Among the disciples of Lao Dan there was one named Gengsang Chu, who uniquely obtained Lao Dan’s Way. He went north and lived on the mountain of Weilei (畏垒). Among his servants, those who were clever and showy he made leave; among his maids, those who were conspicuously benevolent he kept at a distance. He lived only with the simple and uncarved, and employed only the unconstrained and self-contented. After three years, the Weilei region enjoyed a great harvest.
The people of Weilei said to one another: “When Gengsang Chu first came, we were slightly startled and thought him strange. Now, when we count by the day, we still feel lacking; but when we count by the year, we have more than enough. He must be a sage! Why do we not together set him up as a spirit tablet and sacrifice to him, make him our god of soil and grain?”
When Gengsang Chu heard this, he faced south and was not at ease. His disciples found it strange. Gengsang Chu said: “Why are you disciples surprised at me? When the spring Qi rises, the hundred grasses grow; when autumn comes rightly, the ten thousand treasures ripen. Do spring and autumn do this without any ground? The Way of Heaven has already moved. I have heard that the Perfect Man dwells like a corpse in a room of four walls, while the people wander wild, not knowing where to go. Now the petty people of Weilei secretly want to place me among worthies with sacrificial vessels. Am I a man to be pointed at? This is why I cannot let go of Lao Dan’s words.”
The disciples said: “Not so. In an ordinary ditch, a great fish has no room to turn its body, but minnows and loaches rule there. On a hill of a few feet, a great beast has no place to hide its body, but a fox spirit finds it auspicious. Moreover, to honor the worthy, employ the able, put goodness first, and give profit – from ancient times Yao and Shun were like this, how much more the people of Weilei! Master, just heed them.”
Gengsang Chu said: “Come, little ones. A beast that can hold a carriage in its mouth, if it goes alone and leaves the mountain, will not escape the calamity of nets. A fish that can swallow a boat, if it is washed up and loses the water, even ants can torment it. Therefore birds and beasts never tire of height; fish and turtles never tire of depth. One who would keep his form and life whole hides himself and never tires of what is deep and far. Moreover, what are those two – Yao and Shun – worth praising? In their discrimination, they are like one who recklessly breaks down a wall and plants weeds there. They comb by selecting hairs, count grains to cook – how petty! How could they save the world? Raise the worthy, and the people will crush one another. Employ cleverness, and the people will steal from one another. These several things are not enough to enrich the people. People are very diligent for profit: sons kill fathers, ministers kill rulers; they rob in broad daylight and bore holes in walls at noon. I tell you: the root of great disorder must arise between Yao and Shun, and its branches will remain a thousand generations later. A thousand generations later, there will surely be people who eat one another.”
Nan Rong Chu respectfully sat upright and said: “As for one of my age, already grown, where shall I entrust my practice so as to reach these words?”
Gengsang Chu said: “Preserve your form, embrace your life, and do not let your thoughts scramble for gain. If you do this for three years, you may reach these words.”
Nan Rong Chu said: “The eye and the form – I do not know how they differ, yet the blind cannot see themselves. The ear and the form – I do not know how they differ, yet the deaf cannot hear themselves. The mind and the form – I do not know how they differ, yet the mad cannot get hold of themselves. Form and form are also close, yet something perhaps separates them? I wish to seek, but cannot obtain. Now you tell me: ‘Preserve your form, embrace your life, and do not let your thoughts scramble for gain.’ I have barely heard the Way reach my ears.”
Gengsang Chu said: “My words are exhausted. A small wasp cannot transform a bean-leaf caterpillar; a Yue chicken cannot hatch a swan’s egg, but a Lu chicken can. Chickens and chickens – their virtue is not different; that some can and some cannot is because their capacity is naturally great or small. Now my capacity is small, too small to transform you. Why do you not go south and see Laozi?”
Nan Rong Chu carried provisions and walked seven days and seven nights to Laozi’s place.
Laozi said: “Have you come from Chu?”
Nan Rong Chu said: “Yes.”
Laozi said: “Why have you come with so many people?”
Nan Rong Chu looked behind him in fear. Laozi said: “Do you not understand what I mean?”
Nan Rong Chu bowed his head in shame, then looked up and sighed: “Now I have forgotten my answer, and so I have lost my question.”
Laozi said: “What do you mean?”
Nan Rong Chu said: “If I do not know, people call me stupid. If I know, it instead brings sorrow to my body. If I am not benevolent, I harm others; if I am benevolent, it instead brings sorrow to myself. If I am not righteous, I harm others; if I am righteous, it instead brings sorrow to myself. How can I escape this? These three sayings are what trouble me. I wish, through Chu, to ask you about them.”
Laozi said: “A moment ago I saw between your eyebrows and lashes, and thereby I got you. Now your words confirm it. You look petty and anxious, like one who has lost father and mother, lifting a pole to search the sea. You are a lost person! Confused and benighted, you wish to return to your true nature, but you have no way in. Pitiable indeed!”
Nan Rong Chu asked to enter and lodge. He summoned what he liked and removed what he disliked. After ten days he was full of self-worry, and again saw Laozi.
Laozi said: “You have washed yourself, but how gloomy you still are! Yet within you it is still seething, and there is still evil. Outer bonds cannot be caught by complexity, and so they become inner bolts. Inner bonds cannot be tangled and caught, and so they become outer bolts. When outer and inner are both bound, even the Way and virtue cannot hold you, how much less one who lets the Way go and walks?”
Nan Rong Chu said: “A villager was sick. Another villager asked after him. The sick man could describe his illness; yet one who can make his illness an illness is still not sick. As for me, hearing the Great Way is like drinking medicine to add to my illness. I wish only to hear the classic of guarding life.”
Laozi said: “The classic of guarding life: Can you embrace the One? Can you not lose it? Can you know good and bad fortune without divination? Can you stop? Can you cease? Can you abandon others and seek in yourself? Can you be free and easy? Can you be simple and unaware? Can you be like an infant? The infant cries all day and its throat does not grow hoarse – this is harmony at its utmost. It grasps all day and its hand does not cramp – this is sharing its virtue. It looks all day and its eyes do not blink – this is not being partial to the outside. It walks without knowing where it goes; it dwells without knowing what it does. It yields to things and moves with their waves. This is the classic of guarding life.”
Nan Rong Chu said: “Then is this the virtue of the Perfect Man?”
Laozi said: “No. This is what is called ice melting and thaw dissolving. As for the Perfect Man: he eats together with Earth and rejoices together with Heaven. He is not disturbed by the profit and harm of men or things. He does not join in the strange, does not join in scheming, does not join in affairs. Freely he goes; simply he comes. This is called the classic of guarding life.”
Nan Rong Chu said: “Then is this the ultimate?”
Laozi said: “Not yet. I already told you: ‘Can you be like an infant?’ The infant moves without knowing what it does; it walks without knowing where it goes. Its body is like a withered branch, its mind like dead ashes. One like this – calamity does not arrive, and fortune does not arrive. When fortune and calamity are both absent, how could there be human disaster?”
One whose being is tranquil and settled emits Heavenly light. One who emits Heavenly light: people see their humanity; things see their thingness. When a person cultivates, only then does he have constancy. One who has constancy – people lodge in him, and Heaven helps him. What people lodge in is called a person of Heaven. What Heaven helps is called a son of Heaven.
Learning – is it learning what cannot be learned? Walking – is it walking where cannot be walked? Disputing – is it disputing what cannot be disputed? To know to stop at what cannot be known – this is the utmost. If there are any who are not like this, the Heavenly potter’s wheel will ruin them.
Prepare things to give form; store the unexpected to generate the mind; respect the inner to reach the outer. If you do this and yet ten thousand evils arrive, they are all from Heaven, not from man. They are not enough to disrupt your completion, and cannot enter the Spirit Terrace. The Spirit Terrace has something it holds, yet it does not know what it holds, and it cannot be held. If one does not see his own sincerity and yet issues forth, each issuing will be inappropriate. When deeds enter and are not released, each change is a loss. One who does evil in the open – men can punish him. One who does evil in secret – ghosts can punish him. One who is clear to men and clear to ghosts can then walk alone.
One whose tally is within acts without name. One whose tally is outside aims at expected profit. One who acts without name – only the ordinary has light. One who aims at expected profit – he is only a merchant. People see him on tiptoe, yet he thinks himself towering. One who is open through to things – things enter him. One who is merely alongside things – he cannot contain even himself, how can he contain others? One who cannot contain others has no kin. One who has no kin is abandoned by all. No weapon is more cruel than the will; even Mo Ye is inferior. No invader is greater than yin and yang; there is no escape between Heaven and Earth. It is not yin and yang that harm him; the mind makes it so.
The Way penetrates divisions. In its completion there is destruction. What is disliked about division is that in dividing it seeks completeness. Why dislike completeness? Because it has something by which to complete. Thus, going out and not returning, one sees one’s ghost. Going out and getting, this is called getting death. Extinguished yet having substance – this is one kind of ghost. Use the formed to image the formless, and one is settled. Emerging has no root; entering has no aperture. There is reality without place; there is length without beginning or end. What emerges without aperture has reality. Reality without place is space. Length without beginning or end is time. There is birth, there is death; there is exit, there is entry. Entering and exiting without seeing its form – this is called the Heavenly Gate. The Heavenly Gate is Non-being. All things emerge from Non-being. Being cannot use being to produce being; it must emerge from Non-being. And Non-being is one no-being. The sage hides there.
The ancients – their knowledge reached somewhere. Where did it reach? Some held that there was never any thing. This is the utmost, the complete; nothing can be added. Next, some held that there were things. They took birth as loss and death as return; thus they had division. Next, some said: originally there was non-being; then there was life; life soon died. They took non-being as the head, life as the body, death as the buttocks. Who knows the one guard of being and non-being, death and life? I will be his friend. These three views, though different, are of the same clan. The Zhao and Jing clans were noted for their caps; the Shen clan was noted for its fiefs – they are not one.
There is life, born from a dark speck. Split apart, people say “shifting rightness.” To try to speak of “shifting rightness” is not something to speak of. Yet it is unknowable. At the winter sacrifice there are organs and limbs: they can be separated, yet they cannot be separated. One who views a house goes around the chambers and temple, then goes to the privy. For this I bring up “shifting rightness.” Let me try to speak of it: it takes life as root, knowledge as teacher, and thereby rides on right and wrong. Indeed there are name and substance; then one takes oneself as standard and makes others take oneself as model, and so dies to repay the model. Such people take use as wisdom, non-use as foolishness; penetration as honor, poverty as shame. “Shifting rightness” is today’s people. It is like the cicada and the little dove agreeing with one another.
If you step on a stranger’s foot, you apologize for rudeness. If it is your elder brother, you soothe him. If it is your parent, you simply stop. Therefore: highest ritual does not treat others as others; highest righteousness does not treat things as things; highest knowledge does not scheme; highest benevolence has no partiality; highest trust dispenses with gold. Clear the disruptions of the will, untie the knots of the mind, remove the burdens of virtue, open the blockages of the Way. Wealth, honor, prominence, authority, fame, and profit – these six disrupt the will. Appearance, movement, color, reason, qi, and intention – these six knot the mind. Aversion, desire, joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure – these six burden virtue. Departure, approach, taking, giving, knowledge, and ability – these six block the Way. If these four sets of six do not agitate the breast, one is upright. Upright, then still. Still, then clear. Clear, then empty. Empty, then one does nothing, yet nothing is not done.
The Way is what virtue reveres. Life is the light of virtue. Nature is the substance of life. The movement of nature is called action. Acting with falseness is called loss. Knowledge is contact. Knowledge is planning. What the knower does not know is like looking askance. Acting from what cannot be otherwise is called virtue. Acting without anything not-self is called order. Names are contrary, but realities comply.
Yi was skilled at hitting tiny targets, but clumsy at making people not praise him. The sage is skilled at Heaven, but clumsy at man. One who is skilled at Heaven and good at man – only the Complete Man can do this. Even a worm can be a worm; even a worm can be Heaven. The Complete Man dislikes Heaven – he dislikes the human Heaven – how much more my Heaven and man? A sparrow flying toward Yi – Yi will surely hit it. This is power. Make the whole world a cage, and no sparrow escapes. Thus Tang caged Yi Yin with a cook; Duke Mu of Qin caged Baili Xi with five sheepskins. Thus, to cage without using what they like and still get them – there has never been such a thing. A mutilated man casts aside decoration, putting praise and blame outside. A convict climbs high without fear, forgetting life and death. One who does not respond to repeated insults and forgets others – forgetting others, he becomes a Heaven-man. Therefore, one who is not pleased when respected and not angry when insulted – only one who shares Heaven’s harmony is like this. Anger issued without anger: then anger comes from non-anger. Action issued as non-action: then action comes from non-action. If you wish stillness, calm the breath. If you wish spirit, follow the mind. If action is to be fitting, it must follow from what cannot be otherwise. The category of the unavoidable is the Way of the sage.
Note
Lao Dan / Laozi (老聃 / 老子)
Traditionally regarded as the founder of Daoism and the author of the Daodejing. In the Zhuangzi, he appears as a sage teacher who guides troubled seekers. In this chapter, Nan Rong Chu travels seven days and nights to study with him. Laozi’s advice centers on “guarding life,” simplicity, and becoming like an infant.
Gengsang Chu (庚桑楚)
A disciple of Laozi, possibly fictional or semi-legendary. He is said to have “uniquely obtained” Laozi’s Way. He goes to live on Weilei Mountain, where he avoids clever and showy people and lives with the simple and uncarved. After three years, the region enjoys a great harvest. When the people want to worship him as a sage, he is displeased – because true Daoist sages do not seek fame or cult status.
Nan Rong Chu (南荣趎)
A disciple of Gengsang Chu, likely a fictional character. He is older, anxious, and confused about knowledge, benevolence, and righteousness. He cannot find peace through learning or morality. Gengsang Chu admits his own capacity is too small to transform him and sends him south to Laozi.
Yao (尧) and Shun (舜)
Yao and Shun are legendary sage kings of ancient China. In Confucian tradition, they are models of moral government. In this chapter, Zhuangzi criticizes them sharply: their emphasis on “raising the worthy” and “employing the able” creates competition, resentment, and eventually great disorder. Zhuangzi even says the root of chaos began with Yao and Shun.
Yi (羿)
A legendary archer, sometimes identified with Hou Yi, who shot down excess suns in myth. Here he is described as skilled at hitting tiny targets but clumsy at preventing people from praising him. The text also uses him in the image of a sparrow flying toward him – and of making the whole world a cage so no sparrow can escape.
Mo Ye (镆铘)
A legendary famous sword of ancient China. In this chapter, Zhuangzi says no weapon is more cruel than the will – even Mo Ye is inferior to it.
Tang (商汤)
The founder of the Shang dynasty. According to tradition, he overthrew the corrupt Xia dynasty. In this chapter, he is said to have “caged” Yi Yin by using Yi Yin’s love of cooking.
Yi Yin (伊尹)
A famous minister who helped Tang found the Shang dynasty. He was traditionally said to have begun as a cook. Zhuangzi uses him as an example of a talented man recruited through his personal fondness.
Duke Mu of Qin (秦穆公)
A ruler of the state of Qin during the Spring and Autumn period. He is famous for recruiting talented ministers. In this chapter, Duke Mu of Qin is said to have “caged” Baili Xi with five sheepskins.
Baili Xi (百里奚)
A famous minister of Qin. According to tradition, Duke Mu obtained him by ransoming him with five sheepskins. Zhuangzi uses this as an example of a ruler capturing a talented man through what he desired.
Zhao, Jing, and Shen Clans (昭、景、申氏)
Aristocratic lineages of the state of Chu. Zhao and Jing were prominent noble clans; Shen was another lineage known for its fiefs. Zhuangzi uses them as an analogy: different names, different branches, but ultimately the same clan – just as different philosophical views may differ in name but belong to the same whole.
Discipleship and Service (役)
Gengsang Chu is described as Laozi’s “役” – a servant, attendant, or disciple. In ancient China, students often lived with and served a master. This was not just education; it was a total way of life.
Facing South (南面)
In ancient Chinese court ritual, the ruler faced south. To “face south” means to take the ruler’s position. When Gengsang Chu hears the people want to worship him, he “faces south and is not at ease.” He is disturbed at being treated like a ruler or sage.
Spirit Tablet, Soil and Grain Altars (尸而祝之，社而稷之)
The people of Weilei want to set Gengsang Chu up as a spirit tablet and sacrifice to him, making him a god of soil and grain. “She” (社) is the altar of soil; “ji” (稷) is the altar of grain. Together they represent local deities and the foundation of agricultural life. To be worshipped this way is to be turned into a local patron saint. Gengsang Chu rejects this.
Winter Sacrifice (腊)
An ancient year-end sacrifice. The text mentions the organs and limbs of an ox offered at this sacrifice. They can be separated and displayed, yet they still belong to one animal. This illustrates “shifting rightness” – things can be divided in one sense and undivided in another.
Stepping on Someone’s Foot
The text gives a graded example: if you step on a stranger’s foot, you apologize for rudeness; if it is your elder brother, you soothe him; if it is your parent, you simply stop. This shows how ritual and appropriateness shift with relationship. “Highest ritual does not treat others as others.”
Caging Talented Men Through Their Desires
Tang used a cook to attract Yi Yin; Duke Mu used five sheepskins to attract Baili Xi. This is a political and social observation: rulers “cage” talented people by appealing to what they like. Zhuangzi says no one can be captured without using what they desire.
Ghosts and Secret Wrongdoing
The text says: do evil openly, and men punish you; do evil secretly, and ghosts punish you. This reflects ancient Chinese beliefs in moral surveillance by spirits. Only one clear to both men and ghosts can “walk alone.”
Convicts and Mutilated People
A mutilated man casts aside decoration because he has put praise and blame outside himself. A convict climbs high without fear because he has forgotten life and death. These are social outsiders used as examples of freedom from social judgment.
The Cicada and the Little Dove (蜩与学鸠)
A reference to the opening of the Zhuangzi’s first chapter, Xiaoyaoyou (“Free and Easy Wandering”). The cicada and little dove laugh at the great Peng bird for flying so high. Here they represent limited people agreeing with one another in their small perspective.
Viewing a House and Going to the Privy
One who tours a house goes around the chambers and ancestral temple, then visits the privy. The point: different places call for different behavior. Rightness shifts with context.
Ice Melting and Thaw Dissolving
Laozi says the preliminary state of “guarding life” is like ice melting and thaw dissolving. It is a natural release of inner blockages – not yet the final stage.
The Infant (儿子 / 婴儿)
The infant is a classic Daoist image of harmony. It cries all day without hoarseness, grasps all day without cramping, looks all day without blinking. It acts without knowing why, moves without knowing where. This is not literal babyhood but a metaphor for natural, undivided life.
The Sparrow and Yi / The World as a Cage
A sparrow flying toward Yi will be shot. But if the whole world is made into a cage, no sparrow escapes. This means: rulers can capture people by arranging the whole environment around their desires.
Mo Ye the Sword
A legendary blade. Zhuangzi says the will is a more cruel weapon than Mo Ye. This is a metaphor for self-inflicted harm through mental fixation.
Yin and Yang as Invaders
No invader is greater than yin and yang – the cosmic forces of change. No one can escape them. But they do not harm you; your own mind harms you by resisting them.
Perfect Man (至人)
The highest Daoist ideal: one who eats with Earth, rejoices with Heaven, and is not disturbed by gain or loss.
Complete Man (全人)
One who is skilled at Heaven and good at man – able to live in the world without being corrupted by it.
Heaven-Man (天人)
One who has forgotten others and become aligned with Heaven. Not a literal heavenly being, but a human who lives from natural harmony.
Heavenly Light (天光)
The natural radiance that emerges when the mind is tranquil and settled. It allows people to see their humanity and things to see their thingness.
Spirit Terrace (灵台)
The inner seat of the spirit or mind. It holds something, yet does not know what it holds, and cannot be deliberately held. It is a place of inner stability beyond conscious control.
Heavenly Gate (天门)
The gate of Non-being, from which all things emerge. It has no form, no aperture. The sage hides there.
Shifting Rightness (移是)
A philosophical term meaning that “rightness” shifts depending on perspective, context, and relationship. There is no fixed, absolute rightness in the way ordinary people think.
The Four Sets of Six (四六)
Four groups of six things that disturb the will, knot the mind, burden virtue, and block the Way:
- Wealth, honor, prominence, authority, fame, profit
- Appearance, movement, color, reason, qi, intention
- Aversion, desire, joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure
- Departure, approach, taking, giving, knowledge, ability
When these do not agitate the breast, one becomes upright, still, clear, empty, and capable of non-action that leaves nothing undone.
Guarding Life (卫生之经)
The classic of guarding or nourishing life. It includes embracing the One, not losing it, knowing without divination, stopping, ceasing, seeking within, being free and easy, being simple, and being like an infant.
Heavenly Potter’s Wheel (天钧)
The natural process or fate that shapes all things. Those who do not stop at what they cannot know will be ruined by it.
Non-being (无有)
Not mere nothingness, but the source from which all being emerges. “Being cannot use being to produce being; it must emerge from Non-being.”
杂篇·庚桑楚第二十三
老聃之役有庚桑楚者，偏得老聃之道，以北居畏垒之山。其臣之画然知者去之，其妾之挈然仁者远之。拥肿之与居，鞅掌之为使。居三年，畏垒大壤。畏垒之民相与言曰：“庚桑子之始来，吾洒然异之。今吾日计之而不足，岁计之而有余。庶几其圣人乎！子胡不相与尸而祝之，社而稷之乎？”
庚桑子闻之，南面而不释然。弟子异之。庚桑子曰：“弟子何异于予？夫春气发而百草生，正得秋而万宝成。夫春与秋，岂无得而然哉？天道已行矣。吾闻至人，尸居环堵之室，而百姓猖狂，不知所如往。今以畏垒之细民，而窃窃焉欲俎豆予于贤人之间，我其杓之人邪？吾是以不释于老聃之言。”弟子曰：“不然。夫寻常之沟，巨鱼无所还其体，而鲵鳅为之制；步仞之丘陵，巨兽无所隐其躯，而孽狐为之祥。且夫尊贤授能，先善与利，自古尧、舜以然，而况畏垒之民乎！夫子亦听矣！”庚桑子曰：“小子来！夫函车之兽，介而离山，则不免于罔罟之患；吞舟之鱼，砀而失水，则蚁能苦之。故鸟兽不厌高，鱼鳖不厌深。夫全其形生之人，藏其身也，不厌深眇而已矣！且夫二子者，又何足以称扬哉！是其于辩也，将妄凿垣墙而殖蓬蒿也，简发而栉，数米而炊，窃窃乎又何足以济世哉！举贤则民相轧，任知则民相盗。之数物者，不足以厚民。民之于利甚勤，子有杀父，臣有杀君；正昼为盗，日中穴阫。吾语女：大乱之本，必生于尧、舜之间，其末存乎千世之后。千世之后，其必有人与人相食者也。”
南荣趎蹴然正坐曰：“若趎之年者已长矣，将恶乎托业以及此言邪？”庚桑子曰：“全汝形，抱汝生，无使汝思虑营营。若此三年，则可以及此言矣！”南荣趎曰：“目之与形，吾不知其异也，而盲者不能自见；耳之与形，吾不知其异也，而聋者不能自闻；心之与形，吾不知其异也，而狂者不能自得。形之与形亦辟矣，而物或间之邪？欲相求而不能相得。今谓趎曰：‘全汝形，抱汝生，无使汝思虑营营。’趎勉闻道达耳矣！”庚桑子曰：“辞尽矣，奔蜂不能化藿蠋，越鸡不能伏鹄卵，鲁鸡固能矣！鸡之与鸡，其德非不同也。有能与不能者，其才固有巨小也。今吾才小，小不足以化子。子胡不南见老子！”南荣囗赢粮，七日七夜至老子之所。老子曰：“子自楚之所来乎？”南荣囗曰：“唯。”老子曰：“子何与人偕来之众也？”南荣趎惧然顾其后。老子曰：“子不知吾所谓乎？”南荣趎俯而惭，仰而叹，曰：“今者吾忘吾答，因失吾问。”老子曰：“何谓也？”南荣趎曰：“不知乎人谓我朱愚，知乎反愁我躯；不仁则害人，仁则反愁我身；不义则伤彼，义则反愁我己。我安逃此而可？此三言者，趎之所患也。愿因楚而问之。”老子曰：“向吾见若眉睫之间，吾因以得汝矣。今汝又言而信之。若规规然若丧父母，揭竿而求诸海也。女亡人哉！惘惘乎，汝欲反汝情性而无由入，可怜哉！”南荣趎请入就舍，召其所好，去其所恶。十日自愁，复见老子。老子曰：“汝自洒濯，孰哉郁郁乎！然而其中津津乎犹有恶也。夫外韄者不可繁而捉，将内揵；内韄者不可缪而捉，将外揵；外内韄者，道德不能持，而况放道而行者乎！”南荣趎曰：“里人有病，里人问之，病者能言其病，然其病病者犹未病也。若趎之闻大道，譬犹饮药以加病也。趎愿闻卫生之经而已矣。”老子曰：“卫生之经，能抱一乎！能勿失乎！能无卜筮而知吉凶乎！能止乎！能已乎！能舍诸人而求诸己乎！能翛然乎！能侗然乎！能儿子乎！儿子终日嗥而嗌不嗄，和之至也；终日握而手不掜，共其德也；终日视而目不瞬，偏不在外也。行不知所之，居不知所为，与物委蛇而同其波。是卫生之经已。”南荣趎曰：“然则是至人之德已乎？”曰：“非也。是乃所谓冰解冻释者。夫至人者，相与交食乎地而交乐乎天，不以人物利害相撄，不相与为怪，不相与为谋，不相与为事，翛然而往，侗然而来。是谓卫生之经已。”曰：“然则是至乎？”曰：“未也。吾固告汝曰：‘能儿子乎！’儿子动不知所为，行不知所之，身若槁木之枝而心若死灰。若是者，祸亦不至，福亦不来。祸福无有，恶有人灾也！”
宇泰定者，发乎天光。发乎天光者，人见其人，物见其物。人有修者，乃今有恒。有恒者，人舍之，天助之。人之所舍，谓之天民；天之所助，谓之天子。
学者，学其所不能学也？行者，行其所不能行也？辩者，辩其所不能辩也？知止乎其所不能知，至矣！若有不即是者，天钧败之。备物将以形，藏不虞以生心，敬中以达彼。若是而万恶至者，皆天也，而非人也，不足以滑成，不可内于灵台。灵台者有持，而不知其所持而不可持者也。不见其诚己而发，每发而不当；业入而不舍，每更为失。为不善乎显明之中者，人得而诛之；为不善乎幽间之中者，鬼得而诛之。明乎人、明乎鬼者，然后能独行。券内者，行乎无名；券外者，志乎期费。行乎无名者，唯庸有光；志乎期费者，唯贾人也。人见其跂，犹之魁然。与物穷者，物入焉；与物且者，其身之不能容，焉能容人！不能容人者无亲，无亲者尽人。兵莫憯于志，镆铘为下；寇莫大于阴阳，无所逃于天地之间。非阴阳贼之，心则使之也。
道通其分也，其成也毁也。所恶乎分者，其分也以备。所以恶乎备者？其有以备。故出而不反，见其鬼。出而得，是谓得死。灭而有实，鬼之一也。以有形者象无形者而定矣！出无本，入无窍，有实而无乎处，有长而无乎本剽，有所出而无窍者有实。有实而无乎处者，宇也；有长而无本剽者，宙也。有乎生，有乎死；有乎出，有乎入。入出而无见其形，是谓天门。天门者，无有也。万物出乎无有。有不能以有为有，必出乎无有，而无有一无有。圣人藏乎是。
古之人，其知有所至矣。恶乎至？有以为未始有物者，至矣，尽矣，弗可以加矣！其次以为有物矣，将以生为丧也，以死为反也，是以分已。其次曰始无有，既而有生，生俄而死。以无有为首，以生为体，以死为尻。孰知有无死生之一守者，吾与之为友。是三者虽异，公族也。昭景也，著戴也；申氏也，著封也：非一也。
有生黬也，披然曰“移是”。尝言“移是”，非所言也。虽然，不可知者也。腊者之有膍胲，可散而不可散也；观室者周于寝庙，又适其偃焉！为是举“移是”。请尝言“移是”：是以生为本，以知为师，因以乘是非。果有名实，因以己为质，使人以为己节，因以死偿节。若然者，以用为知，以不用为愚；以彻为名，以穷为辱。“移是”，今之人也，是蜩与学鸠同于同也。
蹍市人之足，则辞以放骜，兄则以妪，大亲则已矣。故曰：至礼有不人，至义不物，至知不谋，至仁无亲，至信辟金。彻志之勃，解心之谬，去德之累，达道之塞。贵富显严名利六者，勃志也；容动色理气意六者，谬心也；恶欲喜怒哀乐六者，累德也；去就取与知能六者，塞道也。此四六者不荡胸中则正，正则静，静则明，明则虚，虚则无为而无不为也。
道者，德之钦也；生者，德之光也；性者，生之质也。性之动谓之为，为之伪谓之失。知者，接也；知者，谟也。知者之所不知，犹睨也。动以不得已之谓德，动无非我之谓治，名相反而实相顺也。羿工乎中微而拙乎使人无己誉；圣人工乎天而拙乎人；夫工乎天而俍乎人者，唯全人能之。虽虫能虫，虽虫能天。全人恶天，恶人之天，而况吾天乎人乎！一雀适羿，羿必得之，威也。以天下为之笼，则雀无所逃。是故汤以庖人笼伊尹，秦穆公以五羊之皮笼百里奚。是故非以其所好笼之而可得者，无有也。介者拸画，外非誉也。胥靡登高而不惧，遗死生也。夫复謵不馈而忘人，忘人，因以为天人矣！故敬之而不喜，侮之而不怒者，唯同乎天和者为然。出怒不怒，则怒出于不怒矣；出为无为，则为出于无为矣！欲静则平气，欲神则顺心。有为也欲当，则缘于不得已。不得已之类，圣人之道。
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