In the state of Lu there was a man called Wang Tai whose foot had been chopped off as a punishment. Yet somehow he had as many followers as Confucius himself. Chang Ji questioned Confucius about it.
"Wang Tai is a one-footed ex-con, and yet his followers divide the state of Lu with you, Master. When he stand he offers no instruction, and when he sits he gives no opinions. And yet, they go to him empty and return filled. Is there really such a thing as wordless instruction, a formless way of bringing the mind to completion? What kind of man is he?"
This was the only part of the Zhuangzi I read to students in our first meeting today. Wang Tai is only the first of the cavalcade of maimed and mangled misfits of the 4th chapter, and this account actually goes on to a quite extensive articulation of what Wang Tai's wordless wisdom might be which I saved for another day. But I did quote the next lines:
Confucius said, "That man, my master, is a sage. Only my procrastination has kept me from going to follow him myself. If he is master even to me, how much more should he be so to you. I shall bring not only the state of Lu but all the world to follow him!"
This was the only part of the Zhuangzi I read to students in our first meeting today. Wang Tai is only the first of the cavalcade of maimed and mangled misfits of the 4th chapter, and this account actually goes on to a quite extensive articulation of what Wang Tai's wordless wisdom might be which I saved for another day. But I did quote the next lines:
Confucius said, "That man, my master, is a sage. Only my procrastination has kept me from going to follow him myself. If he is master even to me, how much more should he be so to you. I shall bring not only the state of Lu but all the world to follow him!"
(trans. Ziporyn, 32-33)
