This is the deepest saying that Chuang Tzu has uttered.
It is difficult to understand because we always think that an enlightened person,
a perfect man, is a man of wisdom.
And he says:
TO ALL APPEARANCES HE IS A FOOL….
But this is how it should be. Amongst so many fools, how can a wise man be otherwise?
To all appearances he will be a fool and that is the only way.
How can he change this foolish world and so many fools, to sanity?
He must become crazy like you, he must be a fool, he must allow you to laugh at him.
Then you will not feel jealous, then you will not feel hurt, then you will not be angry with him, then you can tolerate him, then you can forget him and forgive him, then you can leave him alone to himself.
Many great mystics have behaved like fools and their contemporaries were at a loss about what to make out of their lives — and the greatest wisdom existed in them.
To be wise amongst you is really foolish. It won't do; you will create much trouble.
Socrates was poisoned because he didn't know Chuang Tzu. Had he known Chuang Tzu, there would have been no need for him to be poisoned. He tried to behave like a wise man; amongst fools he tried to be wise.
Chuang Tzu says: To all appearances the wise man will be like a fool.
Chuang Tzu himself lived like a fool, laughing, singing and dancing, talking in jokes and anecdotes. Nobody thought him to be serious. And you could not find a more sincere or serious man than Chuang Tzu. But nobody thought him to be serious.
People enjoyed him, people loved him, and through this love he was sowing seeds of his wisdom. He changed many, he transformed many.
OSHO
