Chapter 36 The realm of "real people"

One day, Zhuangzi was discussing a problem with his disciples. The disciple asked: "How can one be considered a person who understands the Dao?" Zhuangzi said: "A person who understands Tao must understand reason, and a person who understands reason must understand contingency, and a person who understands contingency will not harm himself due to external things. A person with supreme virtue will not feel hot when he enters fire, but sinks in water He cannot be drowned, cannot be harmed by cold and heat, and cannot be harmed by animals. This is because he can clearly observe safety and danger, be content with misfortune and good fortune, and be willing to let go, so nothing can harm him."

The disciple asked, "Are there really virtuous people in the world?" Zhuangzi said: "Confucius is." The disciple asked, "How can you see it?" Zhuangzi said: "Confucius traveled around the world and promoted benevolence and righteousness. Although he hit a wall everywhere, he still persevered. His heart of worrying about the country and the people is admirable and admirable. Once, Confucius lobbied in Kuangdi and was surrounded by people from Weiguo. At that time, he still played the piano and sang, and he didn't care. Passers-by saw Confucius and asked: "Teacher, what do you have fun?" ;I have long been longing for prosperity, but I have not yet achieved wealth and honor, and the fate is limited. When Yao and Shun had an infinite number of people in the world, it was not wisdom; when Jie and Zhou had no well-educated people, it was not wisdom. Walking in the water without avoiding dragons is the courage of a fisherman; walking on land without avoiding lions and tigers is the courage of a hunter; holding a white knife in front of you and seeing death as if you were alive is the courage of a martyr; Knowing that sometimes, those who are not afraid of adversity are the courage of a sage! Zhong You, please sit down. My fate is arranged by God!' After a while, a man in armor came over and apologized to Confucius: "I'm very sorry, sir! We thought it was Yang Hu, so we surrounded him. Now we realize that we misidentified you, so we retreat immediately!"