Week 29 · eastern

Zhuangzi

Zhuangzi is the funniest philosopher who ever lived. He wrote in parables, paradoxes, and stories so weird you laugh before you realize you've been philosophically ambushed. His most famous passage is a dream. He dreamed he was a butterfly, flitting around happily, then woke up and wasn't sure whether he was a man who'd dreamed of being a butterfly, or a butterfly now dreaming of being a man. He left the question open. He thought the openness was the point.

“"The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish, you can forget the trap." He was saying stop worshipping the instructions once you've cooked the meal.”