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The Way of Chuang Tzu
By
Published: Aug 15, 2011
Category:
Spirituality
It’s probably the best-known story from the fourth century before Christ:
Once Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn’t know he was Zhuangzi. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuangzi. But he didn’t know if he was Zhuangzi who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuangzi.
Common sense tells us that a writer who could conjure that much magic in a few words might have produced other memorable stories — and that we would know the author’s name. He did. But most of us don’t know Chuang Tzu or his writing.
A pity.
I stumbled onto Chuang Tzu by accident, and only through reading and asking around learned that he is a major figure in Taoism — and an important thinker in the transformation of one branch of Taoism into Zen Buddhism. [To buy the paperback of ‘The Way of Chuang Tzu’ from Amazon, click here.]
But set the scholarship aside.
Consider only the stories— some of which you may have encountered before.
Consider the remarkable clarity of the man who wrote them.
Consider how these short sketches might mean something to you.
Start with the writer.
Chuang Tzu was a minor government official. He was smart and witty, and he got noticed — King Wei of Chou asked him to be his chief minister. Chuang Tzu’s reply:
I had rather amuse and enjoy myself in the midst of a filthy ditch than be subject to the rules and restrictions in the court of a sovereign. I have determined never to take office, but prefer the enjoyment of my own free will.
And there — right there — is the heart of his philosophy. There is no clear-cut “good” and “bad.” There is only life, only activity. The wise man will try to live according to the Tao — that is, naturally.
How do you live “naturally?"
By doing as little as possible.
Keep a low profile. Stop looking for happiness — you won’t find it until you stop. “The right way to go easy/ is to forget the right way/ and forget that the going is easy.” He might as well be a Zen master:
All existing things are really one. We regard those that are beautiful and rare as valuable, and those that are ugly as foul and rotten The foul and rotten may come to be transformed into what is rare and valuable.
You say you want a revolution? Good luck. Better to do nothing. Better to just observe situations and do what nature wants — that is, be flexible.
A monkey trainer went to his monkeys and told them:
“As regards your chestnuts,
you are going to have three measures in the morning,
and four in the afternoon.”
On hearing this all the monkeys became angry.
So the keeper said:
“All right then,
I will change it
To four measures in the morning
and three in the afternoon.”
The animals were satisfied with this arrangement.
The two arrangements were the same –
The number of chestnuts did not change,
But in one case the monkeys were displeased,
and in the other case they were satisfied.
The keeper was willing
To change his personal arrangement
In order to meet objective conditions.
He lost nothing by it.
The truly wise man,
Considers both sides of the question
Without partiality,
Sees them both in the light of Tao.
This is called following two courses at once.
As management theories go, that’s hard to top.
Thomas Merton’s translations present more than sixty Chuang Tzu stories. They’re amusing. Pointed. Challenging. They force you to consider that everything you think may be wrong.
For example, this is a political year, and then some. We are all hot and bothered, on one side or another. Well, read this:
If you want to hear the very best speeches
On love, duty, justice, etc.,
Listen to statesmen.
But when the creek dries up
Nothing grows in the valley.
When the mound is leveled
The hollow next to it is filled.
And when the statesmen and lawyers
And preachers of duty disappear
There are no more robberies either.
The moral?
The greatest crimes are eventually shown
To have been necessary, and, in fact,
A signal benefit
To mankind.
To have been necessary, and, in fact,
A signal benefit
To mankind.
What? Government crimes are helpful to us? How can that be?
Read that whole story — it’s 570 words, it won’t take but a minute. And then, perhaps, you’ll want to give your brain a jolt by reading more.
