Flight from the Shadow

Flight from the Shadow

There was a man
who was so disturbed
by the sight of his own shadow
and so displeased
with his own footsteps,
that he determined to get rid of both.

The method he hit upon was
to run away from them.
So he got up and ran.

But everytime he poot his foot down
there was another step,
while his shadow kept up with him
without the slightest difficulty.

He attributed his failure
to the fact
that he was not running fast enough.
So he ran faster and faster,
without stopping,
until he finally dropped dead.

He failed to realize
that if he merely stepped into the shade,
his shadow would vanish,
and if he sat down and stayed still,
there would be no more footsteps.

-Inspirational Taoist Quotes and Stories by Chuang Tzu

BY SOFO ARCHON

2 thoughts on “Flight from the Shadow”

  1. Quite an interesting and deep quote… It tells us about how we often deal with our situations a hard way, while there are simplest ways to go about them

    1. Thank you for the comment, I found it interesting as well. One of my teachers says the Tao is close, but everyone looks far away! Good luck in your practice! -Andrew

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