#11 Acceptance and Carefree Living
Resort to wu-wei to navigate life's challenges effortlessly and discover how being carefree leads to inner transformation for self-mastery and fulfillment.
…The sage, because he does nothing, never ruins anythings; and, because he does not lay hold of anything, loses nothing.
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 64
Confucius was sightseeing with his disciples in Lu Xiang, where the water falls from a height of thirty fathoms, and the river races along for about forty miles. It was so fast that neither fish nor any other creature could swim.
At the same time, he saw one person dive into the river, assuming that this person may want to end his life for some reason. Thus, Confucius immediately directed his disciples to line up on the river bank and prepare to pull him out.
However, the person swam in the river for about a hundred yards with great skill. After a while, he came out, walking nonchalantly along the bank and singing a song with water dripping off him.
Confucius ran after him and asked, “I thought you were a ghost, but now I know you are a man. May I ask, do you have a Tao for swimming under the water?”
The man replied, “No, I do not have Tao. I started with what I already knew, cultivated my innate nature, and followed my destiny to do the rest. I go in with the currents and come out with the flow. I go along with the Tao of the water and never burden myself with concerns. This is how I stay afloat.“1
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