ZHUANG ZI - The Outer Chapters

Zhuang Zi (Zhuang Zhou/Nan Hua Zhen Ren) is considered one of the most profound thinkers

placed under the auspices of Daoist philosophy and religion.

As recorded in the text ZhuangZi, his teachings (inner chapters) and their interpretations (outer

and miscellaneous chapters) have been deeply appreciated, provoking, and insightful to

students and thinkers of Chinese philosophy.

Since much of early Chinese medicine was applied Chinese philosophy, many of the reflections

and realizations found in the ZhuangZi have been integrated, or at least, utilized to provoke and

instill conscious cultivation among students, clinicians, and practitioners of Chinese medicine.

Rich in allegories, paradoxes, metaphors, and humor, Zhuang Zi challenges the readers to

ponder upon some of the most existential questions, such as the pursuits and virtues of

humanity, the way of nature (zi ran), limits of learning, significance of oneself, and cultivational

reflections.

This weekend exploration in ZhuangZi is intended to question, to contemplate, and to entertain

how Zhuang Zi’s insights can serve to deepen one’s connection to the process of being and

healing. Utilizing passages from the text, the instructor will discuss how these teachings have

been immersed into Chinese medicine and the significance of such endeavors in the cultivation

of the clinician.