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He who pursues fame at the risk of losing his self is not a scholar.

Zhuangzi

The enlightened attention rejects nothing nor welcomes anything-like a mirror it responds equally to all.
ZHUANGZI

Attention Enlightenment Equality Mirror Respond Welcome
The eyes envy the mind.
ZHUANGZI

Eyes Jealous Mindset
To be truly ignorant, be content with your own knowledge.
ZHUANGZI

Ignorance Knowledge True Yourself
The sage embraces things. Ordinary men discriminate amongst them and parade their discriminations before others. So I say; those who discriminate, fail to see.
ZHUANGZI

Discrimination Embrace Failure Man Myself Ordinary See
The Tao is in all things, in their divisions and their fullness. What I dislike about divisions is that they multiply, and what i dislike about multiplication is that it makes people want to hold fast to it. So people go out and forget to return, seeing little more than ghosts.
ZHUANGZI

Division Fast Forget Hold People Return See
For all people strive to grasp what they do not know, while none strive to grasp what they already know; and all strive to discredit what they do not excel in, while none strive to discredit what they do excel in. This is why there is chaos.
ZHUANGZI

Chaos Excellence People Strive
When deeds and words are in accord, the whole world is transformed.
ZHUANGZI

Action Transformation Word World
But you now, you wear your soul on your sleeve, exhausting your energy, propping yourself up on a tree, mumbling, or bent over your desk, asleep. Heaven gives you a form and you wear it out by pointless argument.
ZHUANGZI

Argument Energy Exhaust Form Heaven Point Soul Tree
Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.
ZHUANGZI

Acceptance Flow Mindset Stay Ultimate
The ten thousand things belong to one storehouse and life and death share the same body.
ZHUANGZI

Body Death Life Share Store
When there is no more separation between ‘this’ and ‘that,’ it is called the still-point of the Tao. At the still point in the center of the circle one can see the infinite in all things.
ZHUANGZI

Infinite Point Religious Separate Sight View Yourself
Right is not right; so is not so. If right were really right it would differ so clearly from not right that there would be no need for argument. If so were really so, it would differ so clearly from not so that there would be no need for argument.
ZHUANGZI

Argument Clear Difference Need Right
There is danger for the eye in seeing too clearly, danger for the ear in hearing too sharply and danger to the heart from caring too greatly.
ZHUANGZI

Clear Dangerous Eyes Greatness Heart Sharp
Each one’s destiny cannot be altered.
ZHUANGZI

Change Destiny One Liner Oneself
Study is to study what cannot be studied. Undertaking means undertaking what cannot be undertaken. Philosophizing is to philosophize about what cannot be philosophized about. Knowing that knowing is unknowable is true perfection.
ZHUANGZI

Knowledge Known Perfection Philosophy Religious Spirituality Study True Unknown
The men of old breathed clear down to their heels.
ZHUANGZI

Breathe Clear Man Old
Can a man cling to the positive without any negative in contrast to which it is seen to be positive? If he claims to do so he is a rouge or a madman.
ZHUANGZI

Mad Man Negative Positive
The sound of water says what I think.
ZHUANGZI

Myself Sound Thinking Water
Those who realise their folly are not true fools.
ZHUANGZI

Enemy Fools Mistake Realize
We are born from a quiet sleep, and we die to a calm awakening
ZHUANGZI

Awake Born Calm Death Quiet Sleep
If you have insight, you use your inner eye, your inner ear, to pierce to the heart of things, and have no need of intellectual knowledge.
ZHUANGZI

Heart Insight Intellectual Knowledge Pierce
We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away.
ZHUANGZI

Gradual Opinion Ourselves Perspective Point View
The right way to go easy is to forget the right way.
ZHUANGZI

Easy Forget Journey Right Way
If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind! The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe, the speculum of all creation.
ZHUANGZI

Calm Creation Mindset Mirror Universe Water
Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education.
ZHUANGZI

Education Form Low Punishment Reward
Let everything be allowed to do what it naturally does, so that its nature will be satisfied.
ZHUANGZI

Allow Natural Satisfaction Yourself
All men know the utility of useful things; but they do not know the utility of futility.
ZHUANGZI

Known Men Utility

He who pursues fame at the risk of losing his self is not a scholar.

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He who pursues fame at the risk of losing his self is not a scholar.

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