All over the internet
you’ll find articles on creativity, productivity, and how to build success in
10 easy steps. Everyone’s trying to describe the mysterious path from inception
to fruition. In the chaos of conflicting advice it’s hard to find a clear way
forward. Instead of reading yet another life coach blog, let’s look at an
ancient Chinese source, Zhuangzi.
Zhuangzi (370-287 B.C.E.) was the best of the Daoist
writers and philosophers. Coming a few hundred years after Laozi, he far
exceeded his predecessor’s reach in terms of sheer literary power. Laozi’s
beloved Daodejing is still the
starting point in any study of Daoism. But when you’re really ready to have
your mind blown, pick up Zhuangzi.
At issue is this: what is the best approach to
accomplishing any task? Aggressive forcefulness? Aloof indifference? Something
in between? Zhuangzi has an answer. And he presents it in a story. It is the story
of a cook who worked for Prince Wen Hui. In Thomas Merton’s translation, it
goes like this.
Prince Wen Hui’s
cook was cutting up an ox. Out went a hand, down went a shoulder, he planted a
foot, he pressed with a knee, the ox fell apart with a whisper, the bright
cleaver murmured like a gentle wind. Rhythm! Timing! Like a sacred dance, like
“The Mulberry Grove,” like ancient harmonies!
“Good work!” the Prince exclaimed,
“Your method is faultless!”
“Method?” said the cook, laying
aside his cleaver, “What I follow is Tao beyond all methods.
“When I first began to cut up oxen I
would see before me the whole ox all in one mass. After three years I no longer
saw this mass. I saw the distinctions.
“But now, I see nothing with the eye.
My whole being apprehends. My senses are idle. The spirit free to work without
plan follows its own instinct guided by a natural line, by the secret opening,
the hidden space, my cleaver finds its own way. I cut through no joint, I chop
no bone.
“I have used this same cleaver
nineteen years. It has cut up a thousand oxen. Its edge is as keen as if newly
sharpened.
“There are spaces in the joints; the
blade is thin and keen: when this thinness finds that space, there is all the
room you need. It goes like a breeze. Hence I have this cleaver nineteen years,
as if newly sharpened.
“True, there are sometimes tough
joints. I feel them coming, I slow down, I watch closely, hold back, barely
move the blade, and whump! The part falls away landing like a clod of earth.
“Then I withdraw the blade. I stand
still and let the joy of the work sink in. I clean the blade and put it away.”
Prince Wan Hui said, “This is it! My
cook has shown me how I ought to live my own life!”
Zhuangzi’s allegory is a thick slab of wisdom ready for
the grill. Whether you’re trying to write a song, navigate a relationship challenge,
manage your finances, resolve a workplace conflict, plan your next career move,
or cook an omelet, Zhuangzi has laid out the path as only a master teacher can.
Let’s unpack the components of the parable.
Right off the bat
Prince Wen Hui gets it wrong. He mistakes the cook’s mastery as the deliberate
practice of a specific technique or method. “Your method is faultless!” he
says, only to be swiftly rebuked by the cook. “Method?” said the cook. “What I
follow is Tao beyond all methods.”
At the heart of Daoism is the idea of Dao (Tao), a word
that literally means “way” or “path.” In Daoism Dao refers to the underlying
process by which everything unfolds. All things follow the Dao, the way of
nature. Dao is considered the sacred source and the harmony of all things. Unlike
God in the west it is not personified or localized in a conscious being. Dao is
found within all things, and guides all things to their optimal natural
function. The goal of Daosim is to get our interfering egos out of the way and
learn to live in accord with the Dao.
Then the cook describes the three stages of mastery,
using the example of butchering an ox. In the first stage, his inexperience and
lack of discernment make it impossible for him to distinguish one part of the
ox from another. It’s all a blur.
This is where we all begin in any learning process. It’s
a ball of confusion. We don’t even know what questions to ask. Or how to begin.
Think back on how you learned a second language, how to play guitar, or how to
cook. You didn’t know a verb from a noun, a G from a C, or sauté from sear.
Then, after a lot of hard work and awkward flailing
around we reached the second stage. “After three years,” said the cook, “I no
longer saw this mass. I saw the distinctions.” Here the fog begins to lift, and
we learn the nouns, verbs, tenses, and contexts. We learn all the notes,
scales, and chords. We know the names of all the vegetables, herbs, cuts, prep styles,
and cooking techniques.
After years of practice at stage two, something deeper
begins to emerge. We go beyond merely knowing all the details. We slip out of
our intellect with its endless categories, concepts, and distinctions. We see
the whole. We feel our way. Now our wisdom is an embodied wisdom, no longer
housed just in the mind, but throughout the mind-body. Here’s how the cook said
it: “Now, I see nothing with the eye. My whole being apprehends. My senses are
idle. The spirit free to work without plan follows its own instinct guided by
the natural line, by the secret opening, the hidden space, my cleaver finds its
own way.”
Now we are following the Dao – the method of no-method.
But as the cook points out, this doesn’t solve all of
your problems. Things will go still wrong. They always do. But you have a new
way of moving through problems. You slow down. You let it be easy. You trust
the process. You have faith in yourself. You let the tools do the work. You
feel your way toward the openings. No struggle, no strain.
In Daoism this is called wu-wei, or creative letting-be; the art of aligning the energies within
you with the energies around you into a singular confluence, with minimal
interference from the busy-mind.
In chapter 64 of the Daodejing, Zhuangzi's great teacher Laozi wrote, "Rushing into action you fail. Trying to grasp things, you lose them. Forcing a project to completion, you ruin what was almost ripe." Mastery, no matter what the project, and perhaps most especially in the most important project of all – crafting a meaningful life – is a curious confluence of effort and effortlessness, allowance and assertion, intuition and deliberation. The preparatory stages are crucial – they cannot be skipped. But when you are ready, allow yourself to slip into the stream of excellence beyond method – the method of no-method.
1 comment:
I find your article interesting ... as I connect it in my mind to the Zen Metaphor of "Taming the ox.
"In Zen, the metaphor of a wild, rampaging ox is used to denote the unenlightened mind, which practitioners seek to tame and control through disciplines like meditation.
Also.. I find the article timely in that I happen at this time to be cooking ox tail in my crock pot to make soup. Hey at $6 per pound, it better lead to some kind of enlightenment ! ;-)
I enjoy your writing.
Contact me if you would like to speak or make presentations to groups.
All The Best,
Allananda
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