THE COSMIC SPIRIT

"	To every form of being is assigned An active principle:—howe'er removed From sense and observation, it subsists In all things, in all natures: in the stars Of azure Heaven, the unenduring clouds, In flower and tree, in every pebbly stone That paves the brooks, the stationary rocks, The moving waters and the invisible air. Whate'er exists hath properties that spread Beyond itself, communicating good, A simple blessing, or with evil mixed: Spirit that knows no insulated spot, No chasm, no solitude; from link to link It circulates, the soul of all the worlds."

Wordsworth. Excursion. Book VI, 1-15.

Christianity has, also, found a difficulty in finding a term to express the Divine Being; and so, sometimes, it has been left and expressed under the general term, THE NAME. Christian doctrine found that the term "God" did not adequately express the great idea in the one word, but was more complete under the threefold expression: "Father, Son and Holy Spirit."

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TRANSLATIONS

DISSERTATION ON
THE COSMIC SPIRIT

{notes|elucidations and analyses}

The Cosmic Spirit (Tao)The properties of the Tao. Universe and generated the eight points of the the firmament. There is no limit to its height, and its depth is unfathomable. It constituted Heaven and Earth and endowed them with the primary elements, when as yet they were without form. Flowing like a fountain, bubbling like a spring, impalpable, its energies bubbled forth in the void and filled space. Continuing to effervesce, it transformed the murky air of chaos into crystal clearness. Hence it filled Heaven and Earth and stretched to the uttermost parts of the sea. It spent itself without exhaustion: there was no morning or evening, i.e., rise and decay, no fatigue and revival.

Expanding, the Cosmic Spirit overspread every part of the firmament, earth, time and space. Rolled together, it was not a fistful; compressed, it can expand; opaque, it can yet be clear; yielding, yet strong, soft, yet firm. It is a macrocosmos as well as a microcosmos. It holds, as in a net, the four poles: and comprehends the active and passive forces of creation. It links the universe together and makes the sky luminous. It is most substantial and full of sap; most tenuous and fine: so delicate is it that it penetrates every pore and crevice.

It gives height to the mountain and depth to the abyss. It fashioned beasts to walk and birds to fly. Sun

The work of the Tao.

and moon are luminous by its power, and the planets revolve in their courses because of it: the Chilin comes forth through its energy, and the phoenix wheels in the empyrean through its might.

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In the beginning, the two forces Yin and Yang,Agency of Yin and Yang. organizing powers. Their divinity and influence determined the transformations of Heaven and the stability of Earth. The revolutions of the Universe were unfailing. It was through the Tao that the heavens first revolved and the earth was made fast: the successive revolutions failed not. The waters eternally flowed without ceasing and were conterminous with creation. The winds blew; the clouds steamed. There was nothing which should not be. Every thing was as it should be. The thunder pealed; rains fell: each and all responding to the movement of the Tao without cessation. Mysterious in its operations like the emergence of spirit, or the arrival of the phoenix, or the transformations of the dragon, its vestiges may be traced.

As the potter moves the wheel, the hub turns, one complete turn following on the other. In the universal

Flux of matter.

flux, organisms, when finished and polished, dissolve again into their rough elements and constituent parts.

Without (apparent) doing, things came into existence under the inspiration of the Tao. There is no sound or speech to indicate activity: the successive evolutions proceed with energies permeating all. Without love or hate, impartially, and in no boastful spirit, the perfect harmony is attained. The myriad varieties are organised each with its own nature. The energy of the Tao is imparted to the minutest thing: and, also, it operates in the greatest, composing the mighty universe. Its virtue gives flexibility to nature and harmonizes into unity the operations of Yin and Yang. It divides the four seasons and co-ordinates the five elements. Its beneficent spirit breathes on all, fructifying creation and the world of life. It sends forth its fattening dews on grass and tree; it bathes metal and stone with lustre; it makes bird and beast strong; it gives sheen to scale and feather, and strength to wing; and it begets p. 4 the horns (of cattle). Through its powers the embryo of beasts do not miscarry nor the eggs of birds addle.

It is due to the Tao that fathers have no occasion to mourn over the untimely death of their children,The Tao preserves men from calamity. elder brother weep over the untimely death of a younger member. Children are not made orphans nor wives widows. That the ill-starred rainbow does not appear, nor unlucky comets career in the sky, is due to the harmonious control of the Tao.Its transforming power. produces all phenomena, yet without appearing as the controller. Creatures that walk and breathe, that fly to and fro, and all creeping things depend on it for life, yet are unconscious of the merits of the Tao in their well-being. They await its behests for death, without bearing any grudge at the change. The benefits of the Tao in life are not extolled: the decay of death, through wear and tear, is not blamed. Accumulations of goods and stores must not be boasted of as wealth, nor are their distributions and donations to be looked upon as any impoverishment. Its fluxes are incomprehensible; its delicate operations are interminable. Build it up and you cannot give it any more height of glory. Subtract from it and you cannot rob it of any virtue. Multiply it and it is the same number; detract from it and it is no fewer; hack it and it is no thinner; slay it yet it is not destroyed; dig into it and it is without depth; fill it in and it will be no shallower.

Oh! how swift! how sudden! No form does it take: how exhaustless. Profound, Oh! Obscure, Oh! Responsive, Oh! Answer there is, Oh! Effective, Oh! Never does it move in vain, Oh! Conterminous with heaven and earth in its expansion and contraction, Oh! Ascending and descending with Yin and Yang, Oh!

In olden times Feng I and Ta Ping were great charioteers p. 5 by virtue of the Tao.Examples of Tao enduement. of clouds, entering the rainbow and floating on the lambent air: they raced into the infinite distance and the utmost height. They crossed the hoarfrost and snow, yet without any vestiges: and no shadow of theirs fell when the sun shone on them: they were diaphonous. They mounted aloft in circling spirals like those of the ram's horn, so swift were they. They crossed mountains and rivers; they vaulted over the K‛un Lun. They mounted aloft, opened the gate of the Presence and entered the abode of the Deity. The finest chariot of these latter days, hitched to the fleetest horses urged by the sharpest thongs could not compete with them in the race.

Thus we see that the great man interested in the Tao lives happily without anxieties: his outlook is without fears because he feels Heaven is a covering, the Earth is a chariot, the four seasons his steeds, Yin and Yang his drivers. He rides on the pinnacle of the clouds, through space, a compeer of the Creator.p. 6 in this immense effort: there is no toil in the profound operations. There has been no fatigue of body nor diminution of intelligence.Four Fundamental Principles. Purity, Quiescence, Peacefulness, Unity. a natural way,p. 7 everything is in its proper place. Therefore those who are placed in power are not regarded as a burden by the people: those who are at the head receive no harm from the people: that is to say they are looked up to and loved! The whole empire is drawn to them: the lawless and unruly fear them. Because they have no strife with creation, therefore no one dares to strive with them.

An angler who goes to the river bank with the finest of hooks, lines and bait, who plies his skill with the

Great Principles are superior to temporary expedients.

expertness of Tan Ho Force leads to force. suspicious and wily. And so Yü, seeing the opposition of the kingdoms, rased this wall to the ground and filled in the moats, scattered the wealth accumulated, burnt the implements of war and administered the empire on the principles of virtue, not of force. As a result, the distant people brought their tributes and the barbarian tribes their offerings. The concord sealed at the conclave of the Lords, at T‛u Shan,p. 8 From this we see that when a scheming mind is cherished, the sincerity of purpose is not perfect nor the spiritual energies complete; (singleness of mind is lacking.) The ruler whose vision is narrow fails to appreciate how to command the services of those who are far away. From this we see that militarism begets militarism. A fortified wall implies war chariots, and a coat of mail leads others to sharpen their swords. If boiling water is added to boiling water, it will but make it more violent. Likewise to beat a vicious dog or whip a kicking horse, in order to correct it, would not succeed even though Yin I or Tsao Fu Tao is expressed in naturalism and adaptation. at a loss. The man of many plans who lives by schemes, on the other hand, labours away without success. Violent measures and rigorous punishments are not instruments for either a tyrant or a king. Blows and flagellations constantly rained on subjects, are not the way to make dogs and horses travel far. The excellent vision of Li Chu p. 9 Shen Nung, in the sowing of seed, depended for instruction on the guidance given by the nature of the germ. The duckweed has its roots in water, and the tree has its root in earth. The bird stretches his wing and flies in the void: the feet of beasts clutch the solid ground and walk: the scaly dragon inhabits the water: the tiger and leopard dwell in mountains. Such is their inherent nature.

The rubbing together of two pieces of wood begets heat: when metal is held in fire it becomes liquid: wheels revolve; cylinders and scooped-out articles, as boats or shells, float. Natural conditions these, arising from form and following natural law.

Similarly when the Spring winds arrive, the gentle rain falls, bedewing the whole creation into fruitfulness. The feathered tribes burst the egg, and the hairy creatures conceive and beget. Plants and trees put on bloom: birds and beasts bear their eggs and conceive their young. Nothing is seen of these operations, but the results are being achieved. The autumn chills bring the hoar-frosts, leading to the drooping and fall of the flora. The eagle and heron strike their prey mercilessly; creeping things hibernate. Plants and trees live on their roots: fishes and turtles congregate in the deep pools. Their doing these things is not seen: traces of these hidden activities is annihilated. Birds that perch on trees use twigs for nests; water animals have holes. Wild beasts spread straw in their lairs: human beings dwell in houses. Cows and horses are for service in dry districts; boats require much water: the Hsiung Nu produce and wear raw skins: Hunan and Kuangtung grow fine hemp. Each produces that which is required for its own climate to meet the conditions of dry and damp. Each is able to protect itself against the cold and heat, by means of its own produce, and in order to obtain what is necessary for itself: convenient goods and commodities meet the requirements of each place. From these evidences we see that creation is strong in its naturalness. What need then for government by the sage?p. 10 need for him to act. Naturalness is enough.

South of the Chiu I, dry-land industry is scarce and the water-way industries are many. The inhabitants use short trousers for convenience of fording waters: they have short sleeves for convenience in propelling their boats. These habits arise from the watery nature of the districts.

North of Yen Men, the natives do not eat cereals. They pay little regard to seniority and age, admiring rather lusty youth and virility. The conventional view pays respect to lusty strength. It is a custom for men never to let go the bow from their hands nor to unsaddle their horses. Such is their habit. Hence Yü disrobed when he entered the Nudity (Lo) kingdom, and wore his robes again when he emerged from its border; this he did because he did not wish to interfere with custom. p. 11 bits in the horse's mouth and run a noose through the ox's nose. They who follow Heaven, or the natural order, flow in the current of the Tao. They who follow men get mixed with conventional ways. It would be useless to tell the fish in the well about the horizon of the great ocean, because it is cribbed in a narrow place. It would be vain to speak of the cold of winter to the creeping things that know only of the summer's heat: they are cognizant only of their own seasons. It would be useless to discuss broad views with a narrow-minded scholar: he is bound to the conventional and tied to his own orthodoxy. Hence the sage must not tarnish heavenly law by human things: nor confuse natural laws with concupiscence. Without any planning, affairs find their correct issues: without a multitude of words, faith is achieved, credence is found: without anxiety, life is attained; and without effort, success is won. He whose spirit is identified with the cosmic soul Clever men may miss the mark. occasion of injury. Hence it is not impossible for the smart man of affairs not to hit the mark. The polemical person may meet with embarrassment, and the man who strives for gain may not get all he is after. The might of the ancient (engineer) Kung Kung p. 12 Tao rather than on the Sage.Success of those who followed Tao. the soil struggled for every crooked and awkward corner, each anxious to concede the fertile plot to his neighbour. He also fished for a whole year on the river's bank, and, as a result, the fishermen strove together for the currents and rapids, each keen to concede the deep pools and quiet corners to the other. During these times, Shun gave no lectures on morality nor on conduct, but, maintaining the great way in his heart, his influence sped as though it were divine. Suppose now that Shun were without this uprightness of character he would never convert a single individual, though he were to preach to the public and go talking from house to house. Thus we see that the unspoken Tao has a mighty sweep.

It is able to control the San Miao (aborigines) and induce the Yü people to offer their tributes. It can

Achievements of Tao.

transform the "Unclad Nation" and get revenues from Su Ch‛en (a distant tribe of the north) without the issuing of a summons, or the heralding of edicts. The Tao can resolve customs and change habits, by means of merely spiritual influence. How could laws or punishments ever achieve so much? For this reason the sage pays every attention to the culture of the fundamental rather than to the adornment of accidental means (such as the impositions of laws and punishments). He guards the spirit, and keeps the intellect in abeyance. Profoundly the work is that of wu-wei "no action"; nevertheless there is nothing left undone. Placidly no authority is excercised; yet there is nothing which is uncontrolled.

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The meaning of Wu wei,wu pu wei" "there

Wu Wei.

is nothing undone" is that, in following the cosmic spirit wu chih chô," ("not governing") is that there is no interference with naturalness. And the phrase "there is nothing that is not governed", means that the end is attained in correspondence with the mutual fitness of things.

There is a raison d'être in the springing to birth of all creation; and each thing knows how to guard its root.Four Atributes of Tao. Meekness, Tenderness, Humility, Emptiness. heart is humble, but the work is forceful). Now what I mean by this statement is this: a yielding will has a reposeful ease, soft as downy feathers,—a quietude, a shrinking from action, an appearance of inability to do. Placidly free from anxiety, one acts without missing the opportune time; one moves and revolves in the line of creation, One does not move ahead but responds to the fitting influence. Hence the exalted and those placed in high station will inevitably adopt the symbol of unworthiness,p. 14 the number of things, one attains the doctrine of unity or the one.

We may see, therefore, that he who would have firmness must do so by yieldingness. He who would be strong

The power of yieldingness: non-resistance.

must guard it by tenderness. A wealth of yieldingness gives an abundance of firmness: an accumulation of tenderness yields strength. Take note of the nature of the predominant events, and you will have an indication of whether misfortune or happiness impends. Strength will overcome an unequal combatant; but two of equal strength will have an equal resultant. Yieldingness will overcome anything superior to itself; its strength is boundless. For this reason military strength (is as a fire) will be extinguished. The strength of the tree bends to the wind and is sawn for timber. The strong skin (of a drum) will crack. Teeth are stronger than the tongue; but they decay sooner. Hence yieldingness and non-resistance or tenderness are the mainstay p. 15 the disadvantage of inexperience; whereas his successor finds it so much easier to achieve the purpose. The pioneer climbs high; his successor follows and gets help from him. The pioneer descends to the depths and falls into ruin; he who follows will step on the shoulder of the pioneer and take measures based on the experience of his predecessor. The pioneer falls into dangers; the man who comes after gains from experience. The pioneer is baffled in his plans, but his successor avoids the pitfalls.

From this it is seen that the pioneer forms the sharp point of his successor's arrow. He is, as it were, the point of the lance.

The point strikes the difficult obstacle, breaks its resistance and becomes a buffer; but the handle suffers no harm, for the reason that it occupies a secondary position and is cushioned by the buffer. This may be taken as the universal view. The worldly-wise and intelligent cannot avoid the consequences of this impulsion of the senses.

What I mean by "successors" does not imply that they are immobile and without initiative, nor that they are petrified and incapabable of motion. But what these do is to pay attention to the harmonizing of every plan and act in concert with occasion and take account of times and seasons. By the power of the Tao one meets the need of every change, using the beginning to govern the end, and the end to govern the beginning.p. 16 but that he strove to catch every opportunity.Greatness of yieldingness illustrated by water. sounded. Its distance p. 17 and is bestowed on creation without favouring one or the other. It is copious on every hand. Its heaving movements are great and concurrent with all nature. It knows neither left nor right, curls round and encircles everything, and is commensurate and contemporary with creation. This is termed Supreme Excellency (Chih Te). Now the reason of water achieving this supreme excellency in the world lies in its virtue of penetrativeness, in its irrigating and effusive properties, so that Lao Tan was led to speak of it as the softest thing in the world galloping through the hardest: issuing from the non-material, it enters into the non-spatial, i.e. enters everything. "I know therefore," he said, "that Wu wei is most advantageous." Now the immaterial, the formless, is the great ancestor of wu, matter: the soundless, i.e. that which makes no sound, is the great founder of sound. Their son is light; their grandson is water.Unity of Tao. means something without compeer in the universe. Uniquely it stands alone. Being-like it is placed alone.p. 18 the nine Points, the vastnesses, of the world.p. 19 passes through the one portal:Self Culture. Reduce desire restrain feeling. of virtue; love and hate are the failures of the heart; concupiscence and lust are the embarrassments of nature. Great anger destroys the negative force (Yin) of man's nature, and great joy disorders the positive (Yang). Great anger brings dumbness; great fear leads to madness; sorrow and grief cause rage; sickness gathers strength; when likes and dislikes come in profusion, then follow adversities in their train. But a heart free from care and joy, supplies the perfection of virtue. To be permeated with the Tao and not subject to vacillation. gives the perfection of repose: not to be loaded with carnal desires gives perfection of hsü, purity. When there p. 20 is no love and hate, (likes and dislikes) there is the perfection of equanimity. When the mind is not distracted by things, there is the perfection of simplicity (or intrinsic truth). Ability to possess these five attributes ensures true fellowship and communion with God.Autocrat of the World. One will not overshoot the mark nor come short in one's actions. Such an one will not be unhappy in a lowly position: nor will he eschew great duties. His soul is not impetuous, his spirit is not unstable (perturbed). Profound and undefiled, serene and reposeful, he is the autocrat of the universe.p. 21 crowd before him. In attending to the affairs of empire, he is expeditious, like (a boat) sailing with the wind.

The Sage will not allow his person to be the instrument p. 22 of matter, nor permit his peace to be disturbed by

Spiritual joy lasts.

desire. Thus, when he rejoices, it is not with boisterous hilarity. When he sorrows, he will not suffer his nature to be wounded. Circumstances ever change and vary; there is nothing stable about life's conditions. The Tao-man, alone, lives triumphantly (or cherishes the magnanimous point), abandoning worthless things. He keeps step with the Tao. Therefore he has the wherewith to find his true nature. Whether his pilgrimage be under a stately tree, or his dwelling be in a secluded cave he finds enough to satisfy his nature. But the man who has not found his true self, though he possess the empire for home, and the myriad people for ministers and concubines, will not, on that account, find the satisfaction of life.Carnal joy vanishes. organs arranged; the richest carpets are spread and the ivory ornamented poles are gay with embroidered bunting; the ear hears the passion-moving music of Chao Ko and Pei Pi; the most lovely courtesans are present, the tables are laden with wines and delicacies, and the carousings are carried on from evening to dawn. In the daytime he goes hunting, shooting at the high-flying bird, or with the hounds stalking the wily hare. These are his pleasures, glowing with excited passions under sensual enticements. I grant they have attractions; but they are mixed with mortification, for when the carriage is unhitched, and the horses unharnessed, the wine has ceased to flow and the music is ended, then the heart is pulled up, as though the chill of death had passed over it: it is filled with vexation, as though it had lost something. And the reason? They have not taken the joy within to supply p. 23 the joy without, but rather used adventitious joys to create an inward pleasure. There is pleasure as long as the music lasts, but when the song is ended, sadness creeps on. Under such conditions, sorrow and joy change about and mutually beget each other. The spirit is disordered. Not a moment's rest can be found!

If the reasons be examined how it is that one failed to get the substance of joy and thus continued to injure

The reason.

one's life daily? The cause is found in this that one has lost that, the doing of which would give the possession of virtue to the mind.p. 24

When the Tao governs the mind a monarchy is needless.

realm (of conscience): conscience, in turn, enters the avenues of every action. Therefore, when the mind lacks the inner control, any pride of authority in the art of governing men may be compared to a person who is deaf trying to ring the bell and beat the drum, or to a blind person trying to find pleasure in works of art. It is plain they are perfectly incompetent to do so. So it is clear that the king's instruments of government must not be artificial, (such as policy, schemes, opportunism). An artifical creation would ruin the country, and he who grasps power would lose it. In elucidation, the case of Hsü Yu might be given, who thought little of the pomp of empire and would not change places with Yao. His mind was not set on place and power. How may we account for such a view of life? Because of empire and for empire.p. 25 mean by "possessing the empire" is not such as this: I mean that the person has found himself. When self is found, the empire has also got a man. When there is this mutual possession, we each exist together without a break. How can it be that there is any alienation and that the empire cannot use me? The meaning of "finding self" is that life is perfected—or the culture of the person is perfect. When this is done, there is identity with the Tao.Physical and spiritual joy compared. emperor, who can go anywhere and do anything), by racing the great hunter Niao, and decorating his umbrella with the turquoise feathers (a great minister), by witnessing the great military dances and music (of Wu), by listening to the strains of the Yao Lang, Ch‛i Lu, Chi Chen: by the performance of the popular music of Cheng and Wei, by harmonizing the high and low sounds, by shooting the high flying birds on the banks of the Chao, by hunting wild beasts in the Imperial park of Yuan Yu, well and good. Why those are the very sports that the multitude delights in and gets intoxicated with. The Sage man, placed amongst these, does not find that they are any enticements to his spiritual life or allurements to seduce his will and purpose, moving his heart by sudden passion and leading him to lose his true nature. Rather he would prefer to live in a secluded and poor village or to crouch within the recess of some dark gully or in the retirement of some jungle, cribbed within a small hut, which has fresh grass for thatch, a grass-made postern and an old crock for window, the hinges of the gate formed of wisps of thc mulberry. The hut may leak above and be dank below, the north-facing booth may be filled with dampness. After snow and sleet have made slush of the ground, he plants his own melons and chiang (grain only eaten by the poorest); he takes his walks abroad through the wide p. 26 morass and tramps back and fore in the gorge of the mountain. Were the generality of people faced with this sort of life they would wrinkle their faces, blink their eyes and be full of distress at the disagreeable prospect. The sage placed in such a situation, would not feel sad, downcast, envious or misanthropic, nor would he, for the world, lose the grounds of his own inward joy by such hardship. And the reason? Because within he is in touch with the spiritual realm: he does not lose his will to virtue because of a high or lowly station,Outward change does not move the mind. magpies "tsie, tsieh;"—these sounds do not change with every changed condition of the weather. The man of tao has his mind fixed, nor does he depend on compulsion of circumstances in the flux of things: his mind does not await any single chance of fortune to determine the ground of his self possession (tzû tê). So what I mean by "possession" is that the nature of his life is established in that which gives peace. Now the soul and body issue from the central source. When the body functions perfectly, (moral) then nature and life are completed. When these are completed, then the affections, such as love and hatred, are begotten (a point of danger). Thus scholars have fixed principle of morality in intercourse: and women have an unchanging rule of action as to marrying again. These can never be changed.p. 27

The tao-man wears well.

and tear. He does not depend on power to be esteemed, nor on riches to be honoured, nor on force to be strong. Agreeably he moves forward in harmony with the fluctuating movements of the Cosmic Spirit. Thus he is naturally like the metal hidden in the hills or the pearl in the deep. He does not look on affluence as the source of joy nor lust for the symbols of power. Therefore he does not look on success as ease of mind, nor on ingloriousness as a thing to be dreaded. He does not consider a high position as peace nor a low position as danger. Body, soul, spirit and will are each in the Heaven-appointed place.

Now the body is life's tenement, the breath (passion nature)p. 28 and which enlighten him in right and wrong? It is a fulness of spirit (ch‛i),p. 29 the lust of position. They aspire to stand in the high places of the world, by reason of superior abilities which implies a daily expenditure of their spirit. The longer this goes on, the farther is the distance between spirit and body: steeped in these excesses, return to normality is less likely. The body being closed up by these desires, the heart opposes the entrance of higher influences. Thus the pure spirit of the natural endowment has no freedom of action. Thus it constantly happens in the world that disasters befall men who fail to see the right and who act contrary to justice and who have the lost mind. Such people are of the "tallow candle" class. This means that fire that burns quickly will die out all the sooner.

The soul and spirit that are in repose are daily at the full and make for strength. The impetuous spirit wears itself out early, leading to senility (weakness). Therefore, the Sage-man nourishes his soul and moulds his spirit in yieldingness and keeps the body in repose (equanimity): up and down in the height and in the depth, he oscillates with the Tao. Serenely he yields to it: compelled to take office, he makes use of it. He yields to it as to the robe he puts on himself: he uses it as it were a swift arrow. Thus in all the fluxes of nature there is nothing he fails to respond to: in the changing affairs of life there is nothing he does not answer.

THE COSMIC SPIRIT

THE COSMIC SPIRIT

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