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From: The Spiritual Teachings of The Tao

September 8, 2014 at 6:34 pm Leave a comment

The Guru and His Disciples

Lieh Tzu went on a journey to Chi, but after travelling only halfway he came back. On his return he met the teacher Po Hun Wu Shan who wondered why he had come back so suddenly.

Lieh Tzu said, “I was frightened.”

“What scared you?”

“On the way there I went into ten soup shops, and in five of them the soup was set down in front of me before anyone else.”

“But why should that frighten you?”

Lieh Tzu said, “Although the inner quality of a person can be hidden, the body, like a traitor, lets it shine through. This display awes people, who then treat you as noble or a sage, and from this treatment problems arise.

You see, soup sellers sell food simply as a matter of business, and however much they sell, their profit is small, and their power nil. So if they treated me as someone special, think how a king would view me! His body worn out with the cares of ruling, his knowledge overwhelmed by his affairs, he would want to hand these affairs to me, and expect me to successfully conduct his government. This is what frightened me.”

Po Hun Wu Shan replied, “Very perceptive! But if you persist in carrying yourself as you do, people will come to you as disciples.”

Not long after, Po Hun Wu Shan went to visit Lieh Tzu, and found his doorway full of visitors’ shoes. He stood there, holding his staff upright, leaning his chin on it until his skin puckered. After standing like this for awhile, he went away without saying a word.

The doorman went in and told Lieh Tzu, who immediately grabbed his shoes, and ran barefoot after the visitor.

When he overtook him at the outer gate, he said, “Since you’ve come for a visit, won’t you give me some good advice?”

Po Hun Wu Shan replied, “It’s too late. I told you that people would flock to you, and so they have. It’s not that you cause them to gather, they simply can’t stop coming. What good did my warning do? What attracts them and makes them pleased is your extraordinary qualities. But you, in turn, will be influenced by this crowd, your inner nature will be disturbed, and nothing can be done about it.

These people will not tell you this. The small words they speak are like poison to you. They don’t perceive this, nor do they understand it. How will you separate yourself from them?

Entry filed under: Ancient wisdom, Thoughts. Tags: guru, king, Lieh Tzu, Taoism, The Spiritual Teachings of The Tao.