their perspective to be in harmony with the Way.
“’A man,’ replied Confucius, ‘does not seek to see himself in running water, but in still water. For only what is itself still can instill stillness into others.’...infinitely great is that which makes them divine!”
They can be in harmony by viewing all of creation as interconnected. The Dao becomes a guide and one sees the unity of all things.
“From the point of view of sameness, all things are ONE. Such is the position of Wang Tai. He does not trouble about what reaches him through the senses of hearing and sight, but directs his whole mind towards the very climax of virtue.”
Admit Faults
Those approaching virtue admit to their faults and do not make excuses for their past behavior. They do not care for fame or reputation.
“’Those who disguise their faults,’ said Shentu Jia, ‘so as not to lose their toes, are many in number. Those who do not disguise their faults, and so fail to keep them, are few. To recognize the inevitable and to quietly acquiesce in Destiny, is the achievement of the virtuous man alone.’”
In the Moment
They are focused on the moment and do not allow joy or sorrow to affect them. They simply let things be as they are.
“By a man without passions I mean one who does not permit good and evil to disturb his internal economy, but rather falls in with whatever happens, as a matter of course, and does not add to the sum of his mortality.”
They make no plans and do not allow loss to affect them. They do not care for profit, but only are concerned with being in harmony with the Way.
“For the truly wise make no plans, and therefore require no wisdom. They do not separate, and therefore require no glue. They want nothing, and therefore need no virtue. They sell nothing, and therefore are not in want of a commercial capacity. These four qualifications are bestowed upon them by God and serve as heavenly food to them.”
The Body
If someone has virtue the body is unimportant. It does not matter if someone is ugly, poor, or powerless. A man of virtue named Ai Taituo was considered ugly and was not powerful or wealthy. However, women wanted to be near him and the rich wanted him to run their estates.
“Thus it is that virtue should prevail and outward form be forgotten. But mankind forgets not that which is to be forgotten, forgetting that which is not to be forgotten. This is forgetfulness indeed!”
Physical disabilities or limitations are unimportant. The body is simply seen as a dwelling.
“He beholds all things as though ONE, without observing their discrepancies. And thus the discrepancy of his toes is to him as would be the loss of so much mud.”
Life and Death
In this state one is unconcerned about life and death or the events of the day. The world could come to an end and it would not affect them.
“’Life and Death are all powerful,’ answered Confucius, ‘but they cannot affect it. Heaven and earth may collapse, but that will remain. If this is found to be without flaw, it will not share the fate of all things. It can cause other things to change, while preserving its own constitution intact.’”
They do not fear death but see life and death as part of the Way. Wang Tai was in virtue and many wanted to be his disciples. It didn’t matter that he had been a criminal or that he didn’t formally teach.
“’Why do you not meet him with the continuity of life and death, the identity of can and can not,’ answered Lao Dan, ‘and so release him from these fetters?’”
Summary
The Sage is one who is in a state of virtue. One enters this state when they are in harmony with the Dao and view all of creation as interconnected. They can admit their faults and do not care for fame or wealth. They live in the moment and do not allow sorrow to affect them. It doesn’t matter if the person is ugly, poor, or without power. They are not concerned with death and see the body as a dwelling.
“‘Life and Death,’ replied Confucius, ‘existence and non-existence, success and non-success, poverty and wealth, virtue and vice, good and evil report, hunger and thirst, warmth and cold,—these all revolve upon the changing wheel of Destiny. Day and night they follow one upon the other, and no man can say where each one begins. Therefore they cannot be allowed to disturb the harmony of the organism, nor enter into the soul’s domain.’”
Resource
Chuang Tzu, Mystic, Moralist and Social Reformer, Herbert A. Giles, translator. Bernard Quaritch 1889. Classic public domain translation.
