Walk Two Roads At Once Analysis
4. Walk two roads at once
The third point of a sage is to walk two roads at once. “[T]he sage harmonizes with both the right and wrong and rests in Heaven the Equalizer. This is called walking two roads.” (Watson, 2003) By a way of explanation, a person that is capable of seeing the differences in the world while also recognising that the contrasting differences of such perspectives also imply each other, is a sage.
For Zhuangzi, seeing the “oneness” of the world, and all that is composed of, is a matter of mental preparation that is needed to understand and appreciate the Dao and it begins with forgetting Confucian values and practices, such as morality and rituals. While discussing Zhuangist ethics, Chris Fraser writes that our cultural …show more content…
By discussing the ideals of Zhuangzi’s sage, we can see that he encourages a life that is unrestrained from the norms of society. Although traditions and customs are important in maintaining a populace’s culture, people have to realise that the only constant in life, is the changes in life. So people have to be able to adjust to the changes in life, instead of applying and following the past customs in current situations. To walk in the middle of life, people are able to see more perspectives and options in life. With these additional options and opinions, people are able to become more adaptive in life, and are living free from the constraints of cultural norms and societal pressure. While people are using the different perspectives of others to survive in the ever-changing world, they must remain useless. A person that is able to hide his or her virtues and capabilities will not be exploited by the society that uses people that it deems worthy. To see the usefulness of uselessness can also be considered as simultaneously walking the on two roads. Therefore, by remaining hidden from society while recognising that values of uselessness, a person is free from society’s norms and its exploitation, and he or she can lead a harmless life. While a person achieves survival through non-active actions, it is also important for the person to accept his or her fate. In other words, the person
The third point of a sage is to walk two roads at once. “[T]he sage harmonizes with both the right and wrong and rests in Heaven the Equalizer. This is called walking two roads.” (Watson, 2003) By a way of explanation, a person that is capable of seeing the differences in the world while also recognising that the contrasting differences of such perspectives also imply each other, is a sage.
For Zhuangzi, seeing the “oneness” of the world, and all that is composed of, is a matter of mental preparation that is needed to understand and appreciate the Dao and it begins with forgetting Confucian values and practices, such as morality and rituals. While discussing Zhuangist ethics, Chris Fraser writes that our cultural …show more content…
By discussing the ideals of Zhuangzi’s sage, we can see that he encourages a life that is unrestrained from the norms of society. Although traditions and customs are important in maintaining a populace’s culture, people have to realise that the only constant in life, is the changes in life. So people have to be able to adjust to the changes in life, instead of applying and following the past customs in current situations. To walk in the middle of life, people are able to see more perspectives and options in life. With these additional options and opinions, people are able to become more adaptive in life, and are living free from the constraints of cultural norms and societal pressure. While people are using the different perspectives of others to survive in the ever-changing world, they must remain useless. A person that is able to hide his or her virtues and capabilities will not be exploited by the society that uses people that it deems worthy. To see the usefulness of uselessness can also be considered as simultaneously walking the on two roads. Therefore, by remaining hidden from society while recognising that values of uselessness, a person is free from society’s norms and its exploitation, and he or she can lead a harmless life. While a person achieves survival through non-active actions, it is also important for the person to accept his or her fate. In other words, the person