Fish live in water. Men die in it. Nature is diverse, and not all tastes are the same.
ZHUANGZIFish live in water. Men die in it. Nature is diverse, and not all tastes are the same.
ZHUANGZIYour preciousness lies in your essence; it cannot be lost by anything that happens.
ZHUANGZIWhen the heart is right, “for” and “against” are forgotten.
ZHUANGZIHe who knows he is a fool is not the biggest fool; He who knows he is confused is not in the worst confusion.
ZHUANGZIHe who does his work like a machine grows a heart like a machine and he who carries the heart of a machine in his breast loses his simplicity. He who has lost his simplicity becomes unsure in the strivings of his soul.
ZHUANGZIHe who knows the activities of Nature lives according to Nature.
ZHUANGZILook at this window: it is nothing but a hole in the wall, but because of it the whole room is full of light. So when the faculties are empty, the heart is full of light.
ZHUANGZIHeaven does without doing through its purity, Earth does without doing through its calmness.
ZHUANGZIYour mind must become one, do not try to understand with your ears but with your heart. Indeed, not with your heart but with your soul.
ZHUANGZIFor 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.
ZHUANGZIBreathing control gives man strength, vitality, inspiration, and magic powers.
ZHUANGZIMen do not mirror themselves in running water – they mirror themselves in still water. Only what is still can still the stillness of other things.
ZHUANGZILife comes from the earth and life returns to the earth.
ZHUANGZIThe perfect man of old looked after himself first before looking to help others.
ZHUANGZIOnce Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly.
ZHUANGZIThe living all find death unpleasant; men mourn over it. And yet, what is death, but the unbending of the bow and its return to its case?
ZHUANGZI