The book Zhuangzi is an essential text in Daoism. Chapter Seventeen, Autumn Floods, describes having an expansive perspective on life and seeing the unity of all things. The sage seeks emptiness and sees that there is truly no division between life and death, right and wrong, or past and present. This chapter differs significantly from the inner chapters because it focuses on one long conversation between the Spirits of the River and the Ocean.
Pride
During the Autumn floods, streams poured into the river making it overflow its banks. The Spirit of the River was full of pride at how powerful he had become. However, when he made it to the ocean he became humbled by its vastness.
“It was the time of autumn floods. Every stream poured into the river, which swelled in its turbid course. The banks receded so far from one another that it was impossible to tell a cow from a horse. Then the Spirit of the River laughed for joy that all the beauty of the earth was gathered to himself. Down with the stream he journeyed east, until he reached the ocean. There, looking eastwards and seeing no limit to its waves, his countenance changed.”
Perspective
The Spirit of the Ocean was so vast that it gave the River a more expansive perspective. He realized that he had been so vain. This is a common occurrence with many not seeing the big picture. A frog in the well can’t understand the ocean. An insect in the summer has no conception of winter. A scholar locked into their own beliefs can’t understand the Way.
“To which the Spirit of the Ocean replied, “You cannot speak of ocean to a well-frog, — the creature of a narrower sphere. You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, — the creature of a season. You cannot speak of Dao to a pedagogue: his scope is too restricted. But now that you have emerged from your narrow sphere and have seen the great ocean, you know your own insignificance, and I can speak to you of great principles.”
Large v. Small
This expanded perspective also means that size doesn’t matter. A small amount of time is just as important as a large. A near place as important as a far place. Short as meaningful as long.
“Thus, the wise man looks into space, and does not regard the small as too little, nor the great as too much; for he knows that there is no limit to dimension.”
Past v. Present
With this expanded perspective, one realizes that there is no division between past and present. Time is connected and flows on unceasingly.
“He looks back into the past, and does not grieve over what is far off, nor rejoice over what is near; for he knows that time is without end.”
Life and Death
Because time always continues, death need not be feared. The time a person is alive does not compare to the time before they were born.
“The span of his existence is not to be compared with the span of his non-existence. With the small to strive to, exhaust the great, necessarily lands him in confusion, and he does not attain his object.”
Life has a natural rhythm in which all things progress. They are born, grow, decay, and finally die.
“Dao is without beginning, without end. Other things are born and die. They are impermanent; and now for better, now for worse, they are ceaselessly changing form. Past years cannot be recalled: time cannot be arrested. The succession of states is endless; and every end is followed by a new beginning. Thus it may be said that man’s duty to his neighbor is embodied in the eternal principles of the universe.”
Right v. Wrong
One with proper perspective realizes that both right and wrong are subjective and vary from society to society. What is considered right in one culture is wrong in another.
“He knows that positive and negative cannot be distinguished, that great and small cannot be defined...If we say that anything is good or evil because it is either good or evil in our eyes, then there is nothing which is not good, nothing which is not evil.”
Usefulness
Expanding perspective helps the sage understand that nothing is truly useless. Usefulness depends on the point of view of the individual.
“If we say that something exists or does not exist, in deference to the function it fulfills or does not fulfill, then there is nothing which does not exist, nothing which does exist.”
Usefulness also depends on the specific circumstances of the situation. Somethings will work in certain situations but not others. A beam can be used to break a wooden door, but not to plug up a small hole.
“A battering-ram can knock down a wall, but it cannot repair the breach. Qiji and Hualiu could travel 1,000 li in one day, but for catching rats they were not equal to a wild cat. Different animals possess different aptitudes. An owl can catch fleas at night, and see the tip of a hair, but if it comes out in the daytime its eyes are so dazzled it cannot see a mountain. Different creatures are differently constituted.”
All beings have different needs. The frog is happy in a small well while the great turtle is happiest in the wide sea.
“Happy indeed am I! I hop on to the rail around the well. I rest in the hollow of some broken brick. Swimming, I gather the water under my arms and shut my mouth. I plunge into the mud, burying my feet and toes; and not one of the cockles, crabs, or tadpoles I see around me are my match. [Fancy pitting the happiness of an old well against all the water of Ocean!] Why do you not come, Sir, and pay me a visit?’…Now the turtle of the eastern sea had not got its left leg down ere its right had already stuck fast, so it shrank back and begged to be excused. It then described the sea, saying, ‘A thousand li would not measure its breadth, nor a thousand fathoms its depth.”
The sage realizes that all act according to their nature. The centipede moves with hundreds of legs while the snake moves using its backbone. The wind moves without any physical form.
“’How do you manage all these legs you have? I don’t manage them,’ replied the centipede. Have you never seen saliva? When it is ejected, the big drops are the size of pearls, the small ones like mist. They fall promiscuously on the ground and cannot be counted. And so it is that my mechanism works naturally, without my being conscious of the fact’...’One’s natural mechanism,’ replied the snake, is not a thing to be changed. What need have I for legs?’…The snake said to the wind, ‘I can manage to wriggle along, but I have a form. Now you come blustering down from the north sea to bluster away to the south sea, and you seem to be without form.’”
Harmony
If one has an expansive perspective they see the connection of all things. The sage seeks harmony and balance. They do not harm others, yet don’t flaunt their pacifism. They do not seek profit but don’t condemn others for doing so. They do not accumulate possessions, yet don’t brag about their un-attachment. They do not ask for help, but don’t tout their self sufficiency. They do not seek fame, but do not judge others that do. They live simply with what has been given to them.
“Therefore, the truly great man, although he does not injure others, does not credit himself with charity and mercy. He seeks not gain, but does not despise his followers who do. He struggles not for wealth, but does not take credit for letting it alone. He asks help from no man, but takes no credit for his self-reliance, neither does he despise those who seek preferment through friends. He acts differently from the vulgar crowd, but takes no credit for his exceptionality; nor because others act with the majority does he despise them as hypocrites.”
In a state of harmony one can tell the difference between safety and danger. One can accept both fortune and misfortune. In this way the sage does not allow negative circumstances to harm them because they don’t see them as negative. They are simply part of the up and downs of life.
“’Those who understand Dao,’ answered the Spirit of the Ocean, ‘must necessarily apprehend the eternal principles above mentioned and be clear as to their application. Consequently, they do not suffer any injury from without. The man of perfect virtue cannot be burnt by fire, nor drowned in water, nor hurt by frost or sun, nor torn by wild bird or beast. Not that he makes light of these; but that he discriminates between safety and danger. Happy under prosperous and adverse circumstances alike, cautious as to what he discards and what he accepts; — nothing can harm him.”
Nature v. Humanity
The sage follows the way of nature and not the way of humanity. Nature gives us life, physical form, and a set of skills and limitations. Humanity gives us culture and rules.
“What do you mean,” enquired the Spirit of the River, “by the natural and the artificial?” “Horses and oxen,” answered the Spirit of the Ocean, “have four feet. That is the natural. Put a halter on a horse’s head, a string through a bullock’s nose, — that is the artificial.”
The sage does not allow human values such as fame and desire to keep one away from following their own nature.
“So I say: do not let what is human wipe out what is Heavenly; do not let what is purposeful wipe out what is fated; do not let [the desire for] gain lead you after fame. Be cautious, guard it, and do not lose it—this is what I mean by returning to the True.”
Success Depends on Circumstances
The sage recognizes that circumstances play an oversized role in success or failure. Often one has to be at the right time and place to be successful.
“Therefore it has been said, do not let the artificial obliterate the natural; do not let will obliterate destiny; do not let virtue be sacrificed to fame. Diligently observe these precepts without fail, and thus you will revert to the divine...My destiny is cut out for me.”
Refuse Responsibility
The sage is not interested in power or leadership. They refuse such roles and stick to the way of nature.
“Zhuangzi was fishing in the Pu when the prince of Chu sent two high officials to ask him to take charge of the administration of the Chu State. Zhuangzi went on fishing, and without turning his head said, ‘I have heard that in Chu there is a sacred tortoise which has been dead now some three thousand years. And that the prince keeps this tortoise carefully enclosed in a chest on the altar of his ancestral temple. Now would this tortoise rather be dead and have its remains venerated, or be alive and wagging its tail in the mud?’ ‘It would rather be alive,’ replied the two officials, ‘and wagging its tail in the mud.’ ‘Begone!’ cried Zhuangzi. ‘I too will wag my tail in the mud.’”
Summary
The sage seeks an expanded perspective viewing the unity of all things. There is no real division between large and small, past and present, right and wrong, or life and death. Life simply follows the rhythm of birth, aging, and death. Nothing is truly useless. All beings have different needs according to their nature. The sage seeks harmony and follows the way of nature and not the way of humanity which includes power, pride, and fame.
Resource
Chuang Tzu, Mystic, Moralist and Social Reformer, Herbert A. Giles, translator. Bernard Quaritch 1889. Classic public domain translation.
