Mastery of Movement, Mastery of Self

Michael Murphy theorizes that “flesh and consciousness tend to coevolve” through the practice of movement and somatic disciplines.  Thus virtuosity – effort economy or the technical perfection of “effortless-ness” – may indeed have a higher function.

Asian-Man-Doing-Karate

“Cutting Up an Ox,” by the Taoist philosopher Chuang Tzu, mirrors this idea.  

 

In this parable, a Chinese prince observes the virtuosity of his cook butchering an ox.  The cleaver “murmured like a gentle wind” and the ox “fell apart with a whisper.”  The prince exclaims, “Your method is faultless.”  But butcher explains otherwise:

 

“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 cleaver finds its own way.”

 

“There are spaces in the joints; the blade is thin and keen:  When this thinness finds that space…it goes like a breeze.”

 

“Then I stand still and let the joy of the work sink in.”

 

“This is it!” the prince exclaims.  “My cook has shown me how I ought to live my own life!”