Page:Zhuang Zi - translation Giles 1889.djvu/161

CAP. XI.] himself upon the ground he said, "I am told, Sir, that you are in possession of perfect . May I ask how my self may be preserved so as to last?"

Kuang Ch'êng Tzŭ jumped up with a start. "A good question indeed!" cried he. "Come, and I will speak to you of perfect.

"The essence of perfect is profoundly mysterious; its extent is lost in obscurity.

"See nothing; hear nothing; let your soul be wrapped in quiet; and your body will begin to take proper form. Let there be absolute repose and absolute purity; do not weary your body nor disturb your vitality,—and you will live for ever. For if the eye sees nothing, and the ear hears nothing, and the mind


 * Lit. the heart.

thinks nothing, the soul will preserve the body, and the body will live for ever.


 * Not in the grosser worldly sense, but as a sublimated unit in eternity.

"Cherish that which is within you, and shut off that which is without; for much knowledge is a curse. Then I will place you upon that abode of Great Light which is the source of the positive Power, and escort you through the gate of Profound Mystery which is the source of the negative Power. These Powers are the controllers of heaven and earth, and each contains the other.


 * Knowledge thereof is knowledge of the great mystery of human existence.