
The beginner sees the whole ox
A nice story from the ancient Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu, which will also allow me to call attention to an aspect of know-how and of awareness that interests me particularly. We might call this a non-Eastern idea of connectedness. My adaptation here is based on Jean François Billeter’s French translation of Chuang Tzu’s chapter on “nourishing the life in yourself” and on Burton Watson’s English one: Ting, a cook, was cutting up an ox for the prince Wen-hui. The […]
Categories: William Eaton, ZiR • Tags: Chuang Tzu, philosophy, Zen