Chuang Tzu (also spelled Zhuangzi, or “Master Zhuang”, 369-298 BCE) was a Taoist philosopher highly influential in the reception, interpretation, and transformation of Buddhism in China. Here’s one of his stories as translated by Thomas Merton (American monk in the Cistercian tradition, 1915-1968):
When we wear out our minds, stubbornly clinging to one partial view of things, refusing to see the deeper agreement between this and its complementary opposite, we have what is called “three in the morning.”
What is this “three in the morning?” 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.” At this they all became excited and angry. So he said: “All right, in that case I will give you four in the morning and three in the afternoon.” This time they were satisfied.
The two arrangements were the same in that the number of chestnuts did not change. But in one case the animals were displeased, and in the other they were satisfied. The keeper had been willing to change his personal arrangement in order to meet objective conditions. He lost nothing by it. The truly wise, considering both sides of the question without partiality, see them both in the light of Tao*. This is called following two courses at once.
source: Merton, T. (1965). The way of Chuang Tzu. New York: New Directions, p. 44. *Tao ( 道, Pinyin Dào ) is a metaphysical concept found in Taoism, Confucianism, and more generally in ancient Chinese philosophy. While the character itself translates as “way,” “path,” or “route,” or sometimes more loosely as “doctrine” or “principle,” it is used philosophically to signify the fundamental or true nature of the world.
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