Lieh-tzu (eBook)

Fromthe Introduction

ReadingLieh-tzu

ThisIntroduction is for those who would like to know more about the historical andphilosophical background of the Lieh-tzu.Italso outlines a method of presenting the teachings of a spiritual text. Readerswho are only interested in the practical advice the Lieh-tzucanoffer us in our everyday lives should go straight to the text and return to theintroduction later.

Whenasked to name three representative texts of Taoism, most people would list the Lao-tzu(theTao-teChing), theChuang-tzu,andthe Lieh-tzu.Ofthe three, the Lao-tzuisprobably the best known and most widely read, and for Westerners, it is mostlikely the book that introduced them to Taoism. Those who want to continue toexplore the philosophy of Taosim might venture into the Chuang-tzu,andthe more curious would probably wonder what the Lieh-tzuisall about.

Bysome strange circumstances, my introduction to these three famous texts ofTaoism was the reverse. I read the Lao-tzuafterstudying the Chuang-tzu,andbefore I had even heard of Taoism, the stories of the Lieh-tzuwerefamiliar to me from my childhood readers. That I was introduced to the Chuang-tzubeforethe Lao-tzucanprobably be attributed to some freak decision by the Board of Education in HongKong, the council that planned the curriculum when I was in high school. That Iwas introduced to the stories contained in the Lieh-tzuwhenI was a child can be attributed to the fact that many of the ideas of the Lieh-tzuhavebecome a part of the Chinese culture. Although my family was bilingual, I grewup in Chinese culture, and the Lieh-tzugaveme and my schoolmates kernels of wisdom packed in fables and proverbs. Even atage six or seven, we knew about the Old Fool who tried to move the mountains,the man who worried that the sky would fall, and the man who tried to chasedown the sun.

Thatthe stories in the Lieh-tzuarecommon in children's readers also shows that Lieh-tzu's teachings are simplefor children to understand and yet profound for adults to ponder. I have sincelooked at a lot of children's storybooks in Chinese, and I have never failed tofind some of Lieh-tzu's stories and teachings in them. However, I have yet tofind stories or teachings from the Chuang-tzuorthe Lao-tzuinchildren's books. Not that these two texts do not contain words of wisdom, butI've always felt there is something very special about Lieh-tzu's teachingsthat can reach a child and an adult at the same time.

Itis this 'something special' in the Lieh-tzuthatattracted me to the text. When I first started studying the Lieh-tzu,Idid it in the traditional way Chinese classics were studied: I memorized asection of the text, then studied the section's commentaries that werecollected in the Taoist canon. I continued with this process until I had gonethrough all eight sections of the original text. After several years I had anice catalogue of ideas in my head, but I did not feel I really understood theteachings of the book. So I stopped the project.

Ayear later, I felt an urge to read the Lieh-tzuagain.This time, instead of studying it, I simply read it. It was in this secondattempt at understanding the Lieh-tzuthatthe text started 'speaking' to me and I began to listen. At first itsvoice was hesitant, as if it were trying to make my acquaintance beforeconfiding its intentions to me. But after a while, it spoke often. Initially, Iwas someone it...