On Life, Death and Nature: Selections from the Taoist “Book of Lieh-Tzu,” Part 2 of 2

“[…] The Master Lieh Tzu heard of the discussion, and smiling said: ‘He who maintains that Heaven and Earth are destructible, and he who upholds the contrary, are both equally at fault. Whether they are destructible or not is something we can never know, though in both cases it will be the same for all alike. The living and the dead, the going and the coming, know nothing of each other’s state. Whether destruction awaits the world or not, why should I trouble my head about it?’”

“[…] On learning from Mr Hsiang what had happened, he cried out: ‘Alas and alack! You have been brought to this pass because you went the wrong way to work. Now let me put you on the right track. We all know that Heaven has its seasons, and that Earth has its riches. Well, the things that I steal are the riches of Heaven and Earth, each in their season – the fertilizing rain-water from the clouds, and the natural products of mountain and meadowland. Thus, I grow my grain and ripen my crops, build my walls, and construct my tenements. […] There is nothing that I do not steal. For corn and grain, clay and wood, … […] are all products of Nature. How can I claim them as mine? Yet, stealing in this way from Nature, I bring on myself no retribution. But gold, jade, and precious stones, stores of grain, […] and other kinds of property, are things accumulated by men, not bestowed upon us by Nature. So who can complain if he gets into trouble by stealing them?’

Mr Hsiang, in a state of great perplexity and fearing to be led astray a second time by Mr Kuo, went off to consult Tung Kuo, a man of learning. Tung Kuo said to him: ‘Are you not already a thief in respect of your own body? You are stealing the harmony of the Yin and the Yang in order to keep alive and to maintain your bodily form. How much more, then, are you a thief with regard to external possessions! Assuredly, Heaven and Earth cannot be dissociated from the myriad objects of Nature. To claim any one of these as your own betokens confusion of thought. Mr Kuo’s thefts are carried out in a spirit of justice and, therefore, bring no retribution. But your thefts were carried out in a spirit of self-seeking and therefore landed you in trouble. Those who take possession of property, whether public or private, are thieves. Those who abstain from taking property, public or private, are also thieves. For no one can help possessing a body, and no one can help acquiring some property or other which cannot be got rid of with the best will in the world. Such thefts are unconscious thefts.’ The great principle of Heaven and Earth is to treat public property as such and private property as such. Knowing this principle, which of us is a thief, and at the same time, which of us is not a thief?’”