The Three Principle Texts of Daoism translated by ... - Bad Request

“To live with your wife," exclaimed Hui Tzu, “and seeyour eldest son grow up to be a man, and then not toshed a tear over her corpse,--this would be bad enough.But to drum on a bowl, and sing; surely this is going toofar."“Not at all," replied Chuang Tzu. “When she died, Icould not help being affected by her death. Soon,however, I remembered that she had already existed in aprevious state before birth, without form, or evensubstance; that while in that unconditioned condition,substance was added to spirit; that this substance thenassumed form; and that the next stage was birth. Andnow, by virtue of a further change, she is dead, passingfrom one phase to another like the sequence of spring,summer, autumn and winter. And while she is thus lyingasleep in Eternity, for me to go about weeping andwailing would be to proclaim myself ignorant of thesenatural laws. Therefore I refrain."5.When Chuang Tzu was about to die, his disciplesexpressed a wish to give him a splendid funeral. ButChuang Tzu said: “With Heaven and Earth for my coffinand shell; with the sun, moon, and stars, as my burialregalia; and with all creation to escort me to the grave,--are not my funeral paraphernalia ready to hand?"