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"Zhuangzhou's Dream of a Butterfly" is a Daoist
anecdote, an allusion found in the chapter "On the Equality
of All Things1 " in The
Book of Master Zhuang2 .
According to this book, Zhuangzi dreamed of changing into
a butterfly and fluttering about and even forgetting that
he was Zhuang Zhou; but when he woke up, he felt he was Zhuang
Zhou again. Then he wondered which was true, Zhuang Zhou dreaming
of changing into a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of changing
into Zhuang Zhou? In the view of Daoist philosophers and Daoist
believers, it is in fact unnecessary to distinguish artificially
between Zhuang Zhou and the butterfly, because if the mind
is in a state of undifferentiated integration of things and
self, the great Dao remains in one's heart.
Notes:
| (1) |
齊物物 qiwu lun |
| (1) |
莊子 zhuangzi |
Author: Zhan Shichuang
Translator: Chang Hong
Editor: David Palmer
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