Cutting Up An Ox (Part 1)
Prince Wen Hui's cook
Was cutting up an ox.
Out went a hand,
Down went a shoulder,
He planted a foot,
He pressed with a knee
The ox fell apart
With a whisper,
The bright cleaver murmured
Like a gentle wind.
Rhythm! Timing!
Like a sacred dance,
Like "The Mulberry Grove"
Like ancient harmonies!
"Good work!" the Prince exclaimed,
"Your method is faultless!"
"Method?" said the cook
Laying aside his cleaver,
"What I follow is Tao
Beyond all methods!
"When I first began
To cut up oxen
I would see before me
The whole ox
All in one mass.
"After three years
I no longer saw this mass.
I saw the distinctions.
"But now, I see nothing
With the eye.
My whole being
Apprehends.
My senses are idle.
The spirit
Free to work without plan
Follows its own instinct
Guided by natural line,
By the secret opening,
The hidden space,
My cleaver finds its own way.
I cut through no joint, chop no bone.
A great cook needs a new chopper
Once a year - he cuts.
A poor cook needs a new one
Every month - he hacks!
"I have used this same cleaver
Nineteen years.
It has cut up
A thousand oxen.
Its edge is as keen
As if newly sharpened.
"There are spaces in the joints;
The blade is thin and keen:
When this thinness
Finds that space
There is all the room you need!
It goes like a breeze!
Hence I have this cleaver
Nineteen years
As if newly sharpened!
"True, there are sometimes
Tough joints.
I feel them coming,
I slow down, I watch closely,
Hold back, barely move the blade,
And whump! the part falls away
Landing like a clod of earth.
"Then I withdraw the blade,
I stand still
And let the joy of the work
Sink in.
I clean the blade
And put it away."
Prince Wen Hui said,
"This is it! My cook has shown me
How I ought to live
My own life!"
- Zhuangzi (translated by Thomas Merton)
Zhuangzi
This poem by the Taoist philosopher Zhuangzi is one of my favorites. It beautifully expresses self-mastery; which is exemplified in the cook’s mastery of his craft. There is so much meat (pun intended) in this poem that I am going to discuss it over two posts rather than overwhelm you with too much information in one post. Like Prince Wen’s cook, let’s cut up this poem into bite-size pieces and get to the marrow of its teachings.
BEYOND TECHNIQUE
Any craft, skill, or occupation has its own unique techniques and methods that must be learned in order to develop proficiency. Those who become good learn these techniques sufficiently to do their jobs. Those who become great learn them to an even higher degree and excel. Those who strive for mastery transcend them.
Technical skills are like training wheels on a bike- they are designed to get you moving, prevent you from falling and develop confidence. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you no longer need them. In fact, if you don’t take off the training wheels, they prevent you from really learning to ride.
Think of the technical skills you’ve developed in your own profession. Though necessary, are they sufficient? Is having just technical skill enough to approach mastery? From my own experience in both martial arts and painting, I’ve seen students reach a level of technical proficiency and then plateau. I call this stage Technique Purgatory- you don’t approach mastery because you think technique is the goal and you simply tread water. Those in technique purgatory are slaves to their own skills, like the hammer wielding the carpenter. They can execute a throw with textbook precision. They can paint photo-realistically. For some, that’s enough. For mastery, it’s just the beginning. So how does one avoid technique purgatory? By focusing on principle rather than technique.
In the poem, the cook has great technical skill because he focuses on the underlying principles of the Tao and not on the physical technique of cutting.
“What I follow is Tao
Beyond all methods!”
The difference between principle and technique is akin to the difference between how and why. Knowing how to do something versus knowing why you are doing it. Techniques are born from principles. Techniques are the result, not the cause. Mastery of the techniques requires an understanding of their underlying principles. Seek the cause and not the result.
ESCAPE FROM TECHNIQUE PURGATORY
Once you know why (principle), the how (technique) reveals itself. Those who never get beyond technique mistake it for the principle. When you fully embrace the principle, techniques become toys you play with rather than skills you are bound by. Being principle oriented is liberating. Since you understand the underlying principle, you are free to try, modify, and discard techniques as you see fit.
Being principle centered also allows you the freedom to create your own techniques. Much like a musician who has mastered his instrument, she can then improvise and play instinctively with spontaneity and feeling; unbounded by technique. Her technical skill serves to express her own creativity. The great jazz saxophonist, John Coltrane was legendary for his ability to improvise and create an avant-garde sound that redefined what was considered jazz. One listen to his album, “A Love Supreme”, and there is no denying that Coltrane had not only mastery of technique, but a deep understanding of principle that, like Prince Wen's cook, guides him to higher plane of creativity, spontaneity and flow.
John Coltrane
When you are technique centric you are like a young child learning to color by numbers; staying within the lines for the sake of correctness. Once the skill is developed, start with a blank page and risk making your own art. If you allow yourself that freedom, you may surprise yourself. Mastery requires taking this risk. If you choose to stay within the lines, then define your own lines and pick your own colors. This is what I believe Zhuangzi meant by “Guided by natural line”: a path that is uniquely your own; free from conformity.
In part 2, we’ll explore the remainder of the poem. In the meantime, I encourage you to investigate your own skills. Are they keeping you in technique purgatory? Do you feel like you’ve hit a wall in your progress? Are you still coloring by numbers? If so, set the skill aside and discover the underlying principle- the source. If you are willing to set the skill aside and study the principle, I'm confident that not only will your current skills improve; but also a new host of techniques will reveal themselves. Then you are ready to find the secret opening, the hidden space.
