UNWORLDLY WISE
O.O.O.



INTRODUCTION

by Wei Wu Wei


The wisdom revealed by these familiar and unfamiliar animals does not surprise me at all. Since the verbal expression attributed to them is that of their interpreter O.O.O., there is nothing unnatural or mysterious about what they are given to say. And their actions are clearly interpretations also: all is actual but not factual, like the content of our own relative 'lives'. Neither their lives nor ours are genuine - which is in accordance with Virtuality - but whereas our lives have no interpreter to extrapolate them for us to read about, their lives here receive extrapolation.

I have only one comment to offer: what a pity O.O.O. does not give us a similar treatment, and show us what is really going on in our own unobjectivized dimension! I think he might raise his eyebrows and reply by asking 'What difference could you possibly expect? No such difference could be, for no "difference" - difference being purely relative - has any Absolute existence as such whatever, never has had and never could have, for neither "space" nor "time" has any objective existence either, since relatively they represent precisely what, Absolutely, we ARE.'

I fear that O.O.O. might reply to my suggestion or plea by again raising his eyebrows - a habit he has - and pointing out that human-beings have neither the charm, the frankness, nor the simplicity of our animal brothers, and that their discussions would be cantankerous and obscured by the mists of conceptuality. Perhaps, after all, may he not be right, perhaps we could not 'do' it frankly and simply, as our animal friends act. However that may be, let us take advantage of the straightforwardness of these fellow sentient-beings and be content to profit by their more silent wisdom.

We are only asked to recognise ourselves in these brief, and sometimes gay, sketches, and to benefit by what they reveal. As for me, I have already done so, and can quite sincerely recommend the experience. I hope indeed that you, whoever you may be who are reading this, may benefit as thoroughly as I have.

 - WEI WU WEI


(© HKU Press, 1974)
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