Horses' Hoofs

What are horses for? What are humans for? What’s the world for?

From the philosopher Zhuangzi:

HORSES’ HOOFS ARE MADE for treading frost and snow, their coats for keeping out wind and cold. To munch grass, drink from the stream, lift up their feet and gallop this is the true nature of horses. Though they might possess great terraces and fine halls, they would have no use for them.

Then along comes Po Lo. “I’m good at handling horses!” he announces, and proceeds to singe them, shave them, pare them, brand them, bind them with martingale and crupper, tie them up in stable and stall. By this time two or three out of ten horses have died. He goes on to starve them, make them go thirsty, race them, prance them, pull them into line, force them to run side by side—in front of them the worry of bit and rein, behind them the terror of whip and crop. By this time over half the horses have died.

. . . generation after generation sings out in praise, saying, “Po Lo is good at handling horses! The potter and the carpenter are good at handling clay and wood!” And the same fault is committed by the men who handle the affairs of the world! (trans. by Watson)

Zhuangzi, one of the great world teachers of LoveWisdom, here offers us insights that apply not only to our relationship with horses, but also to our relationship with ourselves, other beings in general, and our World.

Zhuangzi's wisdom stands in stark contrast to the ideas of the “thought leaders” who tell us how to handle the affairs of the World. They offer dangerous wisdom in the worst sense.

If we have the wrong vision of what a human being is, our soul will never gallop on the wind. If we have the wrong vision of what reality is and what the World is, we will create suffering for ourselves and others.

The “Start with Why” (or “golden circle”) theory provides an example of dangerous wisdom in the bad sense: It gives us the wrong vision, and it ultimately makes us and our culture more incoherent.

To learn more about why we cannot “start with why,” check out the WLB podcast page, or go directly to Before You Start with Why, Part 1.

To learn more about how horses can teach us what human beings are for, what the world is for, and how to become initiated into the mysteries of life and live in attunement with the Dao, the Divine, the Dharma, the Sacred (call it what you will), visit the WLB Horses page.