The Trees of Ox Mountain

Looking at a bare hill, would you say trees never grew there?

Original

孟子曰：「牛山之木嘗美矣，以其郊於大國也，斧斤伐之，可以為美乎？是其日夜之所息，雨露之所潤，非無萌櫱之生焉，牛羊又從而牧之，是以若彼濯濯也。人見其濯濯也，以為未嘗有材焉，此豈山之性也哉？……其日夜之所息，平旦之氣，其好惡與人相近也者幾希，則其旦晝之所為，有梏亡之矣。……故苟得其養，無物不長；苟失其養，無物不消。」

In plain words

Mencius said: “The trees on Ox Mountain were once beautiful. But the mountain lay just outside a great city, and axes kept cutting them. Could it stay beautiful? Of course, resting day and night and moistened by rain and dew, it did not fail to put out new shoots. But then cattle and sheep were brought to graze, and so it became as bare as you see it now. People see how bare it is and think it never had any timber. But is that the nature of the mountain? ... A person, too, recovers through the day and night. In the clear air of dawn, his likes and dislikes come a little closer to other people's. But what he does in the daytime ties it up and destroys it again. ... So, given nourishment, nothing fails to grow; deprived of nourishment, nothing fails to waste away.”

Key words

萌櫱méng nièNew buds, and shoots sprouting from stumps.
濯濯zhuó zhuóStripped bare.
平旦之氣píng dàn zhī qìThe clear, quiet air of the heart at dawn; also called “night air.”

Reading it step by step

Last time we read that human nature leans toward good as water runs downhill, though outside force can splash it over your head. Today Mencius offers another picture: a mountain, stripped bare.

First: bareness is not the mountain's nature. Ox Mountain stood next to a big city. People cut its trees every day, then let cattle and sheep graze on the new shoots, so it went bald. Passers-by said trees just don't grow there. Mencius in effect asks twice. Is bareness the mountain's nature? No. Then are the trees its nature? Also no, or how could they be cut and eaten away? The mountain's nature lies in what it can do: grow trees. That "can" is a force, the same "toward" in "leaning toward good." Leave it alone and it turns green by itself.

Second: people have "night air" too. Mencius moves the camera from the mountain to us. Each night in sleep we set down the day's roles, boss, clerk, shop assistant, teacher, and come back to ourselves. At first light there is a clearness in the heart, which he calls the air of dawn. In that moment our sense of right and wrong is much like anyone's. One teacher jokes that hardly anyone hears the alarm at eight in the morning and heads out to do something wicked. Wrongdoing waits for the afternoon, dusk and the small hours, when a long day has left us muddled. Then the day starts, and for business, face or gain, the axe comes down again and again. Cut too often and even the little that grew back overnight can't survive.

the mountain

rest by night

new shoots

axes · grazing

bare

the heart

back to yourself at night

the air of dawn

daytime doings

bound and lost

Given nourishment, nothing fails to grow.

Third: given nourishment, everything grows. The mountain doesn't need to be redesigned. It needs not to be cut and not to be chewed. The heart is the same: give it some undisturbed time and it grows back by itself. Mencius also quotes Confucius: hold on to it and it stays; let go and it's gone.

Today's axes and goats look different. The first thing we do on waking is reach for the phone. All day we compare, complain and just get through things. The few clear minutes of morning are eaten before we even notice them. Try this: tomorrow, before you look at a screen, give yourself five minutes to think about who you want to be today. The same at night: a little less scrolling before sleep gives the shoots room to come back.

A mountain can go bare, and it can go green again. Put down the axe; the shoots were never gone.

One line to carry

Put down the axe. The shoots are still there.

Today's question

What are the axes and grazing goats in your life? How many minutes can you keep clear for your dawn air tomorrow?

Quick check

Why, according to Mencius, did Ox Mountain go bare?

Next pageRightness Pleases the HeartPage 14

II · Goodness Is No Fantasy — Human nature leans toward good; sincerity sets it moving

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