NOTE: The “China” group should answer these questions for
Wednesday. Note that the “Japan” group should also answer these questions if they
haven’t already, since that group will not have their own day to cover The
Book of Chuang Tzu.
Answer TWO of the
following:
Q1: Why does Chapter 17
use the allegory of The Lord of the Yellow River
confronting Jo of the North Ocean? What is a ‘river’ unable to understand about an ‘ocean,’
and how does this relate to our own limitations in grasping truth (or Tao) in
real life?
Q2: What do you make of
this passage, also from Chapter 17: “The one-legged creature is envious of the
millipede; the millipede is envious of the snake; the snake is envious of the
wind; the wind is envious of the eye; the eye is envious of the heart” (143).
What is the nature of their envy, and how does this relate to the nature of the
Tao?
Q3: Why is only “actionless
action...worthy of being called happiness”? And why is it the only way to “judge
both right and wrong?” (150). What might actionless action be—and how do you do
it? Also, how would it make you happy and able to distinguish between right
and wrong (which the book earlier said isn’t worth distinguishing?).
Q4: In Chapter 19, the
author claims that “The feet can be forgotten when you walk in comfortable
shoes. The waist can be forgotten when your belt fits comfortably. Knowledge
can forget yes and no, if the heart journeys contentedly.” (163). How might
this relate to becoming good at a job or a profession? Why might you argue that
a good employee in whatever profession must “forget yes and no”?
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