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THE TEXTS OF TÂOISM.
BK, XI.
descend and be of the Earth. At present all things are produced from the Earth and return to the Earth. Therefore I will leave you, and enter the gate of the Unending, to enjoy myself in the fields of the Illimitable. I will blend my light with that of the sun and moon, and will endure while heaven and earth endure. If men agree with my views, I will be unconscious of it; if they keep far apart from them, I will be unconscious of it; they may all die, and I will abide alone 1!'
5. Yün Kiang?, rambling to the east, having been borne along on a gentle breeze 3, suddenly encountered Hung Mung ?, who was rambling about, slapping his buttocks 4 and hopping like a bird. Amazed at the sight, Yün Kiang stood reverentially, and said to the other, 'Venerable Sir, who are you ? and why are you doing this ?' Hung Mung went on slapping his buttocks and hopping like a bird, but replied, 'I am enjoying myself. Yün Kiang said, 'I
1 A very difficult sentence, in interpreting which there are great differences among the critics.
? I have preferred to retain Yün Kiang and Hung Mung as if they were the surnames and names of two personages here introduced. Mr. Balfour renders them by 'The Spirit of the Clouds,' and Mists of Chaos.' The Spirits of heaven or the sky have still their place in the Sacrificial Canon of China, as the CloudMaster, the Rain-Master, the Baron of the Winds, and the Thunder Master. Hung Mung, again, is a name for the Great Ether,' or, as Dr. Medhurst calls it, the Primitive Chaos.'
3 Literally, 'passing by a branch of Fû-yâo;' but we find fâyâo in Book I, meaning "a whirlwind.' The term 'branch' has made some critics explain it here as the name of a tree,' which is inadmissible. I have translated according to the view of La Shû-kih.
* Or 'stomach,'—according to another reading.
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| SR No. | 007682 |
| Book Title | Questions of King Milinda Part 02 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | T W Rhys Davids |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1894 |
| Total Pages | 2240 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 38 MB |