Bret Hinsch on thu 3 may 01
The sage Tao-tzu decided to travel somewhere far away to see what so=
rt
of pots people in distant places made. So he began to walk.
He journeyed through valleys lined with steep granite cliffs that ha=
d
yet to erode away into clay. Beside the ancient path, he noticed potsher=
ds
scattered here and there, testament to the travelers who had gone before
him. The sun was hot and beat down hard. He thought about how quickly t=
he
potters would be able to dry out their pots that day.
At long last Tao-tzu reached a town in the middle of a huge plain. =
The
town was surrounded by high walls made from packed earth. Inside people
lived in homes made of adobe. The streets were paved with sturdy thick
bricks.
Tao-tzu walked up to someone and said, "Excuse me, I'm a stranger in
this town. What are the pots here like?"
The man sneered. "Terrible. You've never seen such ugly pots in yo=
ur
entire life. They're misshapen, the glaze is dripped on unevenly, the cl=
ay
is coarse and rough. No matter where I look, I can't find a plain blue m=
ug.
There can't be uglier pots anywhere in the world." With that the man
walked away, muttering to himself about how unlucky he was to live among
such ugliness.
Tao-tzu was taken aback by the man's venom and decided to look at th=
e
local pots himself.
As he walked through the potter's quarter he noticed men and women
diligently hunched over their wheels, carefully throwing tea bowls and va=
ses
in weird shapes he had never seen before. The potters purposely deformed
each piece to destroy its symmetry. He saw their assistants add impuriti=
es
to the clay to make it coarse. And then he watched as the potters danced
wildly around their studios, dripping and brushing and smearing dusky gla=
zes
on their pots with wild abandon.
Finally Tao-tzu stopped one of the dancing potters and asked, "Excus=
e
me, I'm a stranger in this town. What are the pots here like?"
The potter smiled ecstatically and said, "You won't find more beauti=
ful
pots anywhere in the world. Other places make pots that are round and
boring, but here we potters always add a deliberately misshapen handle or=
a
put a dramatic crease in the clay. Instead of a smooth clay body, we wed=
ge
in sand and bits of grog and rice husks to remind us of the wonderful
complexity of nature. And instead of spraying on perfect coats of bright
blue glaze, we create subtle patterns of drips and strokes that are so
unexpected you never get tired of looking at them."
The potter sighed contentedly and continued, "Every time I drink my
morning tea out of one of these marvelous cups, I think about how lucky I=
am
to be born in a place with such beautiful pots. My life is truly blessed=
.."
Tao-tzu looked at the potter and shared a gentle smile of complete
understanding.
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