Zhuāngzǐ (莊子)

3.1

心齋
Heart-Mind Partiality

[There is a historical narrative preceding the lesson has been omitted].

若一志 無聽之以耳而聽之以心

If there is one [unified] will (1), one cannot listen to it with the ears, nor listen to it with the heart-mind. (2)

無聽之以心而聽之以氣 聽止於耳
You cannot listen to it with the heart-mind, nor qi, listening ends with ears (duality).

心止於符 氣也者 虛而待物者也 唯道集虛 虛者心齋也

Heart (oneness) ends with prognositcation, as these are [analogous to] qi (multiplicitous) also.
One who is said to be empty (to have destroyed division) (3) and still waits for things
Is one who also, by definition, thinks the way to gain things is through being empty (destroying divisiveness)
That those who [aim to] destroy division, their hearts are [still] partial (4).  

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1. Although often translated as "will" in modern times, the etymology of 志 shows almost the opposite.  The image of 志 is a sprout 屮 over a heart 心 (Figure 1), representing the larger idea of something that sprouts from oneness, with the heart being a symbol of oneness. Similarly, I have come to believe in all of the five virtues (insert chinese pinyin and characters here) as being more like fruits of the spirit, qualities or virtues that arise through the experience of oneness. Thus, I see the virtues as arising spontaneously, rather than prescribed ways of being, as maybe they were ideologized in Confucianism. 
    

2. I see something deeper going on here with the character choice of 心, 耳, and 氣. They are being used to represent larger concepts, rather than the literal things that their names imply (and that most other translations denote as):
   
   Heart 心 - the concept of oneness (something that exists alone, without a true side, or a pair)
   Ear 耳 - the concept of duality (something with sidedness)
   Qi 氣 - the concept of multiplicity (representative of multiple directions)
   
   So, whenever I see these characters above, I also concurrently think of the larger concepts that exist within each idea at once. 
    

3. 虛 is often translated as empty, but the etymological gesture is of a tiger 虎 paired with a sprout divided in half 北 (Figure 2). I think this points to the larger concept of emptiness that arises through destroying internal divisiveness. 
    

4. 齋 is often translated as fasting or purification, but again, the etymology is more explicity. Here, the character shows a row of grains 齊 qí where one is taller than the rest. Below, there is an altar 示, so together, the meaning is to put things on an altar by seeing one thing a better than another, which I have merged into the concept of partiality. 

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