The way of Chuang Tzu.

164 Pages·1968·20.7 MB·English

by  Thomas Merton

THE WAY
OF
CHUANG TZU
THOMAS MERTON

THE WAY OF
CHUANG TZU
By Thomas Merton
THE ASIANJOURNAL
COLLECTED POEMS
EIGHTEEN POEMS
GANDHI ON NON-VIOLENCE
THE GEOGRAPHY OF LOGRAIRE
THE LITERARY ESSAYS
MY ARGUMENT WITH THE GESTAPO
NEW SEEDS OF CONTEMPLATION
RAIDS ON THE UNSPEAKABLE
SEEDS OF CONTEMPLATION
SELECTED POEMS
THOMAS MERTON IN ALASKA
THOUGHTSONTHEEAST
THE WAY OF CHUANG TZU
THE WISDOM OF THE DESERT
ZEN AND THE BIRDS OF APPETITE
About Thomas Merton
WORDS AND SILENCE: ON THE POETRY OF THOMAS MERTON
by Sister Therese Lentfoehr
Published by
New Directions
THE WAY OF
CHUANG TZU
BY THOMAS MERTON
NEW DIRECTIONS
Copyright (c) 1965 by the Abbey of Gethsemani
LibraryofCongresscatalogcard number: 65-275rj6
(ISBN: 0-8112-()l()3-l)
Publishedsimultaneously in Canada by
Penguin Books Canada, Ltd.
Theillustrationsin this book arefrom TheMustardSeed
Garden Manual,published in The Tao ofPaintingby
Mai-MaiSze,Bollingen foundation,BoUingen SeriesXLIX,
distributed bv Princeton L'niversitv Press.
All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in a
newspaper, magazine, radio, or television review, no part of this
book may be reproduced in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the Publisher.
Designed by Gertrude Huston
First published as ND Paperbook 276 in 1969.
ManufacturedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
NewDirectionsbooksareprintedonacid-freepaper.
New Directions books are published for James Laughlin
by New Directions Publishing Corporation,
80 Eighth Avenue, New York 10011
Nihil obstat
Fr. M. Paul Bourne
Fr. M. Charles English
Imprimipotest
Fr. Ignace Gillet
Abbot general
July 24, 1965
TWENTY-SIXTHPRINTING
FOR JOHN C. H. WU
Without whose encouragement
I wouldneverhave dared this.

CONTENTS
A Note to the Reader
The AVay ofChuangTzu
1. A Study of Chuang Tzu 13
Readings from Chuang Tzu 33
The Useless Tree 35
A Hat Salesman and a Capable Ruler 37
The Breadi of Nature 38
Great Knowledge 40
The Pivot 42
Three in the Morning 44
Cutting Up an Ox 45
The Man With One Foot and the Marsh
Pheasant 48
The Fasting of the Heart 50
Three Friends 54
Lao Tzu's Wake 56
Confucius and the Madman 58
The True Man 60
Metamorphosis 62
Man Is Born in Tao 65
Two Kings and NoTorm 66
Cracking the Safe 67
Leaving Things Alone 70
The Kingly Man 72
How Deep Is Tao! 73
The Lost Pearl 74
In My End Is My Beginning 75
When Life Was Full There \Vas No History 76
When a Hideous Man . . . 77
The Five Enemies 78
Action and Non-Action 80
Duke Hwan and the Wheelwright 82
Autumn Floods 84
Great and Small 87
The Man of Tao 91
The Turtle 93
Owl and Phoenix
95
The Joy of Fishes 97
Perfect Joy 99
Symphony for a Sea Bird 103
Wholeness 105
The Need to Win 107
The Sacrificial Swine 108
The Fighting Cock 109
The Woodcarver 110
When the Shoe Fits 112
The Empty Boat 114
The Flight of Lin Hui 116
When Knowledge Went North 118
The Importance of Being Toothless 121
Where Is Tao? 123
Starlight and Non-Being 125
Keng Sang Chu 126
Keng's Disciple 128
The Tower of the Spirit 134
The Inner Law 136
Apologies 138
Advising the Prince 139
Active Life 141
Monkey Mountain 143
Good Fortune 144
Flight From Benevolence 147
Tao 150
The Useless 153
Means and Ends 154
Flight From the Shadow 155
Chuang Tzu's Funeral 156
Glossary 157
bibliography 158
^^otes 159