The Butterfly Dream | Chuang-Tzu and Daoism

#Daoism #Chuang-Tzu #Taoism
In his book, Chuang-Tzu tells the story of Chuang Cho, a man who experiences a vivid dream where he’s a butterfly. He wakes up wondering if he’s really Cho dreaming he was the butterfly or the butterfly now dreaming he’s Cho. One interpretation of this passage highlights the Daoist conception of the self as fluid and undefinable. What practical consequences may also result from this conception?

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Instagram: @amygdalavids

Video Tags: daoism, taoism, chuang-tzu, lao tzu, chuang tzu, dao de jing, tao te ching, butterfly dream, self, the self, skepticism, zhuangzi, laozi

[redacted]

as a student in high school whose really interested in philosophy your videos have definitely made me actually read philosophy accounts and sources and books
So keep up the good work!

[OgMetalSonic]

I often have dreams of being alone in abandoned buildings where I am walking around in places such as malls or cities. In those dreams, I tend to feel as if something is in pursuit of me, and I could never figure out what that is. Today, I like to believe that these dreams represent my inner feelings of isolation from myself as for a while, I have felt that I have masked who I am emotionally from other people to fit in. No matter how much I tried aligning myself with other people, I always felt alone, and that figure in pursuit of me could have just been my repressed desires seeking to come out.

[VitaFlare]

Thanks for the video! My girlfriend and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Btw we just saw a yellow butterfly before watching your video :) Continue on!

[jojojojo.]

In this sense, it's similar to how you behave, react, and be to whoever you're with. You're a different person depending on who you're interacting with. Does that mean we'll only know our true self when we're alone?

[johnross]

Very intriguing, haven’t looked into this enough

[barneylinet]

The "butterfly" passage from the Inner Chapters is a koan. A question that is posed as a skillful means of guiding enlightenment.
And the answer to this koan can be found in the chapter entitled "A LITTLE TALK ABOUT EVENING THINGS OUT"
" When we sleep, out spirits roam. When we wake we open to the world again.
Day after day, all we touch entangles us, and the mind struggles in that net: vast and calm, deep and subtle."
I refer to David Hinton's translation.

[FreshOutOfWater]

In a couple of months, I am starting my bachelor's degree in philosophy. Can you give me any advice if you can? By the way, I love your videos, and thank you for making them. Watching since 500 subs.

[hussamoon]

I like your voice and your videos <3

[hoangainam]

I read this befor and think the reality around me is a dream or a similation.

[piperpogue]

i only heard of chuang tzu from a song by will wood :0 i looked it up and this is super interesting fjnfjfjedh

[georgeschlaline]

Still my grandpa Pius Hess 1900-1942
Committed suicide shooting himself in the chest