from Zhuangzi, Chapter 4In Sung there's a place called Ching-shih that's perfect for catalpa, cypress, and mulberry. But if they're over a hand span around, they're cut by people wanting tether posts for monkeys. If they're three or four spans, they're cut by people looking for grand roof beams. If they're seven or eight spans, they're cut by families wanting fancy coffins for aristocrats and wealthy merchants. So instead of living out the years heaven gave them, they're hacked down halfway along their journey. Such is the grief of usefulness.~ David Hinton translation ~
Oxen with white foreheads, pigs with upturned snouts, people with hemorrhoids -- in the Chieh sacrifice, they can't be offered to the river. The priests all know this: it's because they think such things bring bad fortune. But that's exactly why a sacred person knows them to be great good fortune.
In the various series on the words and thoughts of Lao Tzu, we've run into this sentiment before. At first blush, it seems rather paradoxical to claim that uselessness can be the most useful of all!
For me, I think both of the ancient Taoist writers are utilizing exaggeration to drive home a most salient point. I do not think either is arguing that people should be lazy and shiftless. Both write glowingly about developing a discipline that each person should become a master of. So, what's all this talk about uselessness really about?
From my perspective, the underlying point goes back to the ongoing discussion about the differences between the external and the internal. Too often, the person we present to the world is the one that we believe will impress others. We crave standing, status, fame, wealth and power. We accentuate the aspects of ourselves that are prized by modern society. In the process, we use other people and are used up by them as well.
We get so wrapped up in our external image that we neglect the core of who we are. Though we might be viewed as a success by societal standards, we feel empty and alone inside. In essence, our external useFULness creates internal useLESSness.
The sage pays no heed to societal expectations. He or she cultivates their internal being by finding their center and holding to it fast. By not paying attention to the fads or whims of society, the person of Tao builds a strong personal foundation that allows them to deal with life as it comes -- the good, the bad and the ugly.
To read more musings about the Zhuangzi, you can visit the index page for this ongoing series.
For me, I think both of the ancient Taoist writers are utilizing exaggeration to drive home a most salient point. I do not think either is arguing that people should be lazy and shiftless. Both write glowingly about developing a discipline that each person should become a master of. So, what's all this talk about uselessness really about?
From my perspective, the underlying point goes back to the ongoing discussion about the differences between the external and the internal. Too often, the person we present to the world is the one that we believe will impress others. We crave standing, status, fame, wealth and power. We accentuate the aspects of ourselves that are prized by modern society. In the process, we use other people and are used up by them as well.
We get so wrapped up in our external image that we neglect the core of who we are. Though we might be viewed as a success by societal standards, we feel empty and alone inside. In essence, our external useFULness creates internal useLESSness.
The sage pays no heed to societal expectations. He or she cultivates their internal being by finding their center and holding to it fast. By not paying attention to the fads or whims of society, the person of Tao builds a strong personal foundation that allows them to deal with life as it comes -- the good, the bad and the ugly.
To read more musings about the Zhuangzi, you can visit the index page for this ongoing series.
by the same token, are rabbits lucky or unlucky, because people keep killing them for their "lucky rabbit's feet?"
ReplyDeletei think his point is that usefulness to others may not be useful toward yourself. for example if you win the lottery, everyone is going to want a piece of it and you won't get any peace. so, some blessings are actually misfortunes in disguise.