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.
“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!”