Master Zhuang is the second most influential writer in Daoism and the book Zhuangzi was named after him. Chapter Two is entitled The Identity of Contraries and describes how one can live in accordance with the Way.
Simplicity
The sage or wise person has great understanding of the Way and shifts their focus to a more universal perspective. They do not let the stress of everyday life distract them.
“Ah! perhaps you only know the music of Man, and not that of Earth. Or even if you have heard the music of Earth, you have not heard the music of Heaven.”
The sage knows that their connection to the Way is unique and different than any one else’s.
“’The effect of the wind upon these various apertures,’ replied Ziqi, ‘is not uniform. But what is it that gives to each the individuality, to all the potentiality, of sound?‘”
The sage is unhurried and goes along with the flow of life. They have a simple and uncomplicated existence.
“Great knowledge embraces the whole…Great speech is universal.”
Complicated Life
The foolish have little understanding of the Way and live a busy, divisive, and complicated life. They are preoccupied with petty arguments and are convinced that they are always right. Consequently, they have high anxiety and find life difficult to manage.
“For whether when the mind is locked in sleep or whether when in waking hours the body is released, we are subject to daily mental perturbations, — indecision, want of penetration, concealment, fretting fear, and trembling terror. Now like a javelin the mind flies forth, the arbiter of right and wrong.”
They hurry through life without pausing or reflection and never have any satisfying accomplishments. This leaves them exhausted and unsatisfied.
“To be harassed by the wear and tear of life, and to pass rapidly through it without possibility of arresting one’s course, — is not this pitiful indeed? To labour without ceasing, and then, without living to enjoy the fruit, worn out, to depart, suddenly, one knows not whither, — is not that a just cause for grief?”
Relativity of Life
The sage recognizes that life is relative. They recognize the concepts of right and wrong are dependent on the individual and situation.
“Which being the case, the true sage rejects all distinctions of this and that. He takes his refuge in God, and places himself in subjective relation with all things...And inasmuch as the subjective is also objective, and the objective also subjective, and as the contraries under each are indistinguishably blended, does it not become impossible for us to say whether subjective and objective really exist at all?”
What works for one person does not necessarily work for another. The characteristics of kindness and morality are often dependent on the society, individual, or situation.
“Monkey mates with monkey, the buck with the doe; eels consort with fishes, while men admire Maoqiang and Lady Li, at the sight of whom fishes plunge deep down in the water, birds soar high in the air, and deer hurry away.”
The sage sees the unity of all things in the Dao and does not create artificial divisions.
“Separation is the same as construction: construction is the same as destruction. Nothing is subject either to construction or to destruction, for these conditions are brought together into One.”
Acceptance of Reality
The sage acknowledges that the Way exists but does not waste their energy trying to define it. They do not get involved in needless arguments, but accepts life for what it is.
“For the true Sage, beyond the limits of an external world, they exist, but are not recognized. By the true Sage, within the limits of an external world, they are recognized, but are not assigned...The true Sage,” answered Ziqi, “keeps his knowledge within him, while men in general set forth theirs in argument, in order to convince each other. And therefore it is said that in argument he does not manifest himself.”
The sage is unaffected by strife and unconcerned about wealth, sickness, and death. They make themself one with the universe, live in simplicity, and allow things to be as they are.
“In such case, he would mount upon the clouds of heaven, and driving the sun and the moon before him, would pass beyond the limits of this external world, where death and life have no more victory over man;—how much less what is bad for him?”
The sage recognizes the absurdity of life and that they never will truly understand it.
“Once upon a time, I, Zhuang Zhou, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of following my fancies as a butterfly, and was unconscious of my individuality as a man. Suddenly, I awaked, and there I lay, myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man. Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a barrier.”
Summary
The sage has great understanding of the Way. They find comfort in the midst of chaos. They stay grounded and live their life as it plays out. They make the most of their situation and realize that good and bad are relative to the individual and situation.
“We are embraced in the obliterating unity of God. There is perfect adaptation to whatever may eventuate; and so we complete our allotted span...Take no heed of time, nor of right and wrong. But passing into the realm of the Infinite, take your final rest therein.”
Resource
Chuang Tzu, Mystic, Moralist and Social Reformer, Herbert A. Giles, translator. Bernard Quaritch 1889. Classic public domain translation.
