Woodworker Ch'ing carved a piece of wood and made a bell stand, and when
it was finished, everyone who saw it marveled, for it seemed to be the
work of gods or spirits. When the Marquis of Lu saw it, he asked, "What
art is it you have?" Ch'ing replied, "I am only a craftsman--how would I
have any art? There is one thing, however. When I am going to make a
bell stand, I never let it wear out my energy. I always fast in order to
still my mind. When I have fasted for three days, I no longer have any
thought of congratulations or rewards, of titles or stipends. When I have
fasted for five days, I no longer have any thought of praise or blame, of
skill or clumsiness. And when I have fasted seven days, I am so still
that I forget I have four limbs and a form and body. By that time, the
ruler and his court no longer exist for me. My skill is concentrated and
all outside distractions fade away. After that, I go into the mountain
forest and examine the Heavenly nature of the trees. If I find one of
superlative form, and I can see a bell stand there, I put my hand to the
job of carving; if not, I let it go. This way I am simply matching up
'Heaven' with 'Heaven.' That's probably the reason that people wonder if
the results were not made by spirits."
(From the translation of Zhuangzi by Burton Watson)
# posted by Stuart Greenhouse @ 12/04/2009 12:53:00 AM
