"Only a Human!" - A section from the Zhuangzi

A long awaited return of my series of religious/philosophical texts. This is a section from the "Zhuangzi", written by Zhuangzi. Specifically, it is a wonderful section from Chapter 6, called "The Great Source as Teacher".
The translation used is by Brook Ziporyn, and can be found in his excellent English edition of the Zhuangzi text. Highly recommended.
#Daoism #Zhuangzi #Taoism

[@ryanmilliken5950]

You should do a video about prayer beads. I've always wondered why this is so common among so many diverse religions.

[@covalentbond7933]

It's interesting how the Americans throw them at women to prompt them to strip at festivals (represents the divide in culture)

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

@@covalentbond7933 😅

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

Not only prayerbeads but the whole concept of monasteries. There always been hermits . But it's fascinating how much similarities there are between say Catholic/ Orthodox and ,Buddhist / Taoist monasteries. The robes, the shaving of the heads, the prayer beads, disciplinary, etc,etc.It's to much to be coincidence, though it's difficult to find direct sources on who borrowed what... and when...

[@Shadowfire0001]

@@spiritualanarchist8162 Think of it as a type of convergent evolution. Humans when encountering the supernatural and divine have come across similar effective methods to connect to different subtle entities and energies.

[@shadbakht]

Here's a much better translation from my favorite translator, Burton Watson. He's very faithful to the original. Master Ssu, Master Yu, Master Li, and Master Lai were all four talking together. "Who can look upon nonbeing as his head, on life as his back, and on death as his rump?" they said. "Who knows that life and death, existence and annihilation, are all a single body? I will be his friend!" The four men looked at each other and smiled. There was no disagreement in their hearts and so the four of them became friends. All at once Master Yu fell ill. Master Ssu went to ask how he was. "Amazing" said Master Yu. "The Creator is making me all crookedly like this! My back sticks up like a hunchback and my vital organs are on top of me. My chin is hidden in my navel, my shoulders are up above my head, and my pigtail points at the sky. It must be some dislocation of the yin and yang!" Yet he seemed calm at heart and unconcerned. Dragging himself haltingly to the well, he looked at his reflection and said, "My, my! So the Creator is making me all crookedly like this!" "Do you resent it?" asked Master Ssu. "Why no, what would I resent? If the process continues, perhaps in time he'll transform my left arm into a rooster. In that case I'll keep watch on the night. Or perhaps in time he'll transform my right arm into a crossbow pellet and I'll shoot down an owl for roasting. Or perhaps in time he'll transform my buttocks into cartwheels. Then, with my spirit for a horse, I'll climb up and go for a ride. What need will I ever have for a carriage again? "I received life because the time had come; I will lose it because the order of things passes on. Be content with this time and dwell in this order and then neither sorrow nor joy can touch you. In ancient times this was called the `freeing of the bound.' There are those who cannot free themselves, because they are bound by things. But nothing can ever win against Heaven - that's the way it's always been. What would I have to resent?" Suddenly Master Lai grew ill. Gasping and wheezing, he lay at the point of death. His wife and children gathered round in a circle and began to cry. Master Li, who had come to ask how he was, said, "Shoo! Get back! Don't disturb the process of change!" Then he leaned against the doorway and talked to Master Lai. "How marvelous the Creator is! What is he going to make of you next? Where is he going to send you? Will he make you into a rat's liver? Will he make you into a bug's arm?" Master Lai said, "A child, obeying his father and mother, goes wherever he is told, east or west, south or north. And the yin and yang - how much more are they to a man than father or mother! Now that they have brought me to the verge of death, if I should refuse to obey them, how perverse I would be! What fault is it of theirs? The Great Clod burdens me with form, labors me with life, eases me in old age, and rests me in death. So if I think well of my life, for the same reason I must think well of my death. When a skilled smith is casting metal, if the metal should leap up and say, `I insist upon being made into a Mo-yeh!' he would surely regard it as very inauspicious metal indeed. Now, having had the audacity to take on human form once, if I should say, `I don't want to be anything but a man! Nothing but a man!', the Creator would surely regard me as a most inauspicious sort of person. So now I think of heaven and earth as a great furnace, and the Creator as a skilled smith. Where could he send me that would not be all right? I will go off to sleep peacefully, and then with a start I will wake up." (Zhuangzi, Chapter 6, The Great and Venerable Teacher) 子祀、子舆、子犁、子来四人相与语曰：“孰能以无为首，以生为脊，以死为尻，孰知生死存亡之一体者，吾与之友矣。”四人相视而笑，莫逆于心，遂相与为友。俄而子舆有病，子祀往问之。曰：“伟哉！夫造物者，将以予为此拘拘也！曲偻发背，上有五管，颐隐于齐，肩高于顶，句赘指天。”阴阳之气有沴，其心闲而无事，跰足而鉴于井，曰：“嗟乎！夫造物者，又将以予为此拘拘也！”子祀曰：“汝恶之乎？”曰：“亡，予何恶！浸假而化予之左臂以为鸡，予因以求时夜；浸假而化予之右臂以为弹，予因以求鴞炙；浸假而化予之尻以为轮，以神为马，予因以乘之，岂更驾哉！且夫得者时也，失者顺也，安时而处顺，哀乐不能入也。此古之所谓县解也，而不能自解者，物有结之。且夫物不胜天久矣，吾又何恶焉？”俄而子来有病，喘喘然将死，其妻子环而泣之。子犁往问之曰：“叱！避！无怛化！”倚其户与之语曰：“伟哉造物！又将奚以汝为？将奚以汝适？以汝为鼠肝乎？以汝为虫臂乎？”子来曰：“父母于子，东西南北，唯命之从。阴阳于人，不翅于父母，彼近吾死而我不听，我则悍矣，彼何罪焉！夫大块载我以形，劳我以生，佚我以老，息我以死。故善吾生者，乃所以善吾死也。今之大冶铸金，金踊跃曰‘我且必为镆鋣’，大冶必以为不祥之金。今一犯人之形，而曰‘人耳人耳’，夫造化者必以为不祥之人。今一以天地为大炉，以造化为大冶，恶乎往而不可哉！成然寐，蘧然觉。”《庄子·大宗师第六》

[@gubruikertje]

No clue if it's more faithful but I definitely prefer this one. Thanks for sharing!

[@quake3quake3]

"I will go off to sleep peacefully and then with a start I will wake up" That seems to me as an eternal birth and death and really no liberation. Sure they have surrendered but they are still in the wheels of samsara. According to my guru, there is an absolute freedom and perhaps that freedom can only be achieved through knowledge, the knowledge of our true nature.

[@kaustubhnigam628]

@@quake3quake3 lol We don't suffer so we don't need your liberation or anything Keep your things to yourself

[@quake3quake3]

@@kaustubhnigam628 "We don't suffer" That comes from total and complete ignorance and ego. It means that you have understood nothing about life and that you are in great delusion in believing that life isn't suffering, even though the Buddha, Christ and all enlightened beings tried to teach you this. May God guide my ignorant friend. 🙏

[@kaustubhnigam628]

@@quake3quake3 zhuangzhi and all those who live according the way don't suffer and we are already liberated by living in your so called 'samsara' , it isn't ignorance , it's the way We don't need your *existence removal* formula to get liberation

[@suppiluiiuma5769]

Beautiful, but I'll have to listen to it again to really get everything. Your speaking voice is very pleasant.

[@siddhantmerh592]

If you dig deeper, you would get nothing..

[@DivineSource444]

I just found your channel via suggested vids to watch. Have to say I LOVE your channel!!! So much knowledge in one place and a subject I adore. 🥰 THANK YOU! 🙏

[@aamir1290]

You have a really soothing voice. Pairs perfectly with the content of your speech

[@ponderingspirit1475]

I'm personally a Sunni Muslim, and I really appreciate your content, keep up the work👍.

[@eogh]

@Nihilist Seeker as opposed to what?

[@eogh]

@Nihilist Seeker how should a human live?

[@eogh]

@Nihilist Seeker but how does one live a good life?

[@eogh]

@Nihilist Seeker "in a way which doesn't hurt others life and property" if I kill myself because of your harsh words haven't you failed in your own judgements?

[@creativepsyche2686]

@@eogh 😂

[@atmanand5802]

🎄#omshanti #shanti shanti beloved #BodhiSattva💜 👁may all beings be well🌈 ✨#AhamBrahmasmi🌏 💫#om🌠

[@suppiluiiuma5769]

May Narayana grant you wholeness and peace. Namaste.

[@majidbineshgar7156]

Yes indeed so "Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto" , There is something about modern spiritualists/new age crowd that has always bothered me namely their utter hypocracy, they always in a fake soft tone of voice preach about "the soul " , " inner meaning " , " detachment from the mundane affairs" " peace and love " ..nevertheless they live a passive Epicurian -hedonistc life they seek comfort and selfishly avoid responsibilities regarding family and the fate of other human beings.

[@danielpaulson8838]

That doesn't happen in everybody's village. The world is a big place with more diversity than anyone will ever realize. Karma? The measure you mete? Law of reciprocity? Do any of those have any meaning to you? You wish to point out the fruits of hypocrisy? You just showed everyone what that looks like.

[@michaelwu7678]

@@danielpaulson8838 Karma is an unfalsifiable dogma

[@danielpaulson8838]

@@michaelwu7678 Yep. It's like feeling all happy and giddy inside. If you never have the experience, you'll never understand it.

[@michaelwu7678]

@@danielpaulson8838 Feelings don’t equal reality. You can feel all you want that Karma exists but that doesn’t mean it is supported by the facts. For example, I can feel very profoundly that the Christian God exists when I go to Church, but that doesn’t mean he exists

[@danielpaulson8838]

@@michaelwu7678 Feelings that I experience are real to me. I have no need for you to believe in them. A God you point me to needs to be visible. You can claim you have a personal mystical experience and I have no doubt about that. I know all humans are capable of that experience. However if a person tells me it is due to their relationship with the Easter bunny, Trolls, Fairies, Santa Claus, Astral alignments, Crystal energy, their flavor of God or grandma's orb brigade, they have to demonstrate that part. That claim is too unique. And that one is claimed to happen outsider of the person. In public domain, you might say. Now, if you can't observe nor believe in Karma, The measure you mete, The Judgment with which you judge, Law of reciprocity, Golden Rule, etc, that's totally fine. But, you don't actually get to tell me what I experience. No one needs to prove anything to you. Best get used to that.

[@HadesMrDark]

Beautiful, thank you.

[@aintnothingaintnothing]

Beautiful!

[@4wrds993]

Already love this video

[@TarekMidani]

Well this was enjoyable ☺️☯️

[@blahblah24681357]

one of my favorite youtube channels!

[@Hilderik1]

I like your special topics, good channel!

[@WildBillCox13]

Nice. Liked and linked to friends with an abiding interest in religious thought and practice.

[@samkelenibe2018]

Loved this!

[@Inner_Inquiry]

If you look, everything in existance things just happen, things come and go. But for human beings don't, we are burdened by our drive to self preserve, and what happens becomes memory for us and get stuck in our minds influencing us negatively. Insects and animals even thought they have a drive to self-preserve as well they don't store memory the way we do, they don't have conceptual thinking. Conceptual thinking and memory is what makes humans suffer, it blocks the coming and going of things psychologically.

[@demhadeas5065]

Hey man .. i really love you .. from Egypt with love and appreciation

[@miguelgrohmannhernandez2224]

ey, thanks for the great vid man

[@muslimcrusader3085]

What an interesting veiw on life.

[@farahz8307]

Beautiful

[@Jacob-th4om]

Amazing

[@LAILA-2816]

Brother filip I have a suggestion although I am not a patreon...in islamic litreature imam ibn e sireen is the earliest master of dream interpretation and as you know both freud n jung took interest in this subject as well as intertwining it in their diagnosis so my suggestion is 1.dreams in islam and their importance and who and how carried this tradition to reach ibn e sireen and who mastered it from ibn e sireen and what sources did jung n freud have in this vast subject...so basically dream interpretation from as early as you can find up until 20th century....I wish I had the resources😀

[@mediocrates3416]

The Great Clump! I love it!

[@anonymousk4694]

Damn, I came quite early this time

[@EcclesiastesLiker-py5ts]

Thank you. Could you do a video on Sufism in Chechnya? Thank you.

[@Jeff05Hardy]

hi brother, i wanna hear some rumi poetry from you

[@satnamo]

Sorrow is the preparation for joy.

[@mizomint4197]

Eggs Snot Damaged pipe Jogger All runni

[@alisyed2913]

I was hoping you could discuss Confucius and specifically the five heavenly figures (as I understand ) who came at the time of his birth.

[@yeppystubil5789]

Nice Vid

[@daltsu3498]

Good story my guy

[@LAILA-2816]

Brother filip a question for you...when do you feel it is sufficient? reading about a certain subject and knowing that you haven't missed any particulars.

[@48.xdvedantgadiyar73]

Helllo!!!

[@andriydukhniak874]

I've been watching this video more tnam 3 months ago. I remeber music at the begining. Am I righ or it was a dream like the one with butterfly?

[@ark-543associates4]

Beautiful - thanks! So captures at least my take on the Tao? "Only a Human . . ?" And the Things of/by "humans"? A modern Tao-like saying maybe? "People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason the world is in CHAOS today is because people are being used and things are being loved. Cheers!

[@GhulamMustafa-pn2xi]

Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan recommended your channel via Instagram. I already knew about you before and love your content. Keep it up 😊.

[@GhulamMustafa-pn2xi]

@The Researcher What is your proof? If your going to make a statement, show some evidence or else your claim is baseless and emotionally opinionated. PM Imran Khan has been vigilant upon aggressors causing any form of harm on minorities in Pakistan and held them responsible in the court of law. For example, with the recent attacks on hindu temple and gurduwara, the aggressors have been arrested for destruction of property and the government committed to a reconstruction of both facilities. I'm not sure where you get your source of evidence and I can tell there is good amount of bias from your tone toward Pakistan, it's people, religion, and the current government administration. Why don't you do some research with a empty cup and use unbiased resources about the situation of minority in Pakistan. Likewise, If you want to play the treatment game of minority, I can do the same with you wherever you reside in.

[@GhulamMustafa-pn2xi]

@The Researcher Again, provide me with evidence and that can be anyone's name - Sources.

[@GhulamMustafa-pn2xi]

@The Researcher Why should I do that? You made a claim and prove your case with evidence by facts along providing links as proof. Don't you have a brain to analyze?

[@Ssimplezz]

Can u make a video about the Chaldeans and the assyrians

[@iw2684]

Hi, could you do a video about Shabak people/ shabakism?

[@scifispaceman1557]

Do a video on Celtic Paganism

[@kuroazrem5376]

Got here early

[@GnightOwl]

I see you AI Recognized and appreciated

[@super9super9super]

Can we get Abu Alaa Al-ma’aari next!! Thank you

[@iv7796]

Someone was tripping hard.. 👀

[@cutelilmurderer4829]

Can we have a video on the Zunbil Religion? the ancient religion of afghanistan

[@ShahrukhKhan-qo9pw]

Please do a vedio on qadri tariqa

[@qarionlineeducation]

What happened to the sound onthe start and end of this video

[@uncleobscurenobody8861]

This Ziporyn translation is remarkably close to Victor Mair's

[@faristotle2979]

LESS THAN A MIN AGO UR FAMOUS

[@kuroazrem5376]

This was very confusing

[@yetanotheryoutuber4271]

It's basically saying that all things are connected, are the same thing just in different forms, and are ever changing - us too, so no need to resist change. Consider molten steel; it could be forged into a sword (Excalibur) or a goblet or a candelabra etc. In a modern sense we might say that all is matter, the same substance, just taking different forms. So too, our human bodies are just another part of nature and in the process of transformation like all else in nature. So... don't be distressed if your body starts changing, if you lose your youth, or become deformed, or if your hair falls out, gets eaten by worms becomes fertilizer then eaten by a plant and turns into a flower. Accept the changes and processes of nature, the universe is one big forge of ever changing matter (the Tao).

[@nowhereman6019]

Just go with it.

[@ftg7029]

@@yetanotheryoutuber4271 thanks for the explanation

[@claytonbigsbyofmodernindia7127]

Do "Ajivika" a lost religion of the past dating back to Mauryan king Ashoka's father king Bindusara, who was a follower.

[@charleswalsh9895]

Ah grass hopper

[@MohiuddinAhmed04]

What is your name? Are you American?

[@afhamahammed9662]

Why no background music?

[@letsomethingshine]

Taoism is the best monotheism.

[@theguyver4934]

Wait I taught they teach multiple gods or is it a monotheistic religion ?

[@miyou12]

@@theguyver4934 originally Taoism was just a philosophy. No God, no dogma.

[@miyou12]

there is no God

[@theguyver4934]

@@miyou12 - Are you saying that because of your own personal point of view or because you think this is what this should preach

[@miyousjz4940]

@@theguyver4934 that’s a not a point of view, just do some researchers man 😯

[@sanjaymourya6838]

Volume was mute/missing in the beginning part of video... You may want to check and correct.

[@AmineHamlouchi]

hey can you please research the astronomical evidence of jesus's sacrifice. I think you'd find it interesting and I'd love to see a video about it