Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings
by Zhuangzi, translated by Burton Watson
The funnier, wilder Taoist classic: the butterfly dream, the useless tree, the cook who never sharpens his knife. Watson's translation is the standard.
Read it if…
you want Taoism with humor and parable.
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Skip it if…
you want aphorisms; see the Tao Te Ching.
Try instead: The Second Book of the Tao →
Three things you will actually use
- Usefulness is relative.
- Flow with the grain.
- Hold perspectives lightly.
Do this first
Read the story of Cook Ding.
Our verdict
Taoism's trickster.
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