Lieh-tzu is a Taoist complement to Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu

When most people think of classic Taoist writings, likely they'll recall the Tao-te Ching and the Chuang-tzu. But there's a third classic, the Lieh-tzu.

Eva Wong has written an eminently readable translation of the Lieh-tzu: Lieh-tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living. 

Here's how she describes "The Voice of Lieh-tzu" in that portion of her introduction.

What then, is the voice of the Lieh-tzu? To me, it is a friendly voice, a casual voice, and not the voice of an all-knowing sage or master. It is the voice of someone who gives advice not because he is an expert, but because he has made mistakes and learned from them. It comes from a person who allows us to listen. He speaks, pauses, and when we respond, he speaks again.

I do not get the same feeling when I read the Lao-tzu. Lao-tzu speaks as a sage who presents his ideas in an organized manner. I can almost imagine him lecturing from a podium. Moreover, when the lecture is over, there is no question period. It is up to us to understand him.

The Chuang-tzu conveys yet a different feeling. Chuang-tzu is an eccentric who chuckles to himself and is not concerned about being understood. Chuang-tzu wanders in a world different from ours, completely removed from everyday affairs. He lives in a world where things come and go in fleeting moments, and the ground of reality is always changing. We can catch a glimpse of him now and then, but it would be impossible to stay at his side and talk to him.

The Lieh-tzu is different. Lieh-tzu lives in our world. He talks about experiences we can understand. He speaks about life and death, fortune and misfortune, gain and loss, things we are concerned with, and problems we want to solve in our lives. He talks about the mad race for wealth and renown and the hazards of seeking social recognition.

He scorns social pressure and the empty pursuits of the rich and famous. He talks about friendship, human communication, dreams, reality, and learning. He speaks things we do not dare to speak of, but when we listen to him, we may smile, laugh, or nod in agreement. The awakening from ignorance is not rude but soft. It is as if someone gently shook us and woke us from a deep sleep. 

Thus, while Lao-tzu talks at us and Chuang-tzu talks to himself, Lieh-tzu speaks to us.

...The Lao-tzu and the Chuang-tzu talk about the state of enlightenment. They describe what it is like to merge with the Tao and be filled with the undifferentiated breath of the origin. We are not told how these sages attained enlightenment or what they had to go through. 

On the other hand, the Lieh-tzu shows us the struggles of a person who tries to become enlightened. We see Lieh-tzu fumble in his attempts; we see him laughing at himself. We see the kind of training he had to go through and the obstacles he had to overcome. We are shown what it is like on the path to enlightenment rather than what it is like after we get there.

...Many people do not take the stories of the Lieh-tzu seriously and write them off as fairy tales. But it is precisely because some stories are so removed from our everyday reality that they can talk about things we would otherwise find hard to accept. 

If the Lao-tzu is poetry and the Chuang-tzu is prose, then the Lieh-tzu is a series of comic strips. By exaggerating the ridiculous aspects of human actions, it portrays the human condition as humorous and pokes fun at social taboos. When we laugh at humor in comic strips, we are in essence laughing at ourselves. 

Thus, while the Lao-tzu is the voice of serious wisdom and the Chuang-tzu is the voice of crazy wisdom, the Lieh-tzu is the voice of humorous wisdom.

The philosophy in the Lao-tzu comes from above us; we can admire it and hope to follow it, but it is hard to reach. The philosophy in the Chuang-tzu comes from a world that is very different from our own; we may try to grasp it, but it is too elusive to catch. The philosophy in the Lieh-tzu comes from where we are. It speaks to us at our level and talks about experiences we can relate to and understand.

Like, drinking wine and enjoying sex. That's the only story in the Lieh-tzu that I've shared so far on this blog. As I continue re-reading Wong's book, I may share some other stories that appeal to me. 

Well, here's one I read this morning. Enjoy...

King Shun asked his minister, "Can I possess the way of heaven and earth and make it go according to my wishes?"

His minister replied, "Even your body is not your own; how can you think about bending the way of heaven and earth to your will?"

"If my body does not belong to me, then to whom does it belong?"

"Your body does not belong to you; its form was lent to you by heaven and earth. Your life does not belong to you; it came into existence with the interaction of the energies of heaven and earth. Your mind and your spirit are not yours to control; they follow the natural way of heaven and earth. Your children and grandchildren are not yours to possess; they are like flakes of your skin, for procreation was granted to you by heaven and earth.

"A person who understands this is one who is not bound by the ideas of what a mind is and what a body is. Forgetting his body, he can travel anywhere in the world without knowing where he goes. Forgetting his mind, he can succeed at everything he does because he does not think about how it is done. He follows the way of heaven, going when he needs to go, staying without knowing what made him stay, and eating without knowing how he is fed.

"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?"

Comments

[Roger]

Wisdom is ignoring nothing but learning from it.

Avoidance and attachment are two opposing extreme approaches to life that will perpetuate the worrying mind.
It’s unhelpful to ignore any unpleasant experience or try and suppress it. It’s also unhelpful to pursue or become attached to pleasant experiences.
The most helpful way to develop and maintain peace of mind is to accept all experiences as they are, respond as is appropriate to the experience and learn from them.

All human experience is causal and transitory and its quality will be dependent on how you relate to it in now-ness.

[Ron E.]

Leih-tzu is new to me. I like the story of King Shun. I may even buy this book as I enjoy hearing how different people explain 'this'.

[um]

Here is the online version:
https://terebess.hu/english/tao/Lieh-tzu-Eva-Wong.pdf

[Appreciative Reader]

Lovely collection of stories. Just browsed through a few random ones, and each turned out to be both entertaining and carrying a moral/philosophy that one can gain from understanding (if not necessarily cultivating). Bookmarked for dipping into at leisure later on.

Thanks for writing about Lieh-tzu, Brian. (First time I've even heard of this guy!) And thanks, um, for the pdf.

[Spence Tepper]

"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?"

To live this beautiful teaching is to apprehend life rather than label it or limit it.

Go beyond mind. Practice.

[um]

@ AR

You are welcome.
I was searching for a story about crows ...I read 63, the first story in chapter 6 ... hahaha

[Sonya]

Beautiful blog post, Brian! Thanks for sharing. I’m going to have to read more about Lieh-tzu.

[Spence Tepper]

"Hi-tzu said, 'You think you are different from other travelers, but actually you are not. Although they are amused by sights and sounds, and you are fascinated by things that always change, you are both occupied with what is out there rather than what you experience inside. People who are attracted to the external world are always looking for something new and wonderful that will satisfy their senses. However, only people who look into themselves will find true satisfaction. '

"After this conversation, Lieh-tzu stopped traveling because he thought he had thoroughly misunderstood what it means to travel. Seeing this, Hu-tzu said to him,' Travel is such a wonderful experience! Especially when you forget you are traveling. Then, you will enjoy whatever you see and do. Those who look into themselves when they travel will not think about what they see. In fact, there is no distinction between the viewer and the seen. You experience even with the totality of yourself, so that every blade of grass, every mountain, every lake is alive and is a part of you. When there is no distinction between you and what is other, this is the ultimate experience of travel. '"

Lieh-tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living, p. 100

Look into yourself. Take the ultimate trip. Find the true satisfaction within. That is real travel, to be one with all of it. The way out is IN.

[Sonya]

No one enjoys the company of a self-righteous, narrow minded, judgemental person. Perhaps that is what is so refreshing about Lieh-tzu.

Ever since my brother died I’ve been taken back to childhood memories and a childlike perspective of life. I’m very much at peace with his passing and so very grateful to have learned so much from him. But it’s the little things—it really is. It was sunny and breezy and just perfect out today. I watched my two year old niece play in the sand box we put out for her. Time stopped. There was no judgement or expectations—we just shared minutes of childlike innocence where nothing really mattered other than exploring and adventure.

It was joyful—a welcome distraction from the previous month’s grief.

I prefer the wisdom that comes from someone who has had similar experiences and is an example of how to “get through” or master the difficult times. They remind us that sunny, happy days will come again. There is nothing quite like the peaceful, loving humility of a true friend.

Sounds like Lieh-tzu falls into that category.

[um]

@ Sonya

>> Ever since my brother died I’ve been taken back to childhood memories and a childlike perspective of life. I’m very much at peace with his passing and so very grateful to have learned so much from him.<<

:-)

[Appreciative Reader]

Enjoyed reading your description of your niece's "mindfulness meditation", Sonya, and your observation and understanding of such in those simple yet beautiful terms.

Truly, in some ways we are born wise, and "grow" into the obverse of wisdom with each passing year. So that, in a sense, wisdom obtains in seeking back to what was spontaneously contained within us. That is quite literally what the Buddha's realization amounted to, when after almost dying from his austerities he elected to try out the "middle path" instead, and specifically to recreate/revisit the experience/realization he'd spontaneously had when a child.

Of course, the million dollar question then becomes: Was it just the Buddha that came blest with that native, spontaneous wisdom, that spontaneous potential to see and experience and understand that deeper level of reality? Or are we all imbued with that kiss of godliness? (Not to forget the meta-question: Is the Buddha story, about the child in the tilling fields, even true? Or is it just that, a just-so story?)

----------

If only our growing up did not comprise so much of a growing away, if only. Childhood is so precious, so utterly divine. If only we could make all of our life as precious, and as divine, if only.

[Spence Tepper]

"'Most people like to see what they have never seen before or do what has never been done before. They want to start tackling challenging conditions right away and do not have the patience to learn from scratch. However, I say if you want to train your powers of seeing, you should start out scrutinizing a stack of firewood. If you want to sharpen your sense of hearing, you should start out by listening to the sound of bells. In this way you will build your abilities gradually and not encounter a lot of obstacles while you learn. Once you have acquired the abilities, no condition will appear difficult. And if the conditions are not difficult, why would you need to call upon your abilities to deal with them? '
The earl continued,' If my reputation for strength is known around the country, then I have not followed my master's teachings well. However, I am not famous for my strength because I boast about what U can do, but because of the way I use it. '
The king was finally satisfied with the earl's explanation.
In strength the Earl of Kung-yi had not reached the level of mastery of his teacher Old Shang had. While the earl did not boast about his ability, he still needed to use it. Old Shang, however, had reached the point where there was nothing out there that proved difficult enough for him to need to call on his strength. So he never needed to use it."

Lieh-tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living, p. 107

" Once you have acquired the abilities, no condition will appear difficult. And if the conditions are not difficult, why would you need to call upon your abilities to deal with them? '"

Acquire the abilities to see and hear and no condition will be difficult.

[Spence Tepper]

"He continued, 'Let me explain the meaning of these statements. First, a person with a mind is bound to be filled with conceptions. These conceptions prevent him from knowing things directly, so a person with a mind shall never really know."

Lieh-tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living, p. 108

[Spence Tepper]

When you are familiar with things, they are no longer strange.

And strange things may not be wrong, just unfamiliar.

The natural mind accepts this simple truth.

[Spence Tepper]

If you find someone absolutely wrong, there is your mirror.

If you think they are completely evil, how will you become their brother?

Even they have their journey, even they have their small steps towards progress.

What you can accept in them, you will find in yourself.

What you cannot accept in them you have hid from yourself.

All that matters is in both of you.

[TENDZIN]

On the topic of ongoing seeking for religious truth, I recently discovered the Ram Dass bio "Being Ram Dass." Extremely interesting reading, as it chronicles Dass' life with more brutal honesty than ever before - - which is saying something if you've kept up with Ram Dass' writings.

Many things to comment on, but one thing that was striking to me was Dass' accounts of the many gurus he'd know. Probably no one in the 60s-70s guru scene had intimate connections with more "major" gurus than Ram Dass did, and some of the details he gives about his encounters with these gurus make for enthralling reading.

One question that came to my mind about all those encounters is what ultimate good they did for Dass. He had some mind-blowing experiences that are hard to discount from mere projections. Despite that, he made colossal errors of trust, and in the end, despite many decades of practice and influence of the best gurus the East had to offer, he seems to be basically unchanged from the person he was when he started out. Not better, not worse, but hardly anything different than he was in his 20s before he'd take his first drug or met his 1st guru.

[Sonya]

@AR

Yes, if only…

The innocence of childhood. The most formative years of one’s life. If we could all just go back in time and reprogram ourselves. 🙃