I neither exist nor do not exist,
I neither am nor am not.
WHICH MEAN?
What I am is inexpressible by means of any concept such as "existence" or "being"---nor is what I am conceptually definable at all.
SO THAT?
Any attempt whatever to express or to apprehend what I am---which is what you are---is closing an open door in order to pass through it.---Wei Wu Wei
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That last line is a classic! Did W read this in Maui in 2003? I vaguely recall some WWW piece read there that was opaque to me.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. I don't remember W ever reading this at a talk. He did, however, write an interesting Foreword to the new edition of Posthumous Pieces.
ReplyDeleteOur friend in Cincinnati had an interesting description of the "culmination" of the seeking process - he said it was like painting yourself into a corner.
ReplyDeleteIf, as WWW says, Truth cannot be apprehended, perceived, defined, expressed, seen (as an object), known....there is no path...it's all Nothing. The cliche "nowhere to go, nothing to do" is an apt description. It's at times like this that WL seems to kind of shout "Here!" and point a few inches in front of himself (haha)
p.s. that third line is probably meant to read "WHICH MEANS" not "WHICH MEAN"
ReplyDeleteThe third line sounded strange to me too, at first. However, since there is more than one antecedent, I think "WHICH MEAN" is correct.
ReplyDelete"Painting yourself in a corner" is an intriguing image. Does he say any more about it?
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