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Full Idea
When a man discerns his own self as irrelevant, he sees with true clarity.
Gist of Idea
To see with true clarity, your self must be irrelevant
Source
Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) (The Book of Chuang Tzu [c.329 BCE], Ch.6)
Book Ref
Chuang Tzu: 'The Book of Chuang Tzu', ed/tr. Palmer,M /Breuilly,E [Penguin 1996], p.52
A Reaction
Seeing 'with clarity' is only one of the ways of seeing, and one mustn't unquestioningly assume that it is the best. Wisdom should contemplate vision with and without the self, and then rise higher and compare the two views. Compare Parfit (Idea 5518).
Related Idea
Idea 5518 It doesn't matter whether I exist with half my components replaced (any more than an audio system) [Parfit]
| 23403 | You know you were dreaming when you wake, but there might then be a greater awakening from that [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 23404 | Words are for meaning, and once you have that you can forget the words [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 7277 | The perfect man has no self [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 7285 | Did Chuang Tzu dream he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dream he was Chuang Tzu? [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 7278 | Words of wisdom are precise and clear [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 7281 | Don't even start, let's just stay put [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 7282 | Disagreement means you do not understand at all [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 7284 | If you beat me in argument, does that mean you are right? [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 7283 | Great courage is not violent [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 7280 | As all life is one, what need is there for words? [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 7279 | If words can't be defined, they may just be the chirruping of chicks [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 7288 | Go with the flow, and be one with the void of Heaven [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 7287 | Fish forget about each other in the pond and forget each other in the Tao [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 7286 | To see with true clarity, your self must be irrelevant [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |
| 7289 | Do not try to do things, or to master knowledge; just be empty [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)] |