The Pleasure of the Fish

Everything we see, is respective not truth.

Master Zhuang and Master Hui went out for a walk. Standing on the bridge over the Hao river, Master Zhuang said, “The minnows are swimming leisurely. They are certainly in a happy mood.” Master Hui said, “You are not a fish. How do you know they are happy?” To this Master Zhuang answered, “You are not me. How can you say that I don’t know if they are happy or not?”
Master Hui said, “Well, since I am not you, I don’t know indeed how you feel. It is equally true that you don’t know how the fish feel because you are not a fish.” Master Zhuang said, “Let’s go back to the very beginning of our conversation. Earlier, when you asked ‘How do you know the fish are happy,’ you already assumed that I knew. What you wanted to know in particular is how I knew. I knew when we were standing on the Hao bridge.”

____________The Zhuangzi