I am almost finished "The Essential Chuang Tzu".

It is fascinating to compare this book with some of the writings of Plato and Aristotle who were rough contemporaries.

Whether from East or West, both cultures have drawn heavily on a few philosophers from the time of about 500 BCE. In both cases there is relatively little "progress" over the last 2000 years from these original writings. The west has emphasized the rational and cognitive; the east has emphasized the transcendental. In the first the mind takes precedence, in the latter it is the heart that is most important. Yet the mind is a function of the body - what a strange duality we have in both cultures. When will we see that the yin/yang is itself a duality? When will we see that the integration of the mind with the body is necessary for a truly wholistic view of the universe. Why are they viewed as opposites?