Metallic Frog & Butterfly on the wall of Gentle Dental,
Palo Alto (3920 Middlefield Road) where I had teeth cleaning
on July 12, 2010. Recalled following passages in Chuang Tzu.

Butterfly Dream (Ch. II: The Identity of Contraries)

Once upon a time, I, Chuang Tzu, dreamt I was a butterfly,
fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes
a butterfly. I was conscious only of following my fancies
as a butterfly, and was unconscious of my individuality as
a man. Suddenly, I awaked, and there I lay, myself again.
Now I do not know whether I was then a man. Between
a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a barrier.
The transition is called Metempsychosis.


Zen Painting: Chuang Tzu Dreaming of a Butterfly
(Zen and Zenga, Worcester Art Museum, 1977)


On the Nature of the Tao (Ch. XVII: Autumn Floods)

Limited by space, a frog in the well has no idea what is the ocean.
Limited by time, an insect in summer has no idea what is ice.
Limited by intellect, a man in life has no idea what is Consciousness.

— Chuang Tzu (369 BC-286 BC)
     Chuang Tzu: Taoist Philosopher and Chinese Mystic,
     Translated by Herbert A. Giles (2nd Revised Edition, 1926)
     George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, 1961, pp. 47, 159-160


                              — Peter Y. Chou
                                   Mountain View, 7-12-2010