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Tao Stoic 247

"Master, what is higher as happiness goes: the gathering of knowledge or to be creative?"

"Does the bird gather knowledge?"

"Indeed, Master, during its whole life."

"Is it creative?"

"I am not sure."

"Of course it is not. In producing even such a masterpiece as a nest, it uses no more than what it knows, and that in the forced way of an instinct. For creativity, one needs knowledge, skill, schooling, maturity even, but uppermost the Man-typical freedom over ideas. This is the answer then, creativity is higher than mere animal-, instinctive-, routine-, gratification. It is higher in the Way. One is happy when one feels himself so. Some attain it through mere routine, treading the well-worn path, some do it by being creative with their muscles & brain, some do it by purely mental crativity."


Ven 2005-01-24