The butterfly dream - the story about Zhuaungzi's thoughts

The sketch of Zhuangzi (369-286 BC)

There is a famous Taoist parable "The butterfly dream". It tells the story about the dream of the Chinese philosopher and thinker Zhuangzi. The story had a great impact on both Eastern and Western philosophy. It's very simple but it makes us think over what we take to be real.

Here is the translation of Zhuangzi's story made by Lin Yutang:

"Once upon a time, I, Zhuangzi, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Zhuangzi. Soon I awakened, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a distinction. The transition is called the transformation of material things."

There is another famous quotation of the philosopher which says that:

 "only after the great awakening will we realize that this is the great dream. And yet fools think they are awake, presuming to know that they are rulers or herdsmen. How dense!"

One of the famous question  of Zhuangzi was:

"Where can I find a man who has forgotten words? He is the one I would like to talk to."

Why? He used to say:

A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words"

And remember: "A frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean"

Especially, when we can't be sure if we are dreaming or not ;)

Now, it seems to be clearer that the wiser the more humble the man should be.

  

P.S. In my post I used the quotations from the website:

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zhuangzi