“The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish, you can forget the trap.”
Zhuangzi uses the trap as a metaphor for language: words are useful for conveying meaning, but they should be discarded once the meaning is grasped. The passage warns against mistaking tools of understanding for understanding itself.
Commentary
Zhuangzi uses the trap as a metaphor for language: words are useful for conveying meaning, but they should be discarded once the meaning is grasped. The passage warns against mistaking tools of understanding for understanding itself.