Friday, May 31, 2013

Bit by Bit - Chapter 14, Part 14

Trey Smith

When Confucius returned from his visit with Lao Tan, he did not speak for three days. His disciples said, "Master, you've seen Lao Tan - what estimation would you make of him?"

Confucius said, "At last I may say that I have seen a dragon - a dragon that coils to show his body at its best, that sprawls out to display his patterns at their best, riding on the breath of the clouds, feeding on the yin and yang. My mouth fell open and I couldn't close it; my tongue flew up and I couldn't even stammer. How could I possibly make any estimation of Lao Tan!"

~ Burton Watson translation ~
What could one possibly say upon meeting a true sage? Like all transcendent experiences, me thinks it would be beyond words.

To view the Index page for this series, go here.

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