Who can find ease in life?
A conversation between Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu, #2
Life is an unfolding story with changing themes, plots, and trajectories. While in the story, we may not necessarily be aware of our entanglements in a specific situation.
Many times, after years of groping and wandering, a moment of clarity, perhaps when seeing the morning dawn while sipping a cup of tea, causes us to start reflecting on those dream-like episodes in the past.
What if I have done things differently? Is it true that there is an unavoidable certainty in the course of things? What’s real?
There will always be some fixations and regrets lingering over the mind and troubling the heart along the way. That’s part of living, and it’s up to us to decide how we manage them.
When we were young, we all may have entertained the thought of breaking away from the guardian (and possibly shackles) of family and school to do things our way. Yet, we may never realize that different types of nuisances, troubles, and challenges await us when we try to establish ourselves. And we may never know how and where the twists and turns of life will push us toward.
At some point in life, perhaps a moment of sudden awakening, you realize for so long, you have been living under the control of an external force. You are not holding the steering wheel of your vehicle. Your plans and original wishes are simply not enough to cope with the changing reality.
So, we become dismayed at the predicament of living. We start copying and following the examples of others — the ones we deem “successful” or someone else’s formula, such that we can “fix” our life as if there is something deeply wrong or problematic about us within.
Or, perhaps even worse, we choose to adopt a defeatist attitude toward life.
Nothing we’ve tried seems to be working as we expected. All the forces are against us. So, we become accustomed to this way of thinking.
At the crossroads of life, should we work on planning thoroughly so we can be assured that nothing will go wrong again, or should we learn to resign ourselves to the forces of change and, therefore, let things freely be?
Is it possible to find ease from wherever we are in life, not constrained by our immediate circumstances?
Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu followed two different life paths: one unbounded by the mundane aspects of living, mingling freely with people while communing with nature, and the other preoccupied himself with standing out as an intellectual and elbowing his way into the political world.
Yet, they became best friends, constantly debating, savoring the little joys and sorrows of this unfathomable and temporary life without expressing their appreciation of each other’s presence.
Can you feel the joy of fish?
One day, Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu were strolling along the dam of the River Hao, when Chuang Tzu said, “See how the fish come out and swim around where they please! That’s what they really enjoy!”1
Hui Tzu said, “You are not a fish, how do you know what fish enjoy?”
Chuang Tzu said, “You are not me, so how do you know that I don’t know what fish enjoy?”
Hui Tzu said, “I’m not you, so I certainly don’t know what you know. On the other hand, you are certainly not a fish, so that proves you don’t know what fish enjoy!”
Chuang Tzu replied, “Let’s go back to your original question, if you don’t mind. You asked me how I know what fish enjoy. Therefore, you already knew that I knew it when you asked the question. I know it by standing here beside the River Hao.”
Who are you traveling with?
Life is a journey. Along the way, we will invariably have unexpected encounters and discoveries.
While it is essential to accumulate experiences, it is perhaps even more necessary to know when it is the time to let go of entanglements.
Though the journey can be winding and unpredictable, we can still decide who we will keep as partners.
The right people bring immense joy, delight, consolation, and shared memories, which can always soothe our souls when life becomes harsh and unbearable. Understanding this allows you to realize that no one can carry you to the destination. You will have to walk the path yourself.
In this sense, the phrase “strolling along” used in the text is key. The Chinese character is 逰 (pronounced as you), translated as wandering, roaming, sauntering, or relaxed walking. It captures a carefree, satisfied, and lighthearted state of mind. Such a state comes back to us when we do not need to wear masks in a social setting. We can freely be ourselves without worry or additional concerns.
So, Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu wandered along the River Hao and left us this famous conversation.
It constantly reminds me of this message: looking at the thin door that separates life and death, in a limbo state of trying hard to figure out the differences between dream and reality, what truly matters is who we get to experience the world with, not necessarily the things we do.
At a particular stage of life, we may be involved with grand and rewarding pursuits, chasing, struggling, lamenting, and rejoicing. Yet we may find out that all the things we do are essentially similar in nature: to make a living, to fulfill our expectations and aspirations, or simply to get by.
But, occasionally, at a moment of silence and quietude, is it really difficult to realize that a long walk or a night-long conversation you had with a dear friend on a rainy night many years ago can still cheer you up and make you smile at life?
Choosing how to live
Coming back to the story, we see two types of views on things. Hui Tzu, as a logician and philosopher (a representative of the school of Names) during the Warring States period), takes an analytical and interpretative approach to both the fish in the pond and his friend.
Underlying this approach is the question of whether we individuals, as subjects, can truly understand and know the external world, the object. The implication is that we may not truly capture the feelings and sentiments of others.
This is Hui Tzu’s way of life.
Hui Tzu, day after day, used all the knowledge he had in his debates with others, deliberately thinking up ways to astonish the rhetoricians of the world…Whatever contradicted other men’s views he declared to be the truth, hoping to win a reputation for outwitting others. This was why he never got along with ordinary people. Weak in inner virtue, strong in his concern for external things, he walked a road that was crooked indeed!…Chasing after the ten thousand things, never turning back, he was like one who tries to shout an echo into silence or to prove that form can outrun shadow. How sad!2
Differences in personality and character lead to distinct life paths. What Hui Tzu may have overlooked is that not everyone is interested in figuring out his argument or perspective on a particular thing. Thus, he should not enforce his views on others but should try to understand. Not everything in life can be easily categorized as right or wrong, good or bad.
Do we have to know exactly how a delicious meal is made? Or how a chip is manufactured before we use it in daily life?
In contrast, Chuang Tzu takes an empathetic approach, essentially an aesthetic attitude similar to sightseeing or appreciating the variations and colors of nature.
Individual beings as the subject, the fish in the pond, and the river in the natural world as the object are unified in a holistic system. For Chuang Tzu, this is realized through empathy, sensitivity of the heart-mind, and accumulated experiences.
We can understand the messages, emotional stretch, and hidden meaning of artistic works and life stories because they share human experiences, emotional underpinnings, and common sense.
So, who can better enjoy life, Chuang Tzu or Hui Tzu, or an alternative?
Despite their differences in views and philosophical outlooks, they were lucky to have each other as true friends.
They both understood each other so well, knowing how they would respond to the scenery and reply to each other’s observations. In a sense, I can say that they do not really care about who will win this or that argument, as they care more about having each other as the opponents in a debate.
In life, we need a friend who understands and accepts us and can be at ease with who we are without judging but bringing out the best in us. As Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu’s example shows, through the exchange of views, both can freely express themselves, and as readers, we would understand what they are alike in life.
Inner joy is simple and easy to find. It comes from appreciating the beauty of simple things, chatting with an old friend about our whereabouts, sorrows, and regret, or walking in nature.
The mystery of life will not stop giving us all the unnecessary worries, anxieties, pressures, and disturbances, but it is within our control to learn to go along with things and dissolve our fixations, for we are all part of the changing flow, streaming, confusing, forgetting, awakening, and evolving.
For me, I always go to the poetic writings of those who have truly lived, where I find quietude, inspiration, and lasting peace in the spiritual world.
My villa at Mt. Zhongnan
In middle age I grow rather fond of the Way;
My late home is in a corner of Mt. Zhongnan.
When the mood comes, I always go out alone;
I myself know, emptily, of these splendid things.
I walk to where the waters begin,
I sit and watch when the clouds arise.
By chance I meet an old man of the woods,
We chat and laugh, no time we have to go home.3
Next in this series:
Burton Watson, “Autumn Floods,” in The Complete Works of Zhuangzi (New York: Columbia University Press, 2012),137-138. Translation modified.
Burton Watson, “The World,” 299.
The translator’s note: “The adverbial use of kong (‘empty’) in this line evades reasonable translation. It suggests that the poet is both conscious of the splendor of the scene but that it is also part of śunyatā, the essentially ‘unreal’ nature of our reality.
Wang Wei 王維, The Poetry and Prose of Wang Wei, trans. Paul Rouzer, ed. Christopher M. B. Nugent (Boston/Berlin: De Gruyter, 2020), 79.
"Hui Tzu, day after day, used all the knowledge he had in his debates with others, deliberately thinking up ways to astonish the rhetoricians of the world…" 😄😄😄 This was me! I say was, but who I am kidding?