A friend gave me the Dutch translation of the Zhuang Zi (translated by Kristofer Schipper) for my birthday. In the cover we read “The classic book about Taoism”. Trying to be with the Tao is something I strive for all my life. Getting to know Chinese philosophy started when I was about twenty.
I discovered the I Tjing (and of course Jung) and started to read.
My first manager at ABN was an old Colonel of the Intelligence and he taught me everything about Tzun Zu. Tzun Zu is about fighting a war without fighting. Let your opponent waste his energy until he destroys himself.
I always believed that most of the time you have to do nothing because things go their way (this is called Wu-Wei). I could manage many people and huge projects without spending much time. At a certain moment in time (called the Magic Moment) there is a fork (Chaos Theory) and a choice can be made. The fork can be felt. It feels like there is a lot of flux (Something is coming on don’t know what it is but it’s getting stronger (Blood, Sweat & Tears)).
Clever Managers don’t do anything (they delegate) and only act at the Magic Moment.
When I encountered the Unknown the Zhuang Zi opened itself to me. I understood what was told and what was meant by The Dawn, The Centre, The Loner and The Light.
The message of the Zhuang Zi is very simple and very complex. It is simple if you experience or want to experience the Unknown.
It is utterly incomprehensible when you are still Thinking.
Here are some citations (Translated out of the Dutch text, sorry) that could be helpfull to get out of Thinking.
“Without the Other there is no I and without the I we can’t see a difference”. Every Other is a Mirror. In this Mirror we project Our Self.
“From the moment we have received our body we keep waiting for the moment that we die”. The Fear of Dying is prohibiting us to Live.
“Speaking is not blowing air. People that utter words say something. But what they are saying is changing all the time”. Theories are constantly changing because Words are unable to express What IS. When we become Silent (“Meditate”, “Reflect”) we know everything because there not much we have to know.
“Every creature is “the other” for “the other” and every creature is Yourself for Yourself”. You are the Source of Everything.
“If you take the perspective of the Other you can’t see Yourself”. Don’t look Outside. Look Inside. Everything that is Outside can be found Inside.
“The Other emanates out of Yourself and Yourself depends on the Other”
This is the Law of Complementary Opposites. Just as Life produces Death and Death produces Life and Wrong produces Right and Right produces Wrong. There is no Right and Wrong. They are the sides of the same Coin but we are unable to see the Coin. We are constantly flipping from one side to the other side.
“If this is true, is there really “The other” and “Yourself”?
“If we merge the Two we enter in the Centre of the Wheel (The Tao)”.
“In the Centre there is no movement”.
“We come to rest and live in the Light”.
The Only thing we have to do is to Stay and Act out of our Centre, The Heart.
I will tell you a little secret.
The Zhuang Zi contains many references to an old civilization called MU. In the City of Xian (mentioned in the Zhuang Zi) the Chinese have for a long time hided a White Pyramid that contains the same pictures as the famous Pyramids of the Mayas.
