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When I first began to cut up bullocks, I saw before me simply whole bullocks. After three years' practice, I saw no more whole animals. And now I work with my mind and not with my eye. When my senses bid me stop, but my mind urges me on, I fall back upon eternal principles. I follow such openings or cavities as there may be, according to the natural constitution of the animal. I do not attempt to cut through joints: still less through large bones.
Source Chuang Tzu, chapter 3, §1 · 📖 Read the full passage
✨ To meditate on today
According to Chuang Tzu, this cook (here called a butcher) cuts up an ox without effort because he never forces: he thinks only of the Principle and follows the natural lines, letting his knife find the openings. Today, faced with a difficult task, look for the natural path instead of forcing, and move forward where things open by themselves.
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