Zhuangzi's Turtle

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Zhuangzi was fishing in the Pu river when the prince of Chu sent two high officials to ask him to take charge of the administration of the Chu State.

Zhuangzi went on fishing, and without turning his head said, "I have heard that in Chu there is a sacred tortoise which has been dead now some three thousand years. And that the prince keeps this tortoise carefully enclosed in a chest on the altar of his ancestral temple. Now would this tortoise rather be dead and have its remains venerated, or be alive and wagging its tail in the mud?"

"It would rather be alive," replied the two officials, "and wagging its tail in the mud."

"Begone!" cried Zhuangzi. "I too will wag my tail in the mud."

 

[northape]

People with their games try to recruit a man of wisdom... Good Luck

 

[Tripolation]

It's not so bad.

 

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I have always liked here the implication that getting to a position of power is akin of becoming a venerated relic. I think it's true on many levels: not only in the most explicit here of spiritual death, but also in that "powerful" people become extremely constrained in their actions and life.

 

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This is probably the most famous passage from the Zhuanzi:

Formerly, I, Zhuang Zhou, dreamt that I was a butterfly, a butterfly flying about, feeling that it was enjoying itself. I did not know that it was Zhou. Suddenly I awoke, and was myself again, the veritable Zhou. I did not know whether it had formerly been Zhou dreaming that he was a butterfly, or it was now a butterfly dreaming that it was Zhou. But between Zhou and a butterfly there must be a difference. This is a case of what is called the Transformation of Things.

Very apt for this forum