It is said that Confucius once went to see Lao Tzu. He was much older and, of course, expected that Lao Tzu would behave towards him with due respect.
When he entered the room where Lao Tzu was sitting in silence, he did not get up and did not pay much attention to him at all. He didn't even offer to sit down!
Confucius was shocked by this reception. He asked indignantly:
- Don’t you recognize the rules of good manners?
Lao Tzu replied:
- If you want to sit down, sit down; if you want to stand, stand. I have no right to tell you what to do. I don't interfere in other people's lives. You are a free man, and I am a free man.
Confucius was shocked. He tried to start a conversation about the “high” in man, but Lao Tzu laughed and said:
“I have never seen anything “higher” or “lower.” A man is a man, just as trees are trees. Everyone participates in the same existence. There is no one who is higher or lower. This is all nonsense!
Then Confucius asked:
— What happens to a person after death?
Lao Tzu replied:
- You live, but can you say what life is?
Confucius was confused. Lao Tzu said:
“You don’t know this life and, instead of cognizing it, you worry about that beyond.
History has preserved another version of the meeting between Confucius and Lao Tzu.
Confucius came to Lao Tzu and asked:
-What is good? What is evil? Give a clear definition. For a person needs to rely on something in his action.
Lao Tzu replied:
— Definitions create confusion because they imply division. You say that an apple is an apple, and a man is a man... You have divided. You say that man is not an apple. Life is one movement, and the moment you define it, confusion is created. All definitions are dead, and life is always in motion. Childhood moves towards youth, youth towards maturity, etc.; health moves towards illness, illness towards health. Where do you draw the line to separate them? Therefore, definitions are always false, they give rise to untruth, so don’t define! Don't say what is good and what is evil.
Confucius asked:
“Then how can you lead and guide people?” How to teach them? How to make them good and moral?
Lao Tzu replied:
“When someone tries to make another good, in my eyes it seems like a sin.” The more presenters try to create order, the more disorder there is! Leave everyone to their own devices! This situation seems dangerous. Society can be based on this position.
Confucius continued to ask, but Lao Tzu only repeated:
- Nature is enough, no morality is needed, nature is natural, it is relaxed, it is elemental. She has enough innocence! No knowledge needed!
Confucius left embarrassed. He couldn't sleep all night. When his disciples asked him about his meeting with Lao Tzu, he replied:
- This is not a person, this is danger. Avoid him!
When Confucius left, Lao Tzu laughed for a long time. He told his disciples:
- The mind is a barrier to understanding, even the mind of Confucius! He didn't understand me at all. And whatever he says about me later will not be true. He believes that he is creating order in the world! Order is inherent in the world, it is always here. And those who try to create order will only create disorder.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru