Chuang Tzu – Butterfly Dream
Chuang Tzu – Butterfly Dream
“Formerly, I, Kwang Kâu, dreamt that I was a butterfly, a butterfly flying about, feeling that it was enjoying itself. I did not know that it was Kâu. Suddenly I awoke, and was myself again, the veritable Kâu. I did not know whether it had formerly been Kâu dreaming that he was a butterfly, or it was now a butterfly dreaming that it was Kâu. But between Kâu and a butterfly there must be a difference. This is a case of what is called the Transformation of Things.”
Excerpt from Khî Wû Lun, or The Adjustment of Controversies, found within The Texts of Taoism, Part I of II, Sacred Books of the East, Volume 39, translated by James Legge [1891] The Texts of Taoism may be found in their entirety at:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tao/sbe39/sbe39123.htm
http://www.taoistic.com/chuangtzu/chuangtzu-02.htm
