*From Chuang Tzu: The Inner Chapters, translated by David Hinton
-"Long ago, a certain Chuang Tzu dreamt he was a butterfly - a butterfly fluttering here and there on a whim, happy and carefree, knowing nothing of Chuang Tzu. Then all of a sudden he woke to find that he was, beyond all doubt, Chuang Tzu. Who knows if it was Chuang Tzu dreaming a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming Chuang Tzu? Chuang Tzu and butterfly: clearly there's a difference. This is called the transformation of things.
*From The Essential Chuang Tzu, translated by Sam Hamill and J.P. Seaton - Chapter 2: All Things Being Equal
-"How am I to know that this life is not merely a delusion? How am I to know that to despise death is not merely to be like one exiled in his youth and who now can find no way home? Beautiful Lady Li was the daughter of a pretty knight Ai. When Chin first got her, she drenched the whole front of her gown with tears. But once she arrived at the palace and shared the emperor's bed and feasted on his fatted calves, she regretted her tears. How do I know that the dead do not regret clinging so ignominiously to life? Who dreams of drinking the wine of luxury may wake weeping in the sunrise. Who dreams of weeping may at dawn take up the hunt. As they dreamed, they didn't know that they were dreaming. Or in the midst of their dreams they may have tried to find an omen in thier dream. Awakened, they knew they'd been dreaming. Now, maybe there's a Great Awakening, after which we know all this has been a Great Big Dream. Fools think they're awake now, having ferreted out the knowledge for themselves, on the sly, that this is so. One a lord; one a shepherd...Oh sure!
Your Master Kung and you are both dreaming. And my saying you're both dreaming is also a dream. The name for all this is the Pitiful Deception. Ten thousand years from now, you may meet with a great sage who will know how to unravel this mystery for you. Or maybe you will this morning. Or this evening."
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