He Who Knows Speaks Not
“Heavenly Way and Knowing”
After finishing “The Heavenly Way,” I stumbled upon an interpretation of Zhuangzi’s “Zhi Bei You” (Knowing North Wanderings). The allegory goes something like this:
A character named Zhi asks Wu Wei Wei how one can achieve “knowing,” “peace in the Way,” or “attaining the Way.” Wu Wei Wei doesn’t answer. Then, Zhi turns to Kuang Qu, who claims to know but stops short of speaking. Finally, Zhi consults Huangdi (the Yellow Emperor), who tells Zhi: Wu Wei Wei truly knows, Kuang Qu is close, but neither you nor I can fully attain the Way.
The line in The Heavenly Way, “You know yourself, and thus you are not yourself,” likely originates from this passage: “He who knows speaks not; he who speaks knows not.” Similarly, Ding’s superior insight over Rui in The Heavenly Way parallels this allegory.
The Layers of “Knowing”
When I first read “Zhi Bei You,” the concept of “knowing” gave me pause. Searching further, I discovered that “knowing” has five interpretations in classical texts:
- Understanding the principles of Heaven and Earth, divine and human affairs.
- Recognizing the path or road.
- Gaining awareness or comprehension of things.
- Administrative language in official documents, akin to acknowledgment or notification.
- Referring to something formidable or impressive.
This made me reflect on how we casually use the word “know” in daily life. Do we truly know what we claim to know? Or is it merely a habitual expression akin to “heard,” “received,” “seen”? Have we truly grasped the essence—the Dao?
On the “Way” and Its Pursuit
Whether one achieves “peace in the Way” or “attains the Way” seems less significant. For someone like me, once the door to this inquiry opens, the pursuit of the Dao becomes an endless journey. As Zhuangzi suggests, we are unlikely to fully achieve it.
Years ago, I read about the three stages of Zen in perceiving mountains and rivers:
- Seeing a mountain as a mountain, and water as water.
- Seeing a mountain as no longer a mountain, and water as no longer water.
- Finally, seeing a mountain as a mountain again, and water as water again.
I struggled to grasp the third stage, let alone reach it. In hindsight, the highest state might simply be this: absolute naturalness, free from artifice, entirely unattainable—and yet, therein lies the essence.