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THE STRESS OF STORMS THE BUTTERFLY |
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THE STRESS OF STORMS THE BUTTERFLY |
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CHUANG-TZU
(400-300 B.D.)
Chuang-Tzu was a Chinese philosopher of the Taoist school. He
lived in the third and fourth
centuries
before
Christ. His works are full of anecdotes and
allegories but only thirty-three chapters
remain. There are English versions of his works by Giles and De Legge, and a
German one by Wilhem. His widely known Dream of a
Butterfly has stimulated the imagination of hundreds of writers, scientists and
philosophers.
“Chuang-Tzu once dreamt he was a butterfly. When he awoke, he no longer
knew if he was Tzu, who had dreamt he was butterfly, or if he was a butterfly
dreaming he was Tzu.”
***
THE BUTTERFLY
Chuang-Tzu, the pilgrim of Tao, sailed toward the tropical island of Dragagor: a land of revelation. The spiritual love-making of the Janus Sea waters soon rocked him into a deep sleep.
Far away, on land, the Onir butterfly, native of Dragagor, rested her emerald wings over the scintillating summit of the Orion obelisk: the sailors’ lighthouse.
Fantasy, the pleasure of all creation, stole the butterfly’s mind and she then dreamt that she was a wise Tao pilgrim. She dreamt about cliffs, clouds, rivers and mountains in far away lands. She dreamt that her lightness had transformed into the grotesque and mammalian form of a man. A rice peasant and, thanks to that, a sublime thinker.
Upon awakening, the butterfly yawned as she opened her wings and she shook them firmly, scattering the images of the dream. The visions came off like emerald glitter to fertilize Dragagor’s fields. Free of the weight of the memories she flew away.
As she fluttered in the sweet forest, the butterfly reencountered the dream.
The dream had turned into a playful blue elf. The elf then jumped on her back so he could introduce her to the orchid, his friend. The orchid, after examining the butterfly said:
“I hope Chuang-Tzu is not asking himself if he is a man that is dreaming he is a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming it is a man.”
“If he falls into that labyrinth,” answered the butterfly, “it will take long for him to discover that we all are a dream, a dream that dreams itself inside the sacred mind of the Harmonious Whole.”
The orchid offered its aroma to the butterfly, and they both laughed together at the Wiseman’s wit.
Meanwhile the elf escaped to wake Chuang-Tzu.
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| ANTERIOR | ÍNDICE | SIGUIENTE |
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© Alberto Sibaja Álvarez. San José, Costa Rica
® The Stress of Storms
