Single Idea 7286

[catalogued under 16. Persons / E. Rejecting the Self / 4. Denial of the Self]

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 Reference

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]