from Zhuangzi, Chapter 6This Mighty Mudball of a world burdens us with a body, troubles us with life, eases us with old age, and with death gives us rest. We call our life a blessing, so our death must be a blessing too.~ David Hinton translation ~
What we call opposites -- the antithesis of one thing from another -- is how we are able to define things. It is the so-called distinctions between night and day, black and white, or love and hate that provides meaning to either term.
How could any person understand love if there was no hate? What would justice entail if there was no injustice? How could beauty behold us if we didn't concurrently understand ugliness? How could we embrace plenty if we have never known lacking?
Life ONLY makes sense if there is death and death can only be envisioned alongside life. Our existence is like a shadow that moves one way, then the other.
We are indeed blessed.
To read more musings about the Zhuangzi, you can visit the index page for this ongoing series.
How could any person understand love if there was no hate? What would justice entail if there was no injustice? How could beauty behold us if we didn't concurrently understand ugliness? How could we embrace plenty if we have never known lacking?
Life ONLY makes sense if there is death and death can only be envisioned alongside life. Our existence is like a shadow that moves one way, then the other.
We are indeed blessed.
To read more musings about the Zhuangzi, you can visit the index page for this ongoing series.
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