Bit by Bit - Chapter 17, Part 10

Trey Smith

"From the point of view of function, if we regard a thing as useful because there is a certain usefulness to it, then among all the ten thousand things there are none that are not useful. If we regard a thing as useless because there is a certain uselessness to it, then among the ten thousand things there are none that are not useless. If we know that east and west are mutually opposed but that one cannot do without the other, then we can estimate the degree of function.
~ Burton Watson translation ~

In my view, nothing can be useless because everything has its place in the overall scheme of things. A certain thing may not be useful to you or me, but it is useful for someone or something else. None of us are wholly independent actors.

To view the Index page for this series, go here.