The Centre of the Ring
In an argument, is there a place where you don't have to take a side?
Original
彼亦一是非，此亦一是非。果且有彼是乎哉？果且無彼是乎哉？彼是莫得其偶，謂之道樞。樞始得其環中，以應無窮。是亦一無窮，非亦一無窮也。故曰莫若以明。
In plain words
That side has its right and wrong; this side has its right and wrong. Is there really a that and a this? Or is there really no that and this? Where that and this no longer find their opposite: call it the pivot of the Dao. Only when the pivot sits in the centre of the ring can it respond to endless change. “Right” is one endless series; “wrong” is another. So I say: nothing beats clear seeing.
Key words
- 道枢dào shūThe pivot of the Dao, like a door's hinge pin.
- 环中huán zhōngThe empty centre of a ring.
- 以明yǐ míngSeeing with a clear mind, not stuck on one side.
Reading it step by step
Ancient doors had no hinges. A wooden pin ran through the door's edge into round sockets above and below, and the door turned on it. The pin is the “pivot”; the round socket is the “ring.” Zhuangzi uses this utterly ordinary object to make a very deep point.
Let's take it in three steps.
First: each side has its own right and wrong. “That side has its right and wrong; this side has its right and wrong.” You think you're right; so do they. From either side, the other side is wrong. The problem isn't who's cleverer. It's that everyone is standing on a point.
Second: the pivot turns only in the centre of the ring. With the pin seated in the middle of the socket, the door swings left or right, as many times as you like, without jamming. Push the pin to one side and the door sticks. The mind is the same. Standing in the centre, stuck neither on the “right” end nor the “wrong” end, it can “respond to endless change.”
on the ring
an off-centre pin jams the door
in the centre
Third: the centre of the ring is empty. The centre isn't a third position, and it isn't splitting the difference. It's an empty middle. Only when the mind is empty (the fasting of the heart, Day 13) can you see why each side thinks what it does. That's “clear seeing”: shining a clear light rather than rushing to judge.
That completes our third theme, bending outside and staying steady inside. Outside, the door opens and closes, turning with the world. Inside, the pin stays in the very centre.
Next time an argument starts, before you pick a side, ask: am I on the ring right now, or in its centre?
From the centre of the ring, you can turn to face anything.
From the centre of the ring, you can turn to face anything.
Today's question
Think of a recent argument where you took a side. Write down, in the other person's words, why they believe they're right.
Quick check
What is “finding the centre of the ring” closest to?
A hinge pin turns only in the centre; so does a mind that meets endless change.
III · Bend Outside, Steady Inside — Go with the world without losing yourself