“Lao Dan also happened to go to the state of Qin. When in the state of Liang,” probably when in Hsinchu, “They met each other. They bumped into each other there. When Lao Tzu saw Yang Tzu, He raised His head to look at the sky. Looked in that direction.” Like, what I am doing now. I don’t know why. Let me see. Ah! “And then He sighed.” […] “He said, ‘Previously, I thought I could teach You. But, today, I find that You’re not teachable.’” Meaning He couldn’t be saved. No way. Meaning there’s no way. “Then Yang Tzu didn’t say anything.” […]
(Hallo, Master.) Hallo, everyone. (Hallo, Master.) Now, running, running. See? When I was not here, they all went to sleep. Now they have to come back running. How come there’s no one here? Up there? Not here. It’s not clean here. Didn’t anyone sweep the floor in the morning? Did you sweep floor? (We did.) (So beautiful.) You did? (Yes. We mopped the floor.) Should I go up first, and then come down later? No one is here. (We’re here.) Are you? (Yes.) Why are we seeing so many people running? Coming down from the bamboo grove, huh? (From the bamboo grove.) I was thinking of going down to my living room to sit for a while and wait. Eventually, I was attracted by you. You’ve attracted me to come here. Can’t control it. I’ve been attracted to come here even from Europe. Not to mention from nearby.
Are the contact persons here? (Yes.) Hurry up and run here. Sitting here is cooler. Just sometimes. Can sit here sometimes. Quick. The foreigners won’t understand what I’m going to say, so I didn’t invite them to come. Come. Be quick. One, two, three. Don’t want to sit? You don’t want? (Yes, yes, yes. I am going to sit.) Come, come. Be careful. Careful. Come in. Come in. Be careful of the ants there. Didn’t they sweep the floor in the morning? Sitting in the front is better. Sitting there is also OK. Move over here. A little bit farther away. It’s OK. Is that all? Not that many. Alright. Those working people, those who work here, can come up here, both male and female. Be quick. One, two, three. Run. No need to wear shoes. Quick. Those who work here, who work diligently and not play around with flowers and grass, not disturbing others, showing off to enjoy flowers. The “flowers” that walk around. Come, come, come. (Here.) In the front. It’s alright. It’s fine. Shorter ones sit in the front, taller ones in the back. Hurry up. Hurry. We’re going to… The lecture begins! OK.
I have a book in my hand, titled, “Lieh Tzu and Yang Tzu.” Also Confucius (Kong Tzu) and Lao Tzu. A lot of “Tzu” in it. But what They say in the book, is also what we have talked about here. It’s just in case you don’t believe. So I’m going to “sell” Their talks. You tend to believe more in things others say, right? When you hear a living Master speak about it, you are less likely to… OK, OK.
“There’s a time,” Yang Chu… Is Yang Chu the same person as Yang Tzu? (Yes.) The same person? (It’s the same person.) What a strange thing. He and Lao Tzu. Too old to die, Lao Tzu, too old to die. One would die when old. Lao Tzu. (It’s Lao Tzu.) Was he a contemporary of Lao Tzu? (A contemporary of Yang Tzu.) (Both in the same era.) (Confucius.) (Yang Tzu.) Were Yang Tzu and Lao Tzu contemporaries? (Of Chuang Tzu.) (Chuang Tzu?) Chuang Tzu… No. Yang Chu. (Yang Chu. Correct.) Yang Tzu should be… (Yang Chu is Yang Tzu.) He’s the disciple of Lao Tzu. (He’s a contemporary of Chuang Tzu.) Ah, no. He’s a contemporary of Lao Tzu. They made a mistake. Strange? Yang Tzu himself was already very famous. He’s a teacher. How come he’s always mingling with Lao Tzu? OK. Never mind. Never mind about any “Tzu.” They’re all dead anyhow. Can’t defend anything for themselves. We just read it randomly.
“Yang Tzu, or Yang Chu, he went to Miaoli. He went to the south, actually.” Meaning he hitched a ride from Taipei, or took a bus to Miaoli with fellow practitioners. “He went to a place called ‘Baidi.’” I don’t know how he “prostrated himself.” “Lao Dan,” Is Lao Dan also Lao Tzu? (Yes.) Strange, why he added “Dan” to His name? He was not only dead (Tzu) but also single (Dan). OK. Lao Dan. This “Dan” is not the same as “single.” “Lao Dan also happened to go to the state of Qin. When in the state of Liang,” probably when in Hsinchu, “They met each other. They bumped into each other there. When Lao Tzu saw Yang Tzu, He raised His head to look at the sky. Looked in that direction.” Like, what I am doing now. I don’t know why. Let me see. Ah! “And then He sighed.” Strange. Why was Lao Tzu doing that? Maybe there’s a UFO, so He by the way took a look.
Anyway, He didn’t look at Yang Tzu. “He said, ‘Previously, I thought I could teach You. But, today, I find that You’re not teachable.’” Meaning He couldn’t be saved. No way. Meaning there’s no way. “Then Yang Tzu didn’t say anything.” I thought He’d talk a lot. But then He didn’t say anything. Really. Nothing. It said so in the book. Then… “However, when He followed Lao Tzu to an inn, Yang Tzu went to take a bath, brush His teeth and wash His face. After reciting the Five Holy Names and meditating for two and a half hours, He went to… And also after combing His hair plus taking off His shoes outside the door,” meaning He only wore socks, “He kneeled down. On his knees, He (Yang Tzu) crawled to the side of Lao Tzu. He said, very respectfully, ‘Just now, Master raised Your head to look at the sky. Right? You looked at the sky and sighed, telling me that You previously thought I was teachable, but now You think I’m not. What does that mean? May I ask?’” Meaning asking His Master to advise Him. He said it in a beautiful way, not in the way I talk.
“‘Just now, because Master remained silent, walking slowly and lightly, so I dared not ask. Now, would You please enlighten me where I’ve done wrong? Where are my shortcomings?’ Lao Tzu answered, ‘Seeing that You are so complacent and proud, who’d want to be near You? When one thing is very white, it’d seem to have a little bit of…’” What? A little bit… (Blemish.) Huh? (Blemish.) Meaning kind of dirty. (Blemish.) Blemish. Tooth? (Blemish.) Blemish. (Correct.) OK. A little bit of blemish. Like stains here and there. So you see, on my white dress, there seems to be something on it. See that? Here it’s yellow, and the other side is gold, then kind of green. It’s not good to be too white. I probably understand what Lao Tzu meant. I haven’t read it, but I understand. (Right.) Thanks a lot. You’re the only one clapping. Alright. I’m not hinting anything. It’s too late.
“He said, ‘If one thing… If it is too white, it’d seem to have blemishes.’” (Blemish.) “Idiot.” (“Blemish.”) “‘When one’s virtue is too perfect, it’d seem imperfect.’” Do you know what He (Lao Tzu) meant? “Then Yang Tzu felt so embarrassed that His face changed color. Then He prostrated and said, ‘I obey.’” Obey. I don’t know. They understand each other, but I don’t. What did He mean by saying that? (Meaning He respected Him very much.) He respected Him, that I know. It’s very obvious. But why did He respect Him? OK. Read on, and we’ll know.
“Normally, when the two of them arrived at the inn together just now, the owner, the innkeeper, rushed to greet Him (Yang Tzu). Then the manager, the inn manager, quickly arranged the mat for Him to sit on. Then the wife of the innkeeper hastened to bring the wet towel, even spraying some perfume on it.” Spray, spray, spray! Hmm, it smells nice. This one is not fragrant. “Then she brought Him a comb, a mirror, etc.” Meaning to welcome Him with great respect, making Him feel very comfortable. First-class service. OK. “Other guests in the inn offered Him space and seat.” Or maybe gave Him a good room, and so on. “Also, the chef,” the one who cooks? (The chef.) “The chef in the kitchen served Him the best dishes. The best food, and so on.
However, now,” meaning after listening to what Lao Tzu said, “He seemed to become humbler. Even when the guests fought with Him over a seat, the innkeeper didn’t come out to greet Him, the wife of the innkeeper didn’t offer Him the wet towel with French perfume, etc. None of that anymore. That’s it. They didn’t make any remarks.”
But, let’s see if there’s anything we can learn from it. Why would a very white thing become blemished? A little bit dirty. Why is that? (Because it’s easier to see stains on things that are completely white.) (Because of the light.) Optical fiber? (The light. It seems to have a little black stain.) Maybe a kind of shadow or something. So there seem to be some dark spots. OK. What he meant is, when it’s too white, it’ll reflect too much light, so that we humans will seem to see some flaws, a little bit of dark spots, or traces, just because it’s too white.
Photo Caption: Fanning Up the Inner Joy!
