I took classes on daoism this year. Although I didn’t actually choose this subject consciously and had just chosen it as an extra subject, it had very much surprised me in a positive sense. For those who know what daoism entails, they know that it actually has no arguments or rules as we often see with most philosophical schools of thought. Yet the Zhuangzi shows you how you could live in flow with dao. So in the last lesson, my teacher had given me a list of notable living “rules” from the Zhuangzi. He called it “A not to be followed list” since the Zhuangzi does not want us to follow rules blindly. So think about each statement carefully and see if you could apply it.

1. Accept that all views are relative.

This might be one of the most applicable lessons from Zhuangzi. He can be considered a relativist, emphasizing that reality and truth depend on individual perspectives and contexts, devoid of absolute rules. Everything is relative to a person, rendering societal norms irrelevant. Nowadays, it’s easy to dismiss those with different perspectives. Consider viewing it differently, acknowledging everyone possesses their own reality or truth. 

2. Don’t aim for completeness.

At first glance, this may seem demotivating, as we are always pursuing goals. Zhuangzi doesn’t advocate abandoning goals but shows that fixating on completeness may sacrifice the process. People often believe the end goal is crucial, but the journey itself is often inherently valuable.

3. Be realistic when it comes yo other people – you cannot change a person’s character, just like you cannot change the instincts of a tiger

The idea that a person’s character cannot be changed is debatable, but the statement suggests you aren’t the one to change someone’s character. This change comes from within. The person changes themselves and is not altered by others, similar to how we cannot change the instinct of a tiger.

Maybe Zhuangzi does provide us with some life rules after all…