The chapter opens by reminding the reader that the person who has mastered life is a person who faces up to what must be accepted, who does not concern himself with what life cannot do, or over the things in life that knowledge cannot change. The reader is reminded that, the coming of life cannot be fended off, its departure cannot be stopped. (197) This is stated as a basic fact that ought to be kept in mind including in the midst of what seem to be dilemmas but which are really part of the same greater reality. Life, like the world, may not be ‘worth doing’. However, it cannot be left undone. (197) What at first seems a fatalistic, or stoical position, is replaced by an indication that Chuang Tzu recommends far more of the individual than apathy. Of course, the person who does not want to do anything can let his body fall apart and leave the world, as this will bring an end to entanglements. The person who is without entanglements, of course, can be upright and calm. (197) Chuang Tzu was perfectly aware that, if you abandon the affairs of the world, your body will be without toil. (197) However, what the learned person must try to do it is to maintain vitality and to go forwards in the world.