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Men honor what lies within the sphere of their knowledge, but do not realize how dependent they are on what lies beyond it.

Zhuangzi

The creature born is the creature dying.
ZHUANGZI

Born Creature Death
True men” are strong willed, have dignity in their demeanor, serenity in their expression. They are cool like autumn, warm like spring. Their passions arise like the four seasons, in harmony with the ten thousand creatures, and no one knows their limits.
ZHUANGZI

Creature Dignity Expression Harmony Inspirational Man Passion Peace Season Strong True Warm
Horses have hoofs to carry them over frost and snow; hair, to protect them from wind and cold. They eat grass and drink water, and fling up their heels. Such is the real nature of horses.
ZHUANGZI

Animal Drink Hairs Horse Nature Protection Reality Skin
Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education.
ZHUANGZI

Education Form Low Punishment Reward
So if loss of what gives happiness causes you distress when it fades, you can now understand that such happiness is worthless. It is said, those who lose themselves in their desire for things also lose their innate nature by being vulgar.
ZHUANGZI

Desire Fade Happiness Loss Nature Vulgar Worth
Words exist because of meaning; once you’ve gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.
ZHUANGZI

Deep Existence Forget Literature Meaning Poet Word Yourself
The eye is a menace to clear sight, the ear is a menace to subtle hearing, the mind is a menace to wisdom, every organ of the senses is a menace to its own capacity.
ZHUANGZI

Capacity Clear Eyes Mindset Organ Wisdom
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
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
The effect of life in society is to complicate and confuse our existence, making us forget who we really are by causing us to become obsessed with what we are not.
ZHUANGZI

Complication Confusion Effect Existence Forget Life Obsession Ourselves Society
To be constant is to be useful. To be useful is to realize one’s true nature. Realization of one’s true nature is happiness. When one reaches happiness, one is close to perfection.
ZHUANGZI

Constant Happiness Nature Oneself Perfection Realize
Tao is the source of both fullness and emptiness. But it is itself neither fullness nor emptiness.
ZHUANGZI

Complete Empty Full Religion Source
To be truly ignorant, be content with your own knowledge.
ZHUANGZI

Ignorance Knowledge True Yourself
Only the intelligent knows how to identify all things as one. When one is at ease with himself, one is near Tao. This is to let Nature take its own course.
ZHUANGZI

Flow Himself Identify Intelligence Nature Path Religion Whole
Fish live in water. Men die in it. Nature is diverse, and not all tastes are the same.
ZHUANGZI

Death Deep Diversity Live Men Nature Taste Water
When the heart is right, “for” and “against” are forgotten.
ZHUANGZI

Forget Heart Right

Men honor what lies within the sphere of their knowledge, but do not realize how dependent they are on what lies beyond it.

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Men honor what lies within the sphere of their knowledge, but do not realize how dependent they are on what lies beyond it.

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Popular Authors

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