Preface
The Butterfly and the Boy
The Marsh Tit and the Goose
The Monkeys and Three in the Morning
The Pheasant
The Praying Mantis
The Hawk and the Egret
The Sheep
The Ant’s Poop
The Mosquito
The Sea Turtle and the Frog
The Shy Crow
The Gibbon
The Magpie, the Praying Mantis, and the Cicada
The Happy Fish
A Glimpse of a Deer
The Mouse, the Bird, and the Monkey
The Tortoise
The Horse
The White Peacock
The Honeybee
The Quail
The Trout, the Heron, the Stag, and the Princess
The Small Golden Carp
The Geese
The Swan and the Crow
The Snow Leopard
The Tip of a Fox’s Hair
The Fish
The Termites
The Show-Off Monkey
Peaceable Creatures
The Bull Who Lays Eggs
The Sunbird in the Useless Tree
Other Titles
Copyright
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I’ve enjoyed reading the works of Taoist philosophers for more than forty years, and the tales in this book were inspired by many of them, particularly those by Chuang Tzu (fourth century B.C.E.). In my stories, I took large liberties with Chuang Tzu’s parables to make them more accessible to the modern reader, while attempting to stay true to the Taoist nature of the teachings. Should you wish to read Chuang Tzu in more depth, I would recommend Wandering on the Way by the fine Taoist philosophy translator Victor H. Mair.
Reading the philosophy for the first time in the early 1970s, I was drawn to the blunt frankness and humor of the stories, which dealt with humanity and its relationship to the natural world in ways that I had not experienced in my study of Western culture. As you’ll see in the following stories, the Taoist sages rejected the notion of striving for wealth and success. Instead, they encouraged their students to seek humility, modesty, simplicity, acceptance, contentment, nonresistance, and freedom. They looked back with longing to the ancients (yes, those who lived long before the fourth century B.C.E.!) who lived in complete harmony with the natural world.
I have structured my stories around the interactions between a Taoist sage and his students. It is often suggested that Taoist philosophers gained their livelihood by teaching young men who would pay for the guidance and wisdom of the elder. I also chose this format because of my experience teaching art to students at the university level for thirty years. While I am certainly no sage, I did have the privilege of teaching students one on one.
In the stories, I give the students silly, nonsensical names similar to those Chuang Tzu gave to competing philosophers of the time, such as Lao Tzu, the legendary founder of Taoism, whom he called “Old Long Ears.” I also used the absurd names to provide humorous beginnings to often serious themes.
I focused my illustrations for the stories on the animals mentioned in each teaching so that they would appeal to young people. In the paintings I combined traditional Asian black ink techniques for the background environments with a more naturalistic style using acrylic color for the animals. I have been told the red signature seal, or chop, used on each painting is as close to the archaic Chinese for “McGinnis” as one can get.
I wrote these stories for both children and adults. While many of the themes are not ordinarily used in books for children, and some of the stories deal with complex concepts, I feel that children have the capacity to deal with such ideas—not always as adults do, but in their own way. Along with the uplifting stories are those involving death, arrogance, suffering, and depression. Taoist philosophy deals with the full range of human experience and often in ways quite different from those viewed from the traditional Western perspective.
My objective for writing these stories was to provide my interpretation of Taoist teachings as a stimulus for discussion, contemplation, and enjoyment.
MARK W. MCGINNIS
Long ago, a boy named Soft Chimney played in the forest near his village. He picked up a stick to use as his sword. Then he found a larger stick that became his great stallion, and he galloped through the forest until he could run no more. Dropping his sticks he saw a beautiful butterfly flitting from wildflower to wildflower. The boy pranced behind the butterfly with careless freedom. As he came close to the butterfly, it fluttered up and landed on his finger, and then flew off to its next exploration.
The boy became quite exhausted from his play, so he lay down on a bed of soft pine needles for a nap. He dreamed that he was the butterfly and that he could fly with grace from one flower to the next, tasting the sweet nectar. He then woke and had the curious thought: Was he a boy dreaming of being a butterfly? Or was he a butterfly dreaming of being a boy? After thinking for a while, Soft Chimney decided it really did not matter since it would be just as nice being a butterfly as being a boy, and he ran off to continue playing.
Happiness is found in enjoying whoever we are.
Long ago, the sage and his student Porridge Knees strolled along a lovely marsh. Porridge Knees gazed at a large formation of geese flying overhead.
“Look at that,” he said to his master. “Those geese will fly a thousand miles. They will see so much and will have knowledge of all that is below them.”
“Yes,” the sage said, nodding. “And look at that little marsh tit flitting about in the reeds. She flies a few yards and jumps from bramble to bramble. She gathers her food and lives her life by this lake. She could fly farther, but why? All she needs for her sustenance and happiness is here. I would rather be a marsh tit than a goose.”
We do not need to go far away to find contentment; the good life can be found at home.
Long ago, the sage and his students were taking a morning tour of the king’s zoo. The zookeeper was just beginning to feed the monkeys. He said to them, “Well, my friends, I will give you each three of these fine chestnuts this morning and four more this evening.”
“That is unfair!” shrieked the monkeys in unison. “Only three in the morning?”
The keeper thought for a moment as the monkeys screamed and bounced off the sides of their cage. “All right, all right,” said the keeper. “I will give you each four chestnuts in the morning and three more this evening.”
The monkeys were delighted, and they all exclaimed, “Now that is fair!” and gobbled up their chestnuts.
The sage’s students seemed confused, but the sage smiled and said, “Such it is with understanding fair and unfair. It depends on how you look at it.”
What is fair and what is unfair? It may be just how you see things.
Long ago, the sage and his student Falling Barnacle were walking through a busy marketplace. The student stopped to admire a pheasant that was crammed into a bamboo cage.
“That is the most beautiful bird I have ever seen,” he said.
“Yes,” said the sage. “It could be that the king will buy that bird, it is so beautiful. He might have a golden cage made for it and give it the finest grains to eat and sweet water to drink. If that pheasant was in the wild it would need to spend most of its day scratching on the ground to find enough seeds to survive. To get a drink of water, it might need to travel miles. But that bird would most certainly rather be scratching the ground in the forest than living in the king’s golden cage.”
Freedom is more important than luxury.
Long ago, on a dusty highway leading to a large city, the sa
ge and his students walked single file on the edge of the road to avoid the heavy traffic of horses, carts, carriages, and chariots. The student at the head of the group had stopped to watch a praying mantis trying to cross the road. Just then, a chariot came racing along, kicking up a dust storm in its wake. Instead of taking wing and escaping, the mantis turned and stood on his hind legs, angrily waving his front feet at the chariot. He was quickly squished into the road.
They resumed their march and the sage said, “This often happens to those who overrate their abilities.”
Arrogance can lead to disaster.
Long ago, the sage and his student Royal Worm were strolling by a small lake. Royal Worm asked his master, “How can I develop myself to become a great person?”
Just then they saw a hawk swoop down over the lake where a snow-white egret was fishing on his long legs.
The sage said, “The hawk did not try to develop her keen eyesight so that she could become a splendid hunter. The egret did not try to develop his long legs so that he could become a great fisher. Royal Worm, one does not try to become a great person. One is naturally a great person or one is not.”
It is better to nurture our natural talents and abilities than to desire to become something we are not.
Long ago, two girls named Dirt Leaf and Loose Hill were each given the responsibility of looking after a sheep that they were to take to the meadow and keep safe, so that the wool from each sheep could be sold at the market to help support their families.
Dirt Leaf was very interested in learning and would borrow books from the village school teacher to study. One day she took her sheep to the meadow, sat down in the cool shade of a tree, and began to read a book. She became so involved in her study that she forgot about her sheep, and when she finally looked up it was gone. She searched and searched but the sheep was nowhere to be found.
Loose Hill also took her sheep to the meadow but then left it there and snuck back to village to go hunting for honey with her friends. When she came back to the meadow to bring her sheep home, it was gone and could not be found.
Dirt Leaf lost her sheep because she was studious. Loose Hill lost her sheep because she loved sweets. But neither sheep was ever found, and the loss to their families was just as great no matter what had caused it.
If our actions lead to the suffering of others, it doesn’t matter if our motives are good or bad.
Long ago, the sage was taking his morning walk with his student Limber Log. “Master,” asked the student, “where does one look to find the truth?”
“Limber Log,” said the sage. “Look to the grass on the ground.”
“So low?” asked the student.
“Look to the dirt under the grass.”
“So low?”
“Look to the ant in the dirt.”
“So low?!”
“Look to the poop of the ant.”
“Not that low!”
“Why not that low?” asked the sage. “The truth is that poop is a necessary part of our lives and if we didn’t poop, our lives would end.”
What is good in life is not always obvious.
Long ago, the sage and his student Brittle Cream were walking on the outskirts of a marshy lake. A mosquito landed on Brittle Cream’s arm, and Brittle Cream slapped it. “I have ended that insect’s life,” he said. “Once it was alive and now it is forever dead.”
“All things end,” said the sage. “And all things begin. In every moment of life all things are changing. That is the nature of existence.”
With that the sage slapped a mosquito that had landed on his neck, and they walked on.
All things must pass and some pass faster due to their actions.
Long ago, a great sea turtle decided to take a stroll along the coast and found an abandoned shallow well. He looked down into the well and saw a frog. “My good frog,” said the turtle. “Are you trapped? The well looks too deep for you to escape.”
“Escape?” said the frog. “Who would want to escape? It is wonderful down here. I have crickets to eat and water to swim and play in. I am the ruler of this kingdom.”
The turtle asked, “Do you not know of the sea? It is thousands of miles long and thousands of miles wide. It contains countless creatures and adventures that never end.”
The frog was bewildered and said, “I do not understand.”
The turtle looked down into the isolated hole and said, “No, I don’t suppose you can understand from where you are. Enjoy your kingdom, your majesty.” And with that the great turtle lumbered on toward the sea.
We all experience life from who we are and where we are. We can rarely understand how others experience their lives.
Long ago, one of the sage’s students named Earthen Sky bought some tainted pork dumplings, ate them, and became deathly ill. The master helped nurse his student and after a week Earthen Sky began to recover. “You were very near death,” the sage said to his student. “Do you fear death?”
“Oh yes, I certainly do,” replied the student.
“Then I will tell you how you can better avoid death,” said the sage. “There was once a crow that the other birds called ‘the shy one.’ He never led the flock and always stayed back toward the rear. He always roosted a little apart from the group. When the flock was feeding, he bided his time and ate leftovers when the others were done. He did not try to be noticed or show off his talents. Due to his careful ways the shy crow lived longer than any other bird in the flock and experienced a life of little stress and worry.”
Being cautious and humble often leads to a safer, quieter, and longer life.
Long ago, the sage had a student named Liquid Cartwheels. The student took a high-paying job advising the king of a neighboring state. Unfortunately, the king was overthrown and Liquid Cartwheels lost his job and fled back to his master.
“Why,” asked Liquid Cartwheels, “should I have come to such a condition? I am now poor and wretched when only a few weeks ago I was rich and comfortable.”
The sage replied, “Have you ever seen a gibbon in a tree? When the tree is smooth-limbed, the gibbon can move with incredible grace and ease using her hands and feet. But when the same ape moves in a thorn tree, she is slow and even clumsy as she makes her way through the spikes. You, Liquid Cartwheels, are now in a thorn tree. Take care and move slowly, and you may again find a smooth-limbed tree.”
There are times in our lives when things are going well, and we feel life is easy. There are other times when we have problems, and life is difficult.
In those difficult times we need to be careful and patient, and good times may come again.
Long ago, the sage was sitting in the shade of a large pine tree preparing to take a nap when his young student Iron Willow ran up in a dither and panted, “Master! I was supposed to be watching my little brother, but instead I was watching a pretty girl. My brother climbed a tree, fell out, and broke his arm. My mother will beat me when I get home!”
“Iron Willow,” said the sage. “There was once a hunter with his bow walking through the king’s chestnut grove. He looked up into a great chestnut tree and saw a cicada sucking the sap from a twig on the tree. Above was a praying mantis that was focused on the cicada. Above the praying mantis was a magpie looking hungrily down at the leggy mantis. In a flash, the mantis grabbed the cicada, the magpie grabbed the mantis, and the hunter’s arrow pierced the magpie.
Neither the cicada, the praying mantis, nor the magpie were paying attention to what was going on around them,” said the sage. “You were not paying attention to your brother and now you must bear the consequences.”
When we neglect our duties, we must be prepared to bear the consequences of our action or our lack of action.
Long ago, after a long walk in the forest, the sage and his student Pink Blackbird came to a village and bought two small bowls of soup from a street vendor. As they sat on a log slowly eating their soup, the student asked, “Master, how can a ruler govern his people for their h
appiness and contentment?”
“In ancient times,” said the sage, “the great Green Emperor was traveling around his kingdom with a group of his ministers. He came upon an old man fishing with a red silk line that had no hook. Around the hookless line swam a school of happy fish. ‘Make this man my chief minister and let him govern all my lands,’ ” said the emperor to his ministers. “With that the great Green Emperor left to live a quiet life in the mountains.”
A good leader need not be harsh with people. If he or she is quiet and content, they will follow the example.
Long ago, the sage and his student Sweet Boulder were sitting in the sage’s hut quietly enjoying a cup of tea. Sweet Boulder was suddenly startled and said, “Master, looking through this crack in your wall, I think I just saw a deer pass by, but it was so fast!”
“Yes,” said the sage. “That glimpse you saw of the deer is like the fleeting nature of life. Savor each moment.”
Life passes quickly.
Long ago, the sage and his student Marble Toe sat under a tree on a summer evening. “I have heard,” said Marble Toe, “that if you wish order among people you must have rules, regulations, and punishments.”
“I have heard that too,” said the sage. “If you try to set rules for a mouse, it will burrow into a hole. If you try to regulate a bird, it will fly away. If you try to punish a monkey, you must first get it into a cage. Rules, regulations, and punishments do not work much better with people. If you wish order, look to the simple ways of nature and make few rules, then no regulations and punishments are needed.”
The Show-Off Monkey and Other Taoist Tales Page 1
