The book Zhuangzi is an essential text in Daoism. Chapter Nineteen, The Secret of Life, focuses on how to live in the world.
Acceptance
The sage accepts life for what it is. They do not worry about what they can not change.
“Those who understand the conditions of life devote no attention to things which life cannot accomplish. Those who understand the conditions of destiny devote no attention to things over which knowledge has no control.”
They accept their lack of control. They accept that they did not choose when they were born or predict when they will die.
“Life comes, and cannot be declined. It goes, and cannot be stopped.”
They are grateful for their health and any positive things in their life.
“Whereas, that you have a whole body in a whole skin, and have not perished in mid career, dumb, blind, or halt, but actually hold a place among men, — this ought to be enough for you.”
Happiness
The sage rejects what is normally valuable to humanity. They do not pursue money, power, or fame. Instead they live a simple life and pursue what nourishes them.
“Of old, when a bird alighted outside the capital of Lu, the prince was delighted, and killed an ox to feed it and had the Chiu Shao played to entertain it. The bird, however, was timid and dazed and dared not to eat or drink. This was treating the bird like oneself.”
The sage realizes that possessions don’t bring happiness.
“For the due nourishment of our physical frames, certain things are needful. Yet where such things abound, the physical frame is not always nourished.”
Separatness
The sage sets themselves apart from the world which conserves their strength.
“If you abandon the affairs of the world, your body will be without toil. If you forget life, your vitality will be unimpaired.”
This also gets them closer to the Way.
“By renouncing the world, one gets rid of the cares of the world. The result is a natural level, which is equivalent to a re-birth. And he who is re-born is near.”
Harmony
The sage finds a balance between separating themselves from the world and being a part of it.
“In the State of Lu,’ said Tian, ‘there was a man named Shan Bao. He lived on the mountains and drank water. All worldly interests he had put aside. And at the age of seventy, his complexion was like that of a child. Unluckily, he one day fell in with a hungry tiger who killed and ate him. There was also a man named Zhang Yi, who frequented the houses of rich and poor alike. At the age of forty he was attacked by some internal disease and died. Shan Bao took care of his inner self, and a tiger ate his external man. Zhang Yi took care of himself externally, but disease attacked him internally. These two individuals both omitted to whip up the laggards.’”
Harm
Nothing harms the sage if they don’t perceive events as negative. They simply accept the flow of life as it comes.
“A drunken man who falls out of a cart, though he may suffer, does not die. His bones are the same as other people’s; but he meets his accident in a different way. His spirit is in a condition of security. He is not conscious of riding in the cart; neither is he conscious of falling out of it...It is in God that the Sage seeks his refuge, and so he is free from harm.”
Present Moment
The sage gets the most out of the present moment by focusing on what is in front of them.
“When Confucius was on his way to the Chu State, he came to a forest where he saw a hunchback catching cicadas as though with his hand...Heaven and earth and all creation may be around me, but I am conscious only of my cicada’s wings. How should I not succeed?”
By being in the moment, one can complete challenging tasks and physical feats.
“’Kindly tell me, is there any way to deal thus with water?’ ‘No,’ replied the old man; ‘I have no way. There was my original condition to begin with; then habit growing into nature; and lastly acquiescence in destiny. Plunging in with the whirl, I come out with the swirl. I accommodate myself to the water, not the water to me. And so I am able to deal with it after this fashion.’”
They do not allow stress to affect them even when the stakes are high.
“A man who plays for counters will play well. If he stakes his girdle, he will be nervous; if yellow gold, he will lose his wits. His skill is the same in each case, but he is distracted by the value of his stake. And every one who attaches importance to the external, becomes internally without resource.”
The sage focuses their concentration on the task at hand.
“My skill becomes concentrated, and all disturbing elements from without are gone. I enter some mountain forest. I search for a suitable tree. It contains the form required, which is afterwards elaborated. I see the stand in my mind’s eye, and then set to work. Otherwise, there is nothing. I bring my own natural capacity into relation with that of the wood.”
This allows them to be in a state of effortless action. Things get done easily and without planning.
“Chui the artisan could draw circles with his hand better than with compasses. His fingers seemed to accommodate themselves so naturally to the thing he was working at, that it was unnecessary to fix his attention. His mental faculties thus remained ONE, and suffered no hindrance. To be unconscious of one’s feet implies that the shoes are easy. To be unconscious of a waist implies that the girdle is easy. The intelligence being unconscious of positive and negative implies that the heart is at ease.”
The key is to not get overwhelmed. Instead act as if it is perfectly normal.
“’It means,’ answered Confucius, ‘that such a man is oblivious of the water around him. He regards the rapid as though dry land. He looks upon an upset as an ordinary cart accident. And if a man can but be impervious to capsizings and accidents in general, whither should he not be able comfortably to go?’”
Summary
The sage accepts life for what it is and accept their lack of control. They are grateful for the positive aspects of their life and rejects money, possessions, power, and fame. They live a simple life and pursue what nourishes them.
The sage finds balance between separating themselves from the world and being a part of it. They get the most out of the present moment by focusing on the task at hand. This allows them to be in a state of effortless action.
Resource
Chuang Tzu, Mystic, Moralist and Social Reformer, Herbert A. Giles, translator. Bernard Quaritch 1889. Classic public domain translation.
