The Empty Boat (Zhuangzi)
Daoism

The Empty Boat (Zhuangzi)

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Hexagrams:594
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If a man is crossing a river and an empty boat collides with his skiff, he will not be angry. But if the boat has someone in it, he will shout at them to steer clear. The empty boat is the same as the occupied boat — only our perception of intention changes our response. Zhuangzi's advice: be the empty boat. Hex 59 (Dispersion) is wind over water — the dissolution of the rigid self, the ego scattering like mist over a river. Hex 4 (Youthful Folly) is the mountain spring that does not know it is moving — water before it has learned to be a river, action before self-consciousness enters. The empty boat does not aim to give no offense. It simply has no one inside to take offense. This is beyond strategy. This is what Wu Wei looks like from the outside.

Cross-Tradition Resonances

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Christian Mysticism0.38

Apatheia — Holy Indifference

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Christian Mysticism0.33

Fourth Mansion — Prayer of Quiet

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