There was once a Daoist butcher
who was carving a joint of meat for a customer who had been coming for many
years. “Pardon me,” the customer asked, “But isn’t that the same knife you had
last year? Do you need to sharpen it often?” “It’s the same knife I’ve had for
the last 17 years,” the butcher replied, “And I haven’t had to sharpen it even
once. For, when I cut the meat, I allow the knife to find its own way through
the flesh without effort or stress. “And when I come to a tricky bit with lots
of cartilage, I just slow down and allow the mystery to solve itself and in no
time the meat falls right off the blade.”
