Sacred Books of the East Vol. 40 - Taoism Vol. 2

Knowledge{fr. 2}, disappointed by the fruitlessness of his questions, returned to the south of the Bright {fn. 1. See vol. xxxix, p. 152.} {fn. 2. All these names are metaphorical, having more or less to do with the qualities of the Tâo, and are used as the names of personages, devoted to the pursuit of it. It is difficult to translate the name Khwang Khü ({img 05700}). An old reading is {img 05701}, which Medhurst explains by 'Bent or Crooked Discourse.' 'Blurter,' though not an elegant English term, seems to express the idea our author would convey by it. Hwang-Tî is different from the other names, but we cannot regard him as here a real personage.} {fn. 3. These names of places are also metaphorical and Tâoistic.} {p. 58} {cont}Water{fr. 1}, and ascended the height of the End of Doubt{fr. 1} where he saw Heedless Blurter, to whom he put the same questions, and who replied, 'Ah! I know, and will tell you.' But while he was about to speak, he forgot what he wanted to say. Knowledge, (again) receiving no answer to his questions, returned to the palace of the Tî{fr. 2}, where he saw Hwang-Tî{fr. 3}, and put the questions to him. Hwang-Tî said, 'To exercise no thought and no anxious consideration is the first step towards knowing the Tâo; to dwell nowhere and do nothing is the first step towards resting in the Tâo; to start from nowhere and pursue no path is the first step towards making the Tâo your own.'