Scott M. Grimes. Edited by Mark Unno 1/21/2002

REL 440

Professor Mark Unno

CHUANG TZU

Autumn Floods (Section 17)

Often within our own little worlds, the piece of life we call our own, we come to the conclusion that we are vitally important according to our narrow-minded definitions and determine our worth based upon the impact of what we have done in our own little corner. Conversely, we sometimes place no value on ourselves at all because we cannot see any meaningful impact made on the world by our actions. This chapter from the Chuang Tzu suggests that we cannot begin to understand the Way until we venture beyond the borders of our limited views and start to see that what we have known as life up to that point is but a fraction of what there is to understand.

The Lord of the River thought of the vastness of himself and all that he was and mesmerized at his grandeur, that is, until he ventured out to sea and learned that all that he thought he was could not compare with what the sea presented before him. He learned of his own pettiness by allowing himself a larger view. (pp. 96-97)

We can see in this story that we humans often see ourselves as the center of all creation, yet if we enlarge our perspective, then we come to see that we are but one little hair on the body of a horse. (p.98) In other words, life has much more to it than our limited perception of who we think we are..

Point of view is a powerful influence over our understanding of life and should never be ignored when interpreting life. If we allow ourselves to come to a proper understanding of this with regard to the Way, then we will see that there are ultimately no distinctions that hold fast in the ever-changing flow of reality. This will lead us to the comprehension of the oneness of all. (pp. 100-101)