The words of Taoist hermit Lieh-Tzu, born around 400 BCE, two centuries after Lao-Tzu and Confucius, were written down (and perhaps altered or added to) sometime between the Han and Chin dynasties (200-400 CE). What speaks to us through the remaining texts is, not the words of a teacher above the world, but a voice that laughs at itself and its speaker's attempts to be aware, wise and whole. Many a child of China grows up with magical memories of his marvelous fables. --The quotations are from Eva Wong's hermeneutic "opening" of the Lieh- Tzu. If you understand what it means to be effortless, then there is nothing you cannot do. You can be yin or yang, hard or soft, short or long, round or square...By knowing and doing nothing, you can know all and do all. If you do not know how to keep still in this crazy world, you will be drawn into all kinds of unnecessary trouble. You will lose your view of the Way, and, when you realize it, it will be too late, for in losing the Way, you have also lost yourself. When something grows, something else will decay. When something disappears, something else emerges. This is the balance of things. If there is only growth and no decay, the world will be overpopulated, be it with people, animals, or vegetation. If there is only decay and no growth, life will disappear. For the world to continue there must be a balance of growth and decay. Life is but the coming together of the energies of heaven and earth, and the source of these energies has no beginning and no end. How can one ever possess the way of heaven and earth? Without publicity or fanfare, enlightened beings continue their lives as ordinary people and live out the rest of their days in simplicity and contentment, unknown to the world and unaffected by its conventions. Look at your condition. The parts of your body do not cooperate; the vapors of heaven and earth do not enter your body; your joints and bones are so heavy that you can't even move. And you want to learn how to ride on the wind? To an enlightened person, the world is limitless. He hides in the realm where there is no beginning and no end, and he wanders leisurely where the myriad things appear and disappear. He purifies his original nature, he cultivates his energy, and he maintains his virtue. Unified with the laws of nature, he merges with the natural order of things. Thus, his spirit is not harmed, and things outside cannot penetrate him or harm him. Lose your stillness and you will fail in everything you do. You can say that I started my learning with what was given to me at birth, continued with what was natural for me to do, and completed it by trusting what was meant to be. A person with virtue does not consider himself or herself virtuous, and someone who is enlightened does not appear perfect. Only then can you transcend the world and yet be a part of it. The benefactors of humanity--the goddess Nü who created us, the sage Sheng-nung who taught us agriculture, and many of humanity's teachers in the ancient times- -do not appear in human form. Some have the body of a snake, others have the head of a bull, and yet others have wings and claws. On the other hand, the tyrants who enslaved people and killed innocents are human in appearance. Thus, how can you judge something simply by its appearance? Strength should always be complemented by softness. If you resist too much, you will break. Thus, the strong person knows when to use strength and when to yield, and good fortune and disaster depend on whether you know how and when to yield. While King Mu traveled in the realm of the spirit, everything felt real to him. But when he returned to his own realm, he found that everything he had experienced happened within the wink of an eye. Is the realm of the spirit real or is it just a fleeting thought? For the man who could make it snow in summer and thunder in winter, our "real" world may be just a fleeting thought. Can this man change reality? Or is our reality not as permanent as we think it is? The rich man who was the king of his business during the day and dreamed he was a slave at night is not much different from a slave who suffered during the day and dreamed he was a king at night. The world is what we make of it. We create our happiness and our sorrows. If this is the case, why make problems for ourselves? Who can tell when and how fast one situation changes into another and which one is real and which one is not? Our emotions are the result of our beliefs. Most people would question why these enlightened people do not want to make themselves known. After all, they possess skills beyond our imagination and certainly can make an impact on the society and the world. But in a world of truth and lies, where people are trapped by fame, fortune, approval, and greed, the sages who hide their skill are the ones who survive. Confucius said, "To be truly happy and contented, you must let go of the idea of what it means to be happy or content." "Maybe far away in the West is a person who doesn't talk about the art of government and yet his country is orderly and peaceful. He rarely speaks about promises but he is trusted by all. He does not use force, so everything runs smoothly. His heart is open and his actions are spontaneous. His subjects don't even know what to call him. I suspect he is a sage, but that he is truly a sage I would not know." Wisdom is not competence in one skill or many skills. It is the ability to recognize strengths and weaknesses in ourselves and others. Thus, a wise teacher knows that although he may not surpass certain students in specific skills, he can give them what they need to become better individuals. In fact, there is no distinction between the viewer and the seen. Enlightenment is a very normal experience, attainable by everyone. Therefore, there is nothing mysterious or secretive about it. There is nothing unnatural about it, either, because it follows the natural way of things. Someone who knows how to withdraw when his work is finished is one who understands the way of heaven. ...The Way cannot be grasped with your senses and thoughts. Look for it in front and it will sneak behind you. Seek it with good intentions and it is everywhere. If you are insincere, it will never reveal itself. It is something that you cannot use your intellect to attain, but if you are not serious, it will also escape you. Only in naturalness can the way be attained. And after you have attained it, only in naturalness can it be kept. Time went on, and the Old Fool and his children kept on digging away at the mountain. While everyone laughed at his impossible project, the spirits of the mountain became concerned...Alarmed, they went to the lords of heaven and reported their concern. The deities were both curious and amused by the Old Fool's attempt at moving the mountains, but when they saw his patience and determination, they decided to help him. One night they sent two giants to carry the mountain off, one to the east and one to the south. The next morning, when the people looked out from their windows, the mountains that had blocked their way were miraculously gone. When I sit by the river, my mind is totally concentrated on fishing and nothing else. I have a good feel for the give and pull of the line so the fish are not even aware when the hook and bait enter the water. To them, the bait is no different from a grain of sand or a bubble, and they swallow it without suspecting. This is the principle of using the soft to win over the strong and the light to hold the heavy. My lord, if you can rule your country this way, then everything in the world will be at your fingertips. Isn't that more effective than using force? No one is born perfect, and even if science or technology can do wonders, solving one problem will create another. Therefore, it is better to accept who we are and not want to be someone else, for each person has his value. Wen was already an accomplished musician by the time he went to study with Hsiang, but he realized that perfection in technique alone does not make great music. When he was finally able to dissolve the duality between himself and the music, the songs he played not only had the power to create moods but literally changed reality. Humans are also made of the same stuff as nature, for all things emerged from the gathering of yin and yang vapors and owe their existence to the primordial breath of the Tao. Whether something is real or artificial depends on how we view the materials from which is made. If this is the case, then as "real" persons, what makes us more privileged than other things in creation? What may be beneficial now may be harmful later. It is a blessing to be able to live and die at the right time. Following the laws of transformation in heaven and earth, boundless and unceasing, the cycles of change come about by themselves. Lao-tzu said to his student Wen-tzu, "We can't say that a person who is not gifted is hated by heaven. But on the other hand, who knows the will of heaven? Maybe by not giving him blessings, heaven is helping him instead." If you trust in yourself, then it doesn't matter whether conditions are safe or dangerous. If you are true to yourself, you will not be disturbed by things that happen around you. The ancients understood that life is only a temporary sojourn in this world, and death a temporary departure. In our short time here, we should listen to our own voices and follow our own hearts. Don't be imprisoned by name or title, for social conventions can lead you away from the natural order of things. There is, however, one thing we all have in common: death. If you don't have enough to eat, work on getting enough to eat. If you can't keep warm in winter, work on getting sufficient clothing. If you don't have time to enjoy yourself, work toward getting leisure time. But when you have enough, you should stop. Let your mind think what it wants to think and not let other people's demands dictate your thoughts. When you cannot think, sense, feel, or act freely, then your body and mind are injured. Break these oppressions, and you will cultivate life. When you can cultivate life, then you can wait peacefully for death. Being able to escape these oppressions for one day is better than to live a hundred years being imprisoned by them. The ancients say that if people did not sacrifice a single strand of their hair to save the world, then the world would be a less complicated place. To use intelligence to fulfill our basic needs and comfort is appropriate; to use it to harm others is to go against the natural order of things. And intelligence is transitory. Like skin, bones, and flesh, it disappears when we die. If this body of flesh and blood is impermanent, how much more are intangible things like name, title, and reputation? When there is no system of reward, there will be no competition. When there is no competition, there will be no treachery. When there is no treachery, people can be true to themselves. Your actions produce reactions that follow you like shadows. Just as a tall person's shadow is tall and a short person's shadow is short, ugly words will produce ugly echoes, and good intentions will produce good reactions. Thus, the key to management lies not in your own talent but in your ability to choose the right people. If I am honored because of another person's opinion, then I can also be dismissed because of someone's opinion. The robber said, "I am Ch'iu of the region of Hu-fu." Startled, the traveler said, "You're not that infamous robber who's wanted everywhere, are you?" "I am he." "Then why did you give me food? Did you help me because you associate me with your kind? I am a man of virtue and will not eat anything that comes from a criminal." The traveler then tried to throw up the food the robber had given him. Eventually he choked on his vomit and died. Knowledge is the precursor to action, but action is not necessarily the precursor to knowledge. It is a rare case that someone both knows the theory and is able to apply it. We humans eat fish and birds, mosquitoes suck our blood, and tigers eat our flesh. If we were to say that birds and fish were created for us to eat, then we would have to admit that we humans were created for the mosquitoes and tigers to feast upon. ...When he awoke, the Yellow Emperor felt enlightened. He called to his ministers and told them, "I have spent three months in seclusion trying to find out what is the best way to govern the country and cultivate myself. However, I did not become enlightened by trying to think things out consciously. I got enlightened in a dream." Twenty years later, the Yellow Emperor's kingdom was not much different from the mythical land he had visited in his dream. Not long afterward, the Yellow Emperor left the realm of the living and ascended to heaven, and all the people mourned the passing of a great ruler. On the islands in the eastern seas are immortal beings who live on dewdrops and pinecones. They do not eat grain, they feed on the wind and vapor, and their minds are as clear and still as the mountain lake. They have ruddy cheeks and they all look like healthy children. They are open, friendly, and have no inhibitions...There is no fear, no anger, no tension, and no dissatisfaction. No one is superior or inferior to anyone else. Everything is bountiful and everyone enjoys the providence of heaven and earth. The sun and moon send a gentle light, the seasons are never harsh, the earth is rich, and the inhabitants are kind. The deities bless the land, and the monsters never go near it. This is the land the Yellow Emperor visited in his dream.