Chuang Tzu - The Completion Of Virtue
Having as large a following as Confucius,
the sage with one leg makes the most ordinary
into enlightened practitioners of the Formless Way.
Never uttering a word and never hearing anything
besides the primordial sound of emptiness,
this one legged sage outruns the quickest of intellects
and transforms any mind into its deathless state.
Confucius, wanting to highlight the level of attainment
of this sage, said the following about the subtle state of his mind.
Though heaven and earth may cease to turn altogether,
his compassion towards such a sequence of events
will never dry away.
Clearly seeing the source of temporality
and the source of emptiness,
he is the humble director of this cosmic
churning ocean of mindfulness.
As a guardian of the source of being,
all of the Tao moves with him.
Startled by those remarks,
Confucius' companion asked of him
to explain the depth of the statements
that he has just uttered.
Preferring the unity of all things,
he disregards the events of the day
and of the state in order to completely harmonize
with the equality of unity.
Enlightened by the emptiness of his own mind,
the normality of being is his once again.
Just as everyone uses water to perceive
their own reflection, everyone, including the masses,
uses the stillness of his mind to perceive their own innate stillness.
Living out a straight and narrow life,
others are automatically straightened out.
Having control over the day he dies
though having perfect control over his subtle mind,
the deathless state is attractive to everyone's innate ability
to sense and feel the transcendence of the Tao.
As a student of the Antiquity and Obscurity of Nothingness,
I, the one legged sage, am humble enough to say
that I am the virtue of the nation
and of all the intellectual circles.
Governing no one and nothing,
my mindfulness extends to all four corners of this earth.
At ease with what can and cannot be done,
death cheats no one who is virtuous like me.
Receiving the laughter of many for having just one leg,
my master taught me the purity of floating in realms
that are the interiorization of invisibility itself.
Re-visiting Confucius day after day,
the one legged sage announced that he
had something greater and more valuable
than a running and functioning physical body.
Surpassing the need for fame and immortality,
I consider life and death to be one seamless thread
tying all of life together in a bond of eternal friendship.
Though I have nothing that I can call my own
and no position of authority in civil society,
I am nonetheless still capable of harmonizing
the presence of the Tao for everyone
who is receptive to following the Way of ways.
Once handed over a vast territory to govern,
I refused the king's offer for something
that shall not immediately slip out of my softened hands.
Admired for nothing in particular
and congratulated for spending my time on being empty,
my virtue is the reward of a well-balanced life.
As fresh as spring lilies, my subtle mind
outwardly reflects the moods of each changing season.
Still in chaos and in emptiness,
the ruffles and tides of this emotional world
cannot bring me out of my sun stained contemplations.
Complete by virtue's selfless demands,
I never have to scheme my way out of life or into life.
Being one legged has made me one legged.
Being empty has made me empty.
Being the Tao, I am the Tao.
Bowing, Confucius left this master totally bewildered,
afraid that he may be highly realized or greatly insane
due to the wild workings of the Tao.
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