7.1A novice asked the master: "In the east there is a great tree-structure that men call 'Corporate Headquarters'. It is bloated out of shape with vice-presidents and accountants. It issues a multitude of memos, each saying 'Go, Hence!' or 'Go, Hither!' and nobody knows what is meant. Every year new names are put onto the branches, but all to no avail. How can such an unnatural entity exist?"
一個新學問大師：“在東方，有一個龐大的機構，人們稱作總部。它由為數眾多的大小領導。每天發出大量的備忘錄，每個備忘錄都說：'干這個，干那個’，沒有一個人知道它是什麼意思。每年這個機構都會有更多的人加進來而變得越來越大，但是去沒有人去做事情。怎麼燴樣奇怪的東西還能存在呢？”
The master replies: "You perceive this immense structure and are disturbed that it has no rational purpose. Can you not take amusement from its endless gyrations? Do you not enjoy the untroubled ease of programming beneath its sheltering branches? Why are you bothered by its uselessness?"
大師說：“你已經知道這個巨大的機構並不合理，你就不能不管它為什麼這樣嗎？你盡管享受它的好處就是了，干嗎要去管它到底是沒有效率呢？” 7.2In the east there is a shark which is larger than all other fish. It changes into a bird whose winds are like clouds filling the sky. When this bird moves across the land, it brings a message from Corporate Headquarters. This message it drops into the midst of the program- mers, like a seagull making its mark upon the beach. Then the bird mounts on the wind and, with the blue sky at its back, returns home.
在遙遠的東方，傳說有一只巨大的魚，叫鲲，它變成了一只大鳥，叫鵬，鵬的翅膀可以遮天蔽日，這只大鳥經過陸地的時候，它帶來了一個消息，它把這個消息丟在程序員中，就象一只海鷗在海灘上做的記號，然後鵬背負藍天，乘風而上，回家去了。
The novice programmer stares in wonder at the bird, for he understands it not. The average programmer dreads the coming of the bird, for he fears its message. The master programmer continues to work at his terminal, for he does not know that the bird has come and gone.
