Fw: [SufiMystic] The Pivot - Chuang-tzu

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Gillian Eardley

SufiMystic

Thursday, September 08, 2005 6:43 PM

[sufiMystic] The Pivot - Chuang-tzu

 

 

The Pivot - Chuang-tzu

 

Tao is obscured when men understand only one of a pair of opposites,

or concentrate only on a partial aspect of being. Then clear expression

also becomes muddled by mere wordplay, affirming this one aspect

and denying the rest.

 

Hence the wrangling of Confucians and Mohists; each denies what

the other affirms, and affirms what the other denies. What use is this

struggle to set up " No " against " Yes, " and " Yes " against " No " ? Better

to abandon this hopeless effort and seek true light!

 

There is nothing that cannot be seen from the standpoint of the

" Not-I. " And there is nothing which cannot be seen from the standpoint

of the " I. " If I begin by looking at anything from the viewpoint of the

" Not-I, " then I do not really see it, since it is " not I " that sees it. If I

begin from where I am and see it as I see it, then it may also

become possible for me to see it as another sees it. Hence the theory

of reversal that opposites produce each other, depend on each other,

and complement each other.

 

However this may be, life is followed by death; death is followed by

life. The possible becomes impossible; the impossible becomes

possible. Right turns into wrong and wrong into right - the flow of life

alters circumstances and thus things themselves are altered in their

turn. But disputants continue to affirm and deny the same things

they have always affirmed and denied, ignoring the new aspects of

reality presented by the change in conditions.

 

The wise man therefore, instead of trying to prove this or that point

by logical disputation, sees all things in the light of direct intuition. He

is not imprisoned by the limitations of the " I, " for the viewpoint of

direct intuition is that of both " I " and " Not-I. " Hence he sees that on

both sides of every argument there is both right and wrong. He also

sees that in the end they are reducible to the same thing, once they

are related to the pivot of the Tao.

 

When the wise man grasps this pivot, he is in the center of the circle,

and there he stands while " Yes " and " No " pursue each other around

the circumference.

 

The pivot of Tao passes through the center where all affirmations and

denials converge. He who grasps the pivot is at the still-point from

which all movements and oppositions can be seen in their right

relationship. Hence he sees the limitless possibilities of both " Yes "

and " No. " Abandoning all thought of imposing a limit or taking sides,

he rests in direct intuition. Therefore I said: " Better to abandon

disputation and seek the true light! "

 

 

 

 

 

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Words must be used like stepping stones: lightly and with nimbleness,

because if you step on them too heavily, you incur the danger of falling

into the intellectual mire of logic and reason. -Balsekar

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