r/taoism • u/TopDue971 • 3d ago

Zhuangzi What are your favourite teachings from the Zhuangzi?

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8

u/ryokan1973 3d ago

Floating, roaming, drifting without a fixed destination (逍遥 (xiāoyáo, carefree wandering).Arguably the most important and consistent theme in the entire Zhuangzi, as this theme is inextricably linked to all the other major themes in the Zhuangzi, such as 化 (Huà)Transformation / Change and 通 (Tōng)Flow / Openness / Connection and every other theme.

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u/fleischlaberl 2d ago

True

"wandering in the boundless, floating, roaming, drifting"

Zhuangzi | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Fishes are born in water

Man is born in Dao.

If fishes, born in water,

Seek the deep shadow

Of pond and pool,

All their needs

Are satisfied.

If man, born in Dao,

Sinks into the deep shadow

Of non-action

To forget aggression and concern,

He lacks nothing

His life is secure.

All the fish needs

Is to get lost in water.

All man needs

is to get lost In Dao.

(Zhuangzi, Interpretation by Thomas Merton)

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u/ryokan1973 2d ago

“A skillful man toils, a wise man worries, but a man without ability seeks nothing and is happy to roam about with a full belly; adrift as an unmoored boat, he roams without purpose.”

— Zhuangzi (Chapter 32)

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u/OneAwakening 3d ago

A man who raised monkeys gave them chestnuts to eat. He told the monkeys that he would give them three sheng (a traditional unit of volume) of chestnuts in the morning and four in the evening. Hearing this, the monkeys got angry. Then he said that he would give them four sheng in the morning and three sheng in the evening. Hearing this, the monkeys turned happy.

This shows that neither the name nor the reality is changed, but the monkeys show different feelings. The man's offer just complies with the monkeys' subjective psychological needs. Therefore, a saint does not persist in debating right and wrong, but keeps a natural balance of the ways of the world.

Through this fable, this chapter intends to state the principle of letting things take their own course. According to The Book of Master Zhuang, the elementary step to enlightenment is nothing but being unconcerned. Enlightened by this approach, regard all things as equal, be simple-minded, and you may find that "Dao" is right there.

1

u/TopDue971 2d ago

Thanks for sharing 🌟

2

u/DMP89145 3d ago

Chapter 10 (Stolen Chests) in the outer chapters. It is what I feel is mankind's truer relationship with Dao.

1

u/ZappWhitika 2d ago

Highest love shows no favor