Zhuangzi 1.7 Huizi Has a Great Tree

Zhuangzi 1.7

惠子謂莊子曰：「吾有大樹，人謂之樗。其大本擁腫而不中繩墨，其小枝卷曲而不中規矩，立之塗，匠者不顧。今子之言，大而無用，眾所同去也。」莊子曰：「子獨不見狸狌乎？卑身而伏，以候敖者；東西跳梁，不避高下；中於機辟，死於罔罟。今夫斄牛*，其大若垂天之雲。此能為大矣，而不能執鼠。今子有大樹，患其無用，何不樹之於無何有之鄉，廣莫之野，彷徨乎無為其側，逍遙乎寢臥其下？不夭斤斧，物無害者，無所可用，安所困苦哉！」

Huizi spoke to Zhuangzi, saying: "I have a great tree, people call it Ailanthus. It's great root gathers and swells but matches no carpenter’s line;  it's small branches curl and crook and fit no compass or square; standing in the mud (by the roadside), no craftsman (gives it) a second look. Now sir, your words, are great but have no use, the people all agree in discarding (what you say).

Zhuangzi said: “Have you alone never seen a wildcat or a weasel? It's body low, crouching, [until] some wandering creature [appears]; east and west it leaps about, failing to avoid (things) high or  low, [it] falls into a snare or dies in a net. Now sir, [consider] the Wooly Yak, its greatness like clouds suspended from the heavens. It can be considered great, indeed, but cannot catch a mouse. Now, sir has this great tree, and worries it is without use. Why not plant it in a deserted village, or a broad, empty field? [1] [Why not] meander without purpose by its side, or freely and easily sleep beneath its (boughs)? Not cut short by axes or hatchets, things not harming it - why is there any distress![2]

Notes:

中 zhòng  fit, match, accord; hit the target

塗  tú mud = 途 tú way, road, route

辟 = 繴 bì fishing net

斄 = 彊曲毛 qiáng qū máo stubborn, curly wool

無為 without purpose

彷徨 walk aback and forth, undecided (meander)

逍遙 free and unfettered 

Comments:

[1]I really like Watson’s “Not-Even-Anything Village” and the “Field-of-Broad-and-Boundless.”

[2]Translations vary on the target of the phrase (either Huizi or the tree), but it’s worth noting the phrase is ambiguous. Surrendering the concept of instrumental utility relieves both Huizi and the Ailanthus (although, perhaps “releaves” might be more appropriate in the case of the tree).

Zhuangzi 1.6 Huizi Speaks to Zhuangzi About a Gourd

 惠子謂莊子曰：「魏王貽我大瓠之種，我樹之成而實五石，以盛水漿，其堅不能自舉也。剖之以為瓢，則瓠落無所容。非不呺然大也，吾為其無用而掊之。」莊子曰：「夫子固拙於用大矣。宋人有善為不龜手之藥者，世世以洴澼絖為事。客聞之，請買其方百金。聚族而謀曰：『我世世為洴澼絖，不過數金；今一朝而鬻技百金，請與之。』客得之，以說吳王。越有難，吳王使之將。冬，與越人水戰，大敗越人，裂地而封之。能不龜手一也，或以封，或不免於洴澼絖，則所用之異也。今子有五石之瓠，何不慮以為大樽而浮乎江湖，而憂其瓠落無所容？則夫子猶有蓬之心也夫！」

Huizi spoke to Zhuangzi, saying: “The King of Wei gave me the seed of a giant calabash. I cultivated it to completion, when it could fully hold [1] five stone! [2] I filled it with water and broth, [but] it [was] steadfast [3], I could not hoist it myself. (I) cut it in half to make two ladles, in this way the gourd fell [4] apart and cannot contain anything. Nothing but empty giants! I thought it was useless, so I broke it.”

Zhuangzi said: “You certainly are clumsy in using [that which is] great! Among the people of Song there was one who was skilled at making medicine preventing chapped [5] hands. [So] generations took washing silk as their business. A traveler heard about it and asked to purchase the method for 100 gold. The family convened and scheming [6] said: ‘For generations we have washed silk, and never encountered much wealth. Now in one morning we (can) sell (our) art for 100 gold. [Let's] go along with it.’ [7] The traveler obtained it and [thereby] spoke to the King of Wu. Having difficulties with Yue, the King of Wu appointed him general. [In] the winter, after a naval battle with Yue [in which] the people of Yue were greatly defeated, [the King] split the land and conferred it [to the traveler]. [8] Preventing chapped hands was the same (in each case): one [9] took a fief; [while] others were unable to quit washing silk. Now sir has a five-stone gourd. Why not consider making great wine-vessels and floating on the rivers and lakes [10], and not grieving the gourd that fell apart holds nothing? Your way, sir, is like having a mind of weeds [11] - yes sir!”

[1] 實 Watson gives “fit into; stuff into.” This is a little strange, as Watson’s use is the only recorded use of 實 in this manner. I think he’s trying to find a way to convey the idea that the gourd, when filled, weigh five stone. 實 usually means “true,” “actually,” or “fully,” but it can also be opposed to 虛. I think Zhuangzi here is playing on the opposition: the stone is “full,” which renders it immobile (just like the heartmind). By contrast, Zhuangzi and the DDJ both valorize “emptiness” as the real virtue.

[2] An estimated calculation regarding the weight of the gourds: if 1石 (stone) = 120 斤 jīn (also referred to as a catty or kati); and 1斤 jīn = 500g (PRC) or 600g (HK, SG); therefore: (5石)(120斤/石) = 600斤; and (600斤)(500g/斤) = 30,000g = 30kg (PRC); (600 斤)(600g/斤) = 30,000g = 36kg (HK, SG).

[3] 堅 n: "heavily fortified point; fortification," adj: "hard; solid; firm; strong" or "resolute, steadfast." I feel this alludes to Zhuangzi’s overall imagery criticizing “fixation” or “completeness,” particularly in the 成心 (as seen in ZZ 1.3 or ZZ 2.4); see also ZZ 1.2: 其留如詛盟: “those who halt like swearing an oath,” and 其守勝之謂也: “those who defend the victory of words.”

[4] The key is realizing that 落 can refer to the halves of the gourd falling apart. I note the difference here between 瓢 piáo (ladles) versus 瓠 hù (gourd), as the story depends on the different shapes; 落 luò to fall, to drop (like leaves from a tree); to “fall” (die); 无所容 not in any way contain/hold.

[5] 龜 jūn (chapping of the skin). But can we take a moment and appreciate not only deriving龜 jūn (chapped) from 龜 guī (turtle), but also the existence of 龜 as a character? Also 洴澼 píngpì can mean rinsing or bleaching, but the commentary suggests 漂洗 piǎoxǐ (washing or rinsing). I am uncertain if bleaching was part of the ancient practice of silk manufacturing.

[6A] Zhuangzi is consistently critical of 謀 móu as a method and a goal. Compare to other passages in Zhuangzi. ZZ 5.5: 聖人不謀，惡用知？The sage does not scheme; why does he need knowledge? ZZ 7.6: 無為名尸，無為謀府，無為事任，無為知主。Do not for fame play the corpse; do not for schemes govern; do not for affairs take office; do not become a lord of knowledge. ZZ 7.7: 儵與忽謀報渾沌之德，曰 : Shu and Hu scheme (how to) reciprocate Hun Dun’s virtue (Hun Dun = Blending Chaos, and they inadvertently kill Hun Dun by trying to give them the sensory capacities of human beings).

[6B] The real question however is what differentiates “scheming” from “wandering”? Scheming involves (1) a fixed goal; (2) reducing others (and one’s self) to instrumentalist calculations; and (3) being unable to release the conceptual scheme and return to following or mirroring; these are non-anthropocentric modes of relating to the world, opposed by the anthropocentric universal instrumentalization of nature. Essentially, schemes put people at the center of the world, subvert the world to those schemes, and become fixed and unflexible goals, and require endless schematiziation to justify the abstract conceptualization.

[7] 鬻 yù sell; vend (under duress); and 請 qǐng request; invite: “Please go along with it,” or “We request to go along with it.”

[8A] 裂地而封之 “split the land and enfeoffed it” refers to 分封制, the feudal system of the western Zhou dynasty (11C-771BC). Again note the importance of “enclosing” as an image (see 8B).

[8B] Also 裂地而封之: In addition to parallel-but-contrasting situations (the broken gourd versus winning a fief), the text suggests parallel-but-contrasting images: with the gourds: in the first instance, the gourds fall apart and cannot hold anything; in the second instance the land is split 裂 apart and then enclosed 封 to create a fief. At first glance it appears the King of Wu splits the land, but the parallel structure between the land and the gourds might suggest the traveler is splitting the land and taking a fief.

[9] 或 can be “someone” and “someone,” so here I use it as “(some)one” and “others.

[10] 江湖 jiānghú: the rivers and lakes; I suspect Zhuangzi (and perhaps this passage in particular) was the basis for using 江湖 as a synonym for “vagrant life.” The term 江湖is also synonymous for the “floating world” of wandering kung-fu heroes (also a kind of “vagrant life”). Zhuangzi’s vagrant heroes are a motley assortment of cripples, madmen, beggars, and ex-criminals. These figures are all, in some respect members of a wandering precariat who survive through creativity, transformation, and a rejection of fixed form. Zhuangzi regards the figures as possessing true “virtue” (德) the ability to identify with Dao, to be indifferent to loss, and to survive (via wandering) apart from the managerial system of sages and states. In this respect Zhuangzi’s heroes represent a radical critique of the Warring States valorization of sages, kings, and heroic figures. In this manner Zhuangzi both subverts and elevates the concept of virtue in warring states discourse. The term then later reappears in kung-fu.

[11] 則夫子猶有蓬之心也夫！ “Your way, sir, is like having a mind of weeds - yes sir!” Note the relation between Huizi’s attempt to fill the gourd versus his inability to empty his mind. The Confucian project of cultivating is one of building up, whereas Laozi and Zhuangzi both emphasize emptying out. Emptying is a necessary component of the therapeutic response to the fixed mind. The fixed-mind maintains fixed distinctions, fixed applications of language, and fixed intentions. Similarly, empty space is also necessary for life. Small birds find the holes and openings in the underbrush; Peng floats on the wind.

Zhuangzi 1.5 The Spirit Person of Gu Ye Mountain

Zhuangzi 1.5
肩吾問於連叔曰：「吾聞言於接輿，大而無當，往而不反。吾驚怖其言，猶河漢而無極也，大有逕庭，不近人情焉。」連叔曰：「其言謂何哉？」曰：「藐姑射之山，有神人居焉，肌膚若冰雪，淖約若處子，不食五穀，吸風飲露。乘雲氣，御飛龍，而遊乎四海之外。其神凝，使物不疵癘而年穀熟。吾以是狂而不信也。」連叔曰：「然，瞽者無以與乎文章之觀，聾者無以與乎鍾鼓之聲。豈唯形骸有聾盲哉？夫知亦有之。是其言也，猶時女也。之人也，之德也，將旁礡萬物，以為一世蘄乎亂，孰弊弊焉以天下為事！之人也，物莫之傷，大浸稽天而不溺，大旱、金石流、土山焦而不熱。是其塵垢粃糠，將猶陶鑄堯、舜者也，孰肯以物為事！宋人資章甫而適諸越，越人斷髮文身，無所用之。堯治天下之民，平海內之政，往見四子藐姑射之山，汾水之陽，窅然喪其天下焉。」

Jian Yu questioned Lian Shu, saying: "I heard [*1] the words of Jie Yu: great but with no connection [*2] to anything, going forth with no return! I was frightened by his words, (they were) like the Han River [Milky Way]: having no limit, abundantly disparate [*3], [and] nowhere near human sense. [*4] 
Lian Shu said: "His words, what did (he) say?"

“[He] said: ‘[At] far-distant Gu Ye Mountain [*5], a spirit-person dwells, flesh and skin like ice and snow, meek and mild [*6] like a maiden, not eating the five grains, [but] inhaling wind and drinking dew,  Riding clouds and mist, driving flying dragons, and wandering beyond the four seas. Their spirit concentrates, causing the living to be cured of disease and pestilence [*7], and the annual crops to ripen.’ I thought his affirmations insane and unbelievable.”

Lian Shu said: "Like so. The blind have no means of following the sight of beautiful writings; the deaf have no means of following the sounds of bells and drums. [But] are blindness and deafness exclusive to the bodily form? Sir’s knowing also has it. Regarding these words, [this is] just like you right now. Such a person, such virtue, could fully extend to the ten thousand things, taking and regarding all as one, a world seeking confusion – what fastidious official [*8] would take all under heaven as their responsibility! Such a person, things can not harm them: great waters rise to the heavens and [they do] not drown; [in] great droughts, metal and stone may [melt and] flow, and the earth and mountains burn to ash, but [they feel] no heat. Regarding their dust and chaff would be like casting a Yao or a Shun – who would consent to taking [all] creatures and making them [their] responsibility! The people of Song supplied embroidered crowns [*9] but [when] fitting everyone in Yue, the people of Yue cut off their hair and tattooed their bodies, so the [crowns] were useless. Yao ruled everyone (all under heaven), bringing peace to the governments within the four seas, (but) after going to see the four great ones of distant Gu Ye Mountain, (everything) beneath heaven was lost and hidden to him [*10].

Notes:
*1 Note degrees of understanding, as seen in Zhuangzi 4.10.1-4.10.3: 若一志，无聽之以耳而聽之以心，无聽之以心而聽之以氣。聽止於耳，心止於符。氣也者，虛而待物者也。唯道集虛。虛者，心齋也。 “With a unified focus. Do not listen with the ears, but rather listen by means of the heart. Do not listen by means of the heart, but rather listen by means of the spirit. Listening stops at the ears, the heart-mind stops at tallying. But one of spirit, such a one is empty and waits for things. This emptiness, this is the fasting of the mind”(Helsing). One of my points here is that “listening” merely stops at recognition of sense data, while the heart-mind concerns itself with labels and comparisons. Neither of these degrees of “understanding” is comparable to understanding with the spirit. I suggest this means having a full awareness of the dynamic transformations of Dao (or the constantly shifting fluctuations of experience), keeping the mind from impulsively responding to sensory information or from fixating on a single conceptual understanding. The empty heart-mind lets sensory information and conceptual schemas come and go.
*2 當: suit, comply, take charge, administer, equal; suitable, appropriate; Xunzi 儒效8: 言必當理，事必當務.
*3 徑庭means “very different” but seems to literally mean “bypassing the court hall.” This may be a moment of humor, as the path is bypassing the court or great hall where governing decisions would be made.
*4 情: feeling, affection; love, passion; Zhuangzi 2.4.1-2.4.2: 可行已信，而不見其形，有情而無
*5 姑 (mother-in-law) + 射 (discharge, spout) = Fuming Mother Mountain. Note the similarity in conflict to Zhuangzi 26.79.1-26.79.4: “All things that have consciousness depend upon breath. But if they do not get their fill of breath, it is not the fault of Heaven. Heaven opens up the passages and supplies them day and night without stop. But man on the contrary blocks up the holes. The cavity of the body is a many-storied vault; the mind has its Heavenly wanderings. But if the chambers are not large and roomy, then wife and mother-in-law will fall to quarreling. If the mind does not have its Heavenly wanderings, then the six apertures of sensation will defeat each other,” (Watson 300-301). The mother vs. maiden image appears in both passages. This may be stereotypical folk humor, but the chambers also evoke later images in Daoist meditation and internal alchemy. Resolving the conflicts in the chambers plays an important role in internal alchemy, and this may also include images of the mother vs. maiden conflict.
*6 绰约。Meek and mild; soft and tender.
*7 其神凝，使物不疵癘而年穀熟。I want to emphasize the active element of the spirit here, or the effects of concentrating the spirit. By concentrating or coalescing the spirit, the spirit-person causes others to be without disease and causes the crops to ripen for harvest.
*8 弊弊For the reduplication Kroll gives “exceedingly fastidious, officiously concerned,” (and more). The description targets the overly-concerned managerial figure seeks to reduce the world to a series of problems to be controlled.
*9 章甫 court crown from 章甫薦履 “Court crown beneath straw shoe” or “everything turned upside down.”
*10 汾Fen River (Shanxi); 陽Yang; capital; 窅hidden, veiled, inscrutable; 喪 to lose, to fail to keep; to be bereaved; death.

 

Zhuangzi 1.4 Yao, Ceding the Kingdom to Xu You

 堯讓天下於許由，曰：「日月出矣，而爝火不息，其於光也，不亦難乎！時雨降矣，而猶浸灌，其於澤也，不亦勞乎！夫子立而天下治，而我猶尸之，吾自視缺然，請致天下。」許由曰：「子治天下，天下既已治也。而我猶代子，吾將為名乎？名者，實之賓也，吾將為賓乎？鷦鷯巢於深林，不過一枝；偃鼠飲河，不過滿腹。歸休乎君！予無所用天下為。庖人雖不治庖，尸祝不越樽俎而代之矣。」

Translation:

Yao, ceding the kingdom to Xu You, said: "When the sun and moon emerge, and the torch fire (is) not extinguished; (for) those in the light, isn't it difficult! When the seasonal rains descend, and if watering the fields, (for) those in the swamp, isn't it hard labor! Sir rules and the world is peaceful, but [when] I “preside over” it, I see myself lacking; [I] invite [you] to receive the world. Xu You says: "You govern the world, the world is already governed. And if I replace you, I doing this for a name? Names are guests of reality. Am I doing this to be a (mere) guest? The wren nests in the deep forests, not exceeding a single branch; the mole drinks (from) the river, not exceeding a satisfied belly. Return to resting (in place) as ruler, I have no use for the world. Even if the cook is not governing the kitchen, the (representative of) the dead and the litanist would not jump over their goblets and sacrifices to replace him!

Comments:

而我猶代子，吾將為名乎？名者，實之賓也，吾將為賓乎？

This line plays with 名/名 [titles/fame], 賓 [guest], and 名/實 [naming/reality] . See below for specific analysis.

吾將為名乎

The line plays with 名 as “fame” and “title (name).” Both meanings can target generalizable social problems as well as specific concerns particular to Warring States thought. Generalizable problems: accepting responsibility to increase one’s personal fame; doing something “in name” only. In terms of more specific concerns, Chapters 4-6 draw attention to Zhuangzi’s specific criticism of the Confucian project: in the Confucian project, the sage practices “self-cultivation” and seeks to provide exemplary conduct in the hopes of inspiring local rules. This requires gaining personal reputation and employment as a government official. Confucius himself (in the Analects) indicates the sage must maintain personal composure and moral standards even while unacknowledged. Other texts in the Confucian canon, however, centralize the role of the sage as moral exemplar. In this both Zhuangzi and the DDJ agree: trying to govern by drawing attention to one’s own behavior as a the standard of moral exemplarity results in conflict and danger.

吾將為賓乎

Second, there is a host/guest hierarchy that is difficult to capture in succinct translation. Modern commentary gloss: “And if I replace you, do I do this for a name? A name is subordinate to reality. Am I for (the sake of) seeking subordinate things?” Rulers and the ruling class were often associated as “superior” or “those above” (see Analects 1.2 IIRC). Xu You inverts the relationship. Assuming the mantle of ruler not only removes him from his “niche” (where he can more easily survive and thrive), but it also makes him “subservient” to the demands of the “playing the corpse.” The title carries expectations. Failing to meet these expectations results in political vulnerability. Given the impossibility of ever actually meeting expectations in governing (see the short-lived attempts at recording predictive accuracy in Oracle-bone readings), any ruler would be subject to constant political maneuvering based on narrative appearance (as suggested in Chapter 4, when Yan Hui speaks to Confucius).

名者，實之賓也

These two points both connect to Zhuangzi’s criticisms of language and “usefulness.” If we engage the world merely through linguistic distinctions, we continually risk reducing ourselves to mere utility – of simply blindly executing roles or functions based on the unreflective imposition of conceptual order on an irreducibly complex world. When we do this we lose the ability to navigate the changing conflux of activity. We risk ignoring dangers to ourselves as we blindly pursue our intentions or goals. And we cause injury and harm as we forcefully impose conceptual frameworks. All of these lead to increased conflict, risk of harm, and destabilization of the equilibrium that actually  and we risk destabilizing our ability to wander about in the world.

The Wren and the Mole

Animal comparisons in the text serve a number of functions. They help decentralize human perspectives; they point to diversity in habits and habitats; and they occasionally warn against foolish behavior. The images here, of the Wren and the Mole, also highlight the importance of avoiding excess – both in personal appetites and in terms of ambitions. By avoiding these excesses, each continues to survive in its environment.

The passage also plays on the images of the small birds in the text. Passage 1.2 compares the judgmental self-importance of the Marsh Quail to the judgmental self-importance of minor officials. The Wren and the Mole contrast this self-importance with contentment and self-restraint. The point here is not that the Wren and the Mole each have “their own way” of doing things (a kind of naïve moral relativism). The point here is that each survives by avoiding mindless excess and ambition, by understanding conditions and possibility, and by living in response to the world – instead of attempting to control or govern through the forceful imposition of linguistic-conceptual understanding.

We also see Zhuangzi frequently celebrate the uncelebrated members of society (Cook Ding, Cripple Shu, the Mad Jieyu, etc.). The Wren and the Mole, as “little” creatures suggest parallels to these figures – many of whom are compared to the “Utmost Person.” Chapter 7.6 suggests the utmost person holds no fixed preferences or sense of self (ego); acts for no fixed purpose; seeks no office; and wanders with no master. The utmost person is “empty” (more on this later), employs the heart-mind like a mirror, responding infinitely they excel over all things and injury none.

Inner Chapters Structure

The passage also foreshadows the concluding passages in Chapter 7 (Nie Que goes to Wang Ni and is rebuked by Yu Yizi; Jian Wu seeks Jieyu; Tian Gen meets the man with no name; Yang Ziji talks to Lao Dan… etc.). These stories are then capped by a further admonition: do not “play the corpse” (preside over things) for fame; do not become a storehouse of plans and schemes, do not serve/trouble with official affairs; do not become a “ruler” of knowledge (more on this passage later). Chapter 7 then concludes with the rulers of the Northern Darkness and Southern Darkness attempting to “help” the Swirling Turbidity. In trying to make the mess of murky waters more “human” (by giving it facial orifices) however, the rulers’ errant efforts merely bring about its death. This arrangement seems to bring the Inner Chapters “full circle.”

Short Notes:

堯 N: Yáo; one of the Five Legendary Emperors (五帝 wǔdì), second son of帝嚳 Dì Kù. According to Sima Qian, Yao believed his sons lacked proper virtue, so he sought a worthy ruler. Traditionally this was Shun, a virtuous farmer who is promoted by Yao.

許由 N: Xǔ Yóu; possibly a joke here, as we could read the Xu’s name here as Praise Reason. 

尸 shī v: preside; lit: person acting as the corpse (during the ancestral worship ceremonies); these would presumably function at least in part as a form of organizing political theater.

Key Terms:

讓 ràng v: let, allow; yield, concede

爝 jué (jiào) n: torch

浸 jìn v: soak, steep, immerse; lit: gradually

澤 guàn v: irrigate; water, pour, fill; record (music)

勞 zé n: pool, pond; lustre; adj: damp; lit: favor

鷦鷯 n: wren (troglodytidae = ground-dwelling)

巢 n: nest

偃鼠 "lying-down rat" = n: mole

歸 v: return, revert to

庖 n: kitchen; cuisine

祝 v: to wish; n: wizard

樽 n: goblets

俎 n: sacrificial boards

Zhuangzi 1.3 Knowledge For One Office

故夫知效一官，行比一鄉，德合一君而徵一國者，其自視也亦若此矣。而宋榮子猶然笑之。且舉世而譽之而不加勸，舉世而非之而不加沮，定乎內外之分，辯乎榮辱之竟，斯已矣。彼其於世，未數數然也。雖然，猶有未樹也。夫列子御風而行，泠然善也，旬有五日而後反。彼於致福者，未數數然也。此雖免乎行，猶有所待者也。若夫乘天地之正，而御六氣之辯，以遊無窮者，彼且惡乎待哉！故曰：至人無己，神人無功，聖人無名。

Thus, a man whose knowledge fulfills one office, whose conduct matches one village, whose virtue suits one ruler and who then conducts one country, he regards himself so, just like this (quail). But Song Rongzi still laughs at this. Furthermore, the whole world (could) praise him and (it would) not urge him forward. The whole world (could) condemn him and (it would) not cause dismay. Fixed-the division of internal and external. Distinct-the bounds of glory and disgrace. Here he stopped. That (Song Rongzi), in his regard of the world, was not concerned. However, this is not yet being "established." Liezi charioted the wind and went forth, good at being light and cool, enough to go for fifteen days before turning back. That (Liezi), in regarding things which send fortune, was not concerned. Like this, even without going forward, there is still that for which one waits. If one could ascend the rightness of heaven and earth, and drive the winds of the six divisions (directions), by wandering in that which cannot be exhausted, that - how is that waiting! Therefore it is said: the utmost person (is) without self, spiritual person (is) without merit; the sage (is) without name.

Notes:
效 can also be “imitation.” Mozi (Minor Illustrations 2) regards imitation as the basis of standards. The critical implication is consistent with the criticisms of fixed standards and imitation in Ch. 2.

比 is usually comparative in nature. Here the person's behavior matches the behavior of one community, the “moral standard” is derived from conformity to a single location, a single set of preferences, etc.
合 can indicate matching, combining with, being proper; all of these suggest a form of completing or “fitting” (like the lid of a box). Probably related to these images 合 can also refer to marriage or a marital match. Could this be a subtle joke aiming at the Confucian practice of looking for a lonely prince who longs for moral instruction? We may never know, but now I want a “Lonely Prince Moral Sage” 动画.
舉世 from an early point begins to mean “throughout the world” or “in the whole world.” I wonder if the idea is something like “enumerating examples from the whole world.”
樹 shù tree; plant; cultivate; establish. I like the tree image as the “root” (sorry) of this phrase, for drawing attention to the cultivation of one’s own capacities. This foreshadows Master Shi’s encounter with the sacred tree in Ch. 4. This seems like an ironic contrast with the aerial roaming of Peng, but it may also connect to Peng’s capacity to soar on great heights, and this paragraph’s subsequent discussions on different degrees of cultivation or “being established” (in the Way).
御 I totally came up with “charioted” before checking Ziporyn and finding he already did this :D
天地之正 this corresponds with Ch. 2’s criticisms of 正 (setting the right standard) and the suggestion to reside in 無竟 (that without borders or limits).