These stories will send you off down a path you didn't intend to follow and then bring you back where you started, with the story itself. I found reading this overview of Chuang Tzu from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, in conjunction with the text, to be very helpful.
The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu
This was my first time reading Chuang Tzu: I'm sure I'll be coming back to these stories again, and probably coming away with something different each time. Chuang Tsu is a primary articulator of early Taoist philosophy. This is my first exposure to his writings. Some of this writing I like a lot. The interconnectedness of things, the power relationships between them and the balance point in those relationships, are conveyed in passages such as this: At the sti Chuang Tsu is a primary articulator of early Taoist philosophy.
At the still-point in the center of the circle one can see the infinite in all things. When there is coming together, there is dissolution. He accepts things as they are and does not try to improve upon them. This is called not using the mind against Tao and not using man to help heaven. By freeing myself from the body and mind, I become one with the infinite.
This is what I mean by sitting and forgetting. A profound and entertaining book, The Inner Chapters is seven chapters of stories, fables and musings attributed to the Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu, or Zhuangzi. View all 4 comments. Although I enjoy Taoist philosophy in general, it didn't appeal to me as much as the Tao Te Ching, for example.
I wonder if a different translation might be better.
Theological Response to When Zhuangzi Meets Christ | Pak-Wah Lai - theranchhands.com
So it's pretty unfuckingbelievable that he was so clever. Second- you can basically reduce his thought to- stop thinking. IN FACT- it almost seems like he committed a sin against mankind by writing down what he thought- seeing as how he even states that to know how to say the Way pretty much means you have no fucking idea what it is. But, if philosophy is the study of wisdom I suppose those that pursue the study have to take it in the bo-bo. In terms of practical application to your life- uh.
Daoism as Zhuangzi sees it would clearly relieve you of all anxiety, plus you'd be like Of course, that seems kind of paradoxical.. How can you ever leave the way. So Zhuangzi gets all Catholic about it and talks about the kind of knowing and acting that a person who is so long practiced at something they no longer think about it but simply do and do it perfectly. In the end, Zhuangzi is like a jump into a cold pool from the sauna of your life.
I think it's less important what he's trying to say, if he's trying to say anything, and more important what it makes you think about. This is a vibrant translation of an overlooked -- and important -- work of Chinese philosophy.
Chuang Tzu or Chuangzi is best known in the West for his question about an afternoon nap: Am I a man dreaming of being a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of being a man? But there is much more to Chuang Tsu, and this brief work barely small pages was so compelling as soon as I finished, I read it again.
CHUANG-TZU MEETS JESUS, VOLUME 3 (Chuang-tse Meets Jesus)
David Hinton's translation is excellent, the contents profound and "The Inner Chapters" is This is a vibrant translation of an overlooked -- and important -- work of Chinese philosophy. David Hinton's translation is excellent, the contents profound and "The Inner Chapters" is as powerful and enlightening as the "Dao de Jing" and as important as the "Analects.
This is my favorite translation of Zhuangzi. Although Graham does rearrange the text somewhat, mainly in the outer and miscellaneous chapters, which makes some scholars squeamish, for me it is the most aesthetically pleasing translation available. Watson and Mair's translations are also good if you want to read a complete version in the original chapter order. Recently, Brook Ziporyn has produced a new version which includes the interlineal commentary present in the Chinese received version, whi This is my favorite translation of Zhuangzi. Recently, Brook Ziporyn has produced a new version which includes the interlineal commentary present in the Chinese received version, which is very interesting as well.
From time to time, Light and Darkness met each other in the kingdom of Primal Chaos, who made them welcome. Light and Darkness wanted to repay his kindness and said, 'All people have seven openings with which they see, hear, eat, and breathe, but Primal Chaos has none. Let us try to give him some. Don't disfigure yourself with that's it that's not, and don't get suckered by Laozi when you can read something written by a real person. The Inner Chapters is a wonderful compilation of poetic and anecdotal explanations of navigating life in harmony with the Tao, or the Way.
It's fascinating for those who enjoy Eastern philosophy, Buddhism, Taoism, or just improving upon your own mind. Zhuangzi delights in paradox. This one of the greatest pleasures in reading the book. Confucius and other 'sages' appear in stories at various points, filling the purpose of sympathetic c Zhuangzi deliberately makes himself very hard to pin down, but here are some of the things that struck me. Confucius and other 'sages' appear in stories at various points, filling the purpose of sympathetic characters.
In Confucius' case, this oddly puts him in the position of making fun of his own philosophy, against which Zhuangzi is intent on inveighing. Lovely poetic stories exemplifying key Daoist concepts. Whereas the Tao Te Ching is pure symbolism and poetry, this is a collection of parables.
That means its a lot more "concrete. This has the famous Butterfly Dream parable in it, as well as the Turtle of Ch'u parable, which were both excellent.
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This is a good way for peopl Lovely poetic stories exemplifying key Daoist concepts. This is a good way for people to understand Daoism who can't handle the vagueness of the Tao Te Ching. Laozi may be the old master, but Zhuangzi is the one I'd want to smoke with. Once upon a time, I, Chuang Tzu, dreamt that I was a butterfly, flitting around and enjoying myself. I had no idea I was Chuang Tzu. Then suddenly I woke up and was Chuang Tzu again. I'm no scholar of East Asian or Chinese philosophy, though at one time I thought I would become such.
What I did was become someone who has enough familiarity with Confucian thought, particular as it applies to social and political matters, to have been able to publish a couple of scholarly articles on the topic, do a few reviews of academic publications on the topic, and get invited to a few conferences in China. I'm lucky in all those regards, but my gaps of knowledge when it comes to the phil I'm no scholar of East Asian or Chinese philosophy, though at one time I thought I would become such. I'm lucky in all those regards, but my gaps of knowledge when it comes to the philosophical traditions I'm looking at remain large.
And so it is that I've actually read the the writings attributed to Zhuangzi or Chuang Tzu , one of the most important Daoist texts of all time. This fall, for three weeks, I was able to dive into those writings, in conjunction with a study group here at Friends University. It was a fascinating several hours, spread out over three meetings, in which we found ourselves trying to grasp, as best we could, Zhuanzhi's elusive descriptions of the Dao.
It reminded me frequently of the writings of certain German romantic and hermeneutic thinkers, particularly Heidegger, who similarly gestured in at least some of his writings at the idea that being is a given thing, a revealed thing, but never in any sense a static or name-able thing, and thus struggled to work out how being relates to language, knowledge, and practice. There were many wonderful, challenging passages, which invited us to contemplate how the particular instance of things is, in itself, a revelation of the universal, whereas an attempt to define or situate oneself in relation to a invariably static universal can only lead one any from the Dao.
Anyway, fun stuff--not something I'm ever going to become a scholar of, but something I'm very glad I read. Here's one passage worth remembering: Because of this, there arose demarcations. Let me describe the demarcations.
They are the rights and the left, discussions and theories, classifications and distinctions, and agreements and contentions. These are called the eight characteristics. What is beyond the world the sage sets aside with no discussion. What is within the world the sage discusses but forms no judgments Where there is discussion for the people, there could be no discussion for the sage. The sage keeps his views to himself whereas men generally display theirs in disputation.
As an American living in , it is difficult to rate or review a book written in China over years ago. I am not sure I should. It is a book that is deliberately esoteric and paradoxical, but full of parables, fables, anecdotes, aphorisms, and wisdom. It is more accessible and readable than the other great Taoist test, the Tao Te Ching.
Similar authors to follow
Chaung Tzu is a gifted - and often humorous - storyteller, and the simplicity of his narratives often belie the deep truths they convey. To try to categori As an American living in , it is difficult to rate or review a book written in China over years ago. To try to categorize or organize the themes in this book go against its spirit. As Chaung Tzu frequently reminds his readers, the Tao cannot be defined or understood.
However, these are some of the lessons I gleaned from my reading: If you do, not only will you be unhappy, but you will make everyone around you unhappy. Be who you are, and you will be happy.
Too much benevolence can be just as harmful as too much vice, because both go against nature. Balance is key, although the center is not fixed, so one must be flexible. Ambition is pointless — in the short term, it may be successful, but in the long term it is not, and whatever it achieves is ephemeral.
This is especially true of political and military aspirations — something Chuang Tzu frequently dwells on. Actionless action wu wei is the preferred way of living. There is much in this book I did not understand, and I will revisit it in the future. However, this is not a book that is meant to be fully comprehended or given a definitive interpretation. In fact, Chuang Tzu would say that the less you understand it, the better.
That is, to refuse to engage with our obsessions, anxieties, anger or other emotions or ideas. This idea of dying to oneself in order to get closer to the truth has parallels in Christianity, of course. Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me [the Logos]. Not only do I think that this is the case, but this idea of not letting our angst so to speak overcome us, or to cloud our perspectives, is common pastoral advice among the Church Fathers, such as Augustine and John Chrysostom.
In the case of Chrysostom, he clearly borrowed this concept from the Stoics. Since then, Christian ascetics, particularly in the orthodox tradition, have re-conceptualised this idea as a helpful aid for prayer. In Chapter 25, we encounter a Dao that 1 exists before heaven and earth, 2 does not change and is eternal, 3 is the mother or the one who generates the world, 4 is nameless or cannot be named, and 5 in the end of the day, intimately related to humanity as our ultimate model for life.
Notwithstanding this, Laozi insists that the same Dao is the one who generates all things through the means of yinyang. From a theological perspective, all these attributes of the Dao, if we take it to mean the Logos, are quite orthodox. God, in classical theology, is eternal, immutable, unfathomable and the Creator of all things. Indeed, it is not uncommon for the early church fathers to employ the via negativa or negative theology to speak of God.
By this they mean trying to describe God correctly, by specifying what He is not. Spiritual maturity then is to be found our increasingly understanding of this paradoxical mystery. Like Moses, when we begin at the foot of the mountain of theology , we see clearly and seem to know much about God. At that stage, we no longer grasp who God is emotionally or rationally. Rather, we simply know. John of the Cross.
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The more intimate and yet mysterious He becomes. It is true that Chinese thinking is often organic and relational, and much less atomistic that the Western tradition. You see, the question of ontology, while being a great concern for the Greeks and the West , was never much of a concern for the Chinese. This is why it is so helpful that Dr Chang speaks of Zhuangzi encountering Christ. For it is in this encounter that a possible resolution can be found. In Christ, we see that love, holiness and, thus, the personhood of God fully expressed. Lloyd, Adversaries and Authorities: Cambridge University Press, Namely, apart from the Incarnated God, Zhuangzi cannot know for sure whether the Dao is personal or impersonal, or the degree of what this personhood entails.
Rather, it has fallen and is now plagued by sin. Indeed, there is much that is wrong with the cosmos, including the rhythm of life and death that Zhuangzi takes as inevitable and ziran.