from "the way of chuang tzu" trans merton
THE PIVOT
Tao is obscured when men understand only one of a pair
of opposites, or concentrate only on a partial aspect of being.
Then clear expression also becomes muddled by mere wordplay,
affirming this one aspect and denying all the rest.
Hence the wrangling of Confucians and Mohists; each
denies what the other affirms, and affirms what the other
denies. What use is this struggle to set up "No" against "Yes,"
and "Yes" against "No"? Better to abandon this hopeless effort
and seek true light!
There is nothing that cannot be seen from the standpoint
of the "Not-I." And there is nothing which cannot be seen
from the standpoint of the "I." If I begin by looking at anything
from the viewpoint of the "Not-I," then I do not really
see it, since it is "not I" that sees it. If I begin from where I
am and see it as I see it, then it may also become possible for
me to see it as another sees it. Hence the theory of reversal
that opposites produce each other, depend on each other, and
complement each other.
However this may be, life is followed by death; death is
followed by life. The possible becomes impossible; the impossible
becomes possible. Right turns into wrong and wrong
into right - the flow of life alters circumstances and thus things
themselves are altered in their turn. But disputants continue
to affirm and to deny the same things they have always
affirmed and denied, ignoring the new aspects of reality
presented by the change in conditions.
The wise man therefore, instead of trying to prove this
or that point by logical disputation, sees all things in the
light of direct intuition. He is not imprisoned by the limit-
ations of the "I," for the viewpoint of direct intuition is that
of both "I" and "Not-1." Hence he sees that on both sides
of every argument there is both right and wrong. He also
sees that in the end they are reducible to the same thing,
once they are related to the pivot of Tao.
When the wise man grasps this pivot, he is in the center of
the circle, and there he stands while "Yes" and "No" pursue
each other around the circumference.
The pivot of Tao passes through the center where all
affirmations and denials converge. He who grasps the pivot
is at the still-point from which all movements and oppositions
can be seen in their right relationship. Hence he sees the
limitless possibilities of both "Yes" and "No." Abandoning all
thought of imposing a limit or taking sides, he rests in direct
intuition. Therefore I said: "Better to abandon disputation
and seek the true light!
