The three sages pictured are Confucius, the Buddha (who I thought was from India, but oh well), and Lao-Tzu. Each is having a taste of vinegar from the vat pictured in the middle. The fellow closest to us is Confucius, who apparently finds the tonic sour and distasteful. This is supposedly indicative of the Confucian belief that the present world is somehow fallen (or out of harmony with the "Way of Heaven") from a glorious past, the remedy of which is a strict adherence to hierarchical relationships and precisely established rituals. Deviation from the established truth sows the seeds of discord and social unrest.
In the middle stands the Buddha, who is said to exude a bitter face upon sipping the vinegar. The story goes that the bitter expression represents the bitter manner in which the Buddha is said to have viewed the world. Life is full of suffering, the basis of which is, among other things, attachment to transient beings and objects, and belief in the various illusions of the world. To overcome suffering requires a total detachment from these earthly things, living in a state where basically nothing compels you to do anything. This is called Nirvana.
The third fellow in the painting is Lao-Tzu. In addition to a hat, he's also the only sage wearing a smile after taking his sip. The story goes that Lao-Tzu is smiling because the vinegar tastes precisely as it should, and that in itself is smile-worthy. The universe is governed by natural laws, balances, and rhythms that require no interference to operate effectively. The more you "poke" it, so to speak, the more harm you do (this alludes to Lao-Tzu's quote, "Governing a country is like cooking a small fish; you spoil both with too much poking"). Accordingly, Lao-Tzu isn't looking for a pleasing taste in the vinegar anymore than he's looking for a life of milk and honey. The world is not a thing fallen into corruption (as Confucius says), or a thing to be endured (as the Buddha says) so much as a source of wisdom of which words can not adequately describe, but for which understanding remains possible. Accepting things precisely as they are (such as the vinegar) leads to understanding of the thing itself, and peace of mind for the taster.
It's a neat story, though admittedly biased in favor of Doaism. Furthermore, the description of each sage's philosophy is fragmentary, and by no means captures everything. It is probable in fact that each "teaching" influenced the others through time, and the differences we observe in the story are somewhat artificial. Feel free to read elsewhere if you're interested in that sort of thing.
Happy Tuesday, friends :)
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