MEDITATIONS: ZHUANGZI, CHAPTER TWENTY-one

Sir Squarescope of the Fields

When Sir Squarescope of the Fields was sitting in attendance on Marquis Wen of Wei, he often spoke of a certain Mr. Valleywork. The marquis asked, “The Valleywork, is he your teacher?”

Sit Squarescope said, “No, he’s just a fellow from around where I, Choiceless, am living. I speak of him only because when he speaks of the Course he is often on target.”

“So you have no teacher?”

Sir Squarescope said, “Oh no, I do have a teacher.”

“Who would that be?”

“Master Nonresist of the Eastern Wall.”

“In that case, why have you never mentioned him?”

“He is the kind of person who is genuine: . . . How could I, Choiceless, be worthy even to mention such a person?” (Zhuangzi 165)

Genuine, authentic, true to one’s intrinsic virtuosities—these are common concepts in any discussion of Taoism or of the Tao itself (insofar as it can be named). But like most ideas, we often do not at all grasp them. Instead, we become entangled in language, confused by the shadows cast on the wall of the cave.

For language tends to become a trap unless we remember that the name of a thing is in fact not the thing—nor is the visual image the thing-in-itself, nor any other sensory perception. This may be why Sir Choiceless Squarescope of the Fields refers to Mr Valleywork and not his true teacher, Master Nonresist.

Choiceless Squarescope might be a symbol for an intermediary sage, someone who is on the Way but has yet to reach the enlightened heights of an utmost person. If this is the case, his personal name, Choiceless, represents wuwei—uncontrived action. However, his surname, Squarescope, may represent his yet constrained field of vision. He still sees the world according to firm, square borders as opposed to seeing the universe in accord with the equalizing assessment of all things. Hence why he believes himself unworthy and refers instead to Mr. Valleywork.

And who or what is this Mr. Valleywork then? I believe he is a man further along the Way that Squarescope. He is someone work—engaging in action—in the valley, the place where the river naturally runs its Course, bending and winding in accord with the lay of the land, streaming to and through the lowest point on the surface of the earth without shame or hesitation. Thus, when Valleywork speaks of the Way, he is often “on target.” He is more so embodying what we might start to describe as a genuine person.

That brings us to the third and most developed iterations of a student of the Great Course, Master Nonresist of the Eastern Wall. He is Squarescope’s true teacher because he teaches not through speech, but through his more perfect embodiment of the Course:

“. . . with the appearance of a human being but the empty of an open sky, of Heaven. He follows along with things yet preserves the genuine in himself; because he is so limpid he manages to receive and contain all things. When beings are off Course, he just puts his own demeanor into alignment, allowing them to realize it on their own, causing all human intention to melt away.” (165)

Master Nonresist of the Eastern Wall is genuine because he does not resist that which comes with each new dawn. He does not stretch and strain his own nature, but neither does he desire for the external world to be different than it is. Instead, he focuses his attention inward and sets his own heart right. He ensures he is not betraying his own instincts, proclivities, and intrinsic virtuosities. He lives authentically as himself in accord to how that self fits with the objective world, the consequence of which is that he nourishes those around him who are out of sorts. He leads by example without needing to utter a word.

That is the difference between genuine and ingenuine, authentic and inauthentic. The real Way is not merely comprehended, experienced, or discussed but embodied. The genuine, utmost person acts out his authenticity and adopts an affirming attitude toward the world. Simply speaking about the Course (as I am doing here), or reading about it, while helpful to some, will always be insufficient on its own.

When one understands this, he will become as became Marquis Wen of Wei:

“All my previous learning seem to me nothing more than dolls of clay, and, the state of Wei, genuinely, just something that ties me down!” (165)

Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi; The Complete Writings, translated by Brook Ziporyn, Hackett Publishing Company Inc., 2020