A Note to the Reader xi

A Study of Chuang Tzu 1
The Useless Tree 31
A Hat Salesman and a Capable Ruler 33
The Breath of Nature 35
Great Knowledge 37
The Pivot 40
Three in the Morning 43
Cutting Up an Ox 45
The Man with One Foot and the Marsh Pheasant 49
The Fasting of the Heart 51
Three Friends 57
Lao Tzu's Wake 59
Confucius and the Madman 61
The True Man 63
Metamorphosis 66
Man Is Born in Tao 69
Two Kings and No-Form 70
Cracking the Safe 72
Leaving Things Alone 76
The Kingly Man 79
How Deep Is Tao! 81
The Lost Pearl 83
In My End Is My Beginning 84
When Life Was Full There Was No History 86
When a Hideous Man. . . 87
The Five Enemies 88
Action and Non-Action 90
Duke Hwan and the Wheelwright 92
Autumn Floods 95
Great and Small 99
The Man of Tao 103
The Turtle 105
Owl and Phoenix 107
The Joy of Fishes 109
Perfect Joy 111
Symphony for a Sea Bird 116
Wholeness 119
The Need to Win 122
The Sacrificial Swine 123
The Fighting Cock 125
The Woodcarver 127
When the Shoe Fits 129
The Empty Boat 131
The Flight of Lin Hui 134
When Knowledge Went North 136
The Importance of Being Toothless 139
Where Is Tao? 141
Starlight and Non-Being 144
Keng Sang Chu 145
Keng's Disciple 148
The Tower of the Spirit 155
The Inner Law 157
Apologies 159
Advising the Prince 161
Active Life 164
Monkey Mountain 166
Good Fortune 168
Flight from Benevolence 171
Tao 175
The Useless 178
Means and Ends 179
Flight from the Shadow 180
Chuang Tzu's Funeral 181

Glossary 183
Bibliography 185
Notes 187