| The Empty Boat |
He who rules men, lives in confusion;
he who is ruled by men lives in sorrow.
Tao therefore desires
neither to influence others
nor be influenced by them.
The way to get clear of confusion and free of sorrow
is to live with Tao in the land of the void.
If a man is crossing a river
and an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
even though he be a bad-tempered man
he will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
he will shout to him to steer clear.
And if the shout is not heard he will shout
again and yet again, and begin cursing –
and all because there is somebody in that boat.
Yet if the boat were empty,
he would not be shouting,
and he would not be angry.
If you can empty your own boat
crossing the river of the world,
no one will oppose you,
no one will seek to harm you.
The straight tree is the first to be cut down,
the spring of clear water is the first to be drained dry.
If you wish to improve your wisdom
and shame the ignorant,
to cultivate your character and outshine others,
a light will shine around you
as if you had swallowed the sun and the moon –
and you will not avoid calamity.
A wise man has said:
"He who is content with himself
has done worthless work.
Achievement is the beginning of failure,
fame is the beginning of disgrace."
Who can free himself of achievement and fame
then descend and be lost
amid the masses of men?
He will flow like Tao, unseen,
he will go about like life itself
with no name and no home.
Simple is he, without distinction.
To all appearances he is a fool.
His steps leave no trace. He has no power.
He achieves nothing, he has no reputation.
Since he judges no one,
no one judges him.
Such is the perfect man –
his boat is empty.
he who is ruled by men lives in sorrow.
Tao therefore desires
neither to influence others
nor be influenced by them.
The way to get clear of confusion and free of sorrow
is to live with Tao in the land of the void.
If a man is crossing a river
and an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
even though he be a bad-tempered man
he will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
he will shout to him to steer clear.
And if the shout is not heard he will shout
again and yet again, and begin cursing –
and all because there is somebody in that boat.
Yet if the boat were empty,
he would not be shouting,
and he would not be angry.
If you can empty your own boat
crossing the river of the world,
no one will oppose you,
no one will seek to harm you.
The straight tree is the first to be cut down,
the spring of clear water is the first to be drained dry.
If you wish to improve your wisdom
and shame the ignorant,
to cultivate your character and outshine others,
a light will shine around you
as if you had swallowed the sun and the moon –
and you will not avoid calamity.
A wise man has said:
"He who is content with himself
has done worthless work.
Achievement is the beginning of failure,
fame is the beginning of disgrace."
Who can free himself of achievement and fame
then descend and be lost
amid the masses of men?
He will flow like Tao, unseen,
he will go about like life itself
with no name and no home.
Simple is he, without distinction.
To all appearances he is a fool.
His steps leave no trace. He has no power.
He achieves nothing, he has no reputation.
Since he judges no one,
no one judges him.
Such is the perfect man –
his boat is empty.
| If you meet a Chuang Tzu, or a Lao Tzu, or me, the boat is there, but it is empty, nobody is in it. If you simply look at the surface, then somebody is there, because the boat is there. But if you penetrate deeper, if you really become intimate with me, if you forget the body, the boat, then you come to encounter a nothingness. Chuang Tzu is a rare flowering, because to become nobody is the most difficult, almost impossible, most extraordinary thing in the world... --Osho The Empty Boat, ch. 1 |
| oshobob The Living Workshop |
| The Empty Boat--Chinese |
mp3 audio clip in standard Chinese, by a native speaker
from the People's Republic of China.
text in simplified Chinese, the form used throughout
mainland China.
from the People's Republic of China.
text in simplified Chinese, the form used throughout
mainland China.
| talks on Chuang Tzu (Zhuangzi) 庄子的故事 by Osho (Aoxiu) 作者: 奥修 |
| Chapter 1 His Boat Is Empty |
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| 他的船是空的 支配人者，生活于混乱中； 被人支配者，生活于悲哀中。 所以道， 既不欲影响他人 也不欲受他人影响。 脱除混乱、免于悲伤之路 是与道共生于空无之乡。 如果一人正在渡河 一艘空船与他自己的船相撞， 即使他是个坏脾气的人， 也不会变得很愤怒。 但若他见到一个人在船中， 他会对他高喊让开。 假如对方没听见，他会 再三叫喊，并开始咒骂-- 一切都因为那船上有人。 假如那船是空的， 他不会喊叫， 也不会愤怒。 如果你能空船渡人世之河， 没有人会反对你， 没有人会图谋害你。 笔直的树被最早砍倒， 清澈的泉被最先汲干。 如果你希望增进你的智慧 使无知的人感到羞愧， 如果你希望培养你的品质并胜过他人， 你就会光芒四射 好像你已吞下了太阳和月亮-- 你也将无从避开祸患。 一位智者说过： “自在的人 做无功的事。 成功是失败的开始， 名誉是毁誉的发端。” 谁能从功名里抽身， 而后降返 于芸芸众生之中？ 他会像道一样，韬光匿耀， 如生活本身一般，藏名匿迹。 他是纯朴的，没什么特别。 看起来他是个愚人。 他不留足迹，没有力量。 他没有功，没有名。 因为他不指责谁， 谁也不指责他。 这就是至人-- 他的船是空的。 |