When an archer shoots for enjoyment, he has all his skill; when he shoots for a brass buckle, he gets nervous; when he shoots for a prize of gold, he begins to see two targets.
ZHUANGZIIf water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind.
More Zhuangzi Quotes
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Sound intelligence promises victory in every battle.
ZHUANGZI -
We possess our body by chance and we are already pleased with it. If our physical bodies went through ten thousand transformations without end, how incomparable would this joy be! Therefore the sage roams freely in the realm in which nothing can escape, but all endures.
ZHUANGZI -
When the shoe fits, the foot is forgotten. When the belt fits, the belly is forgotten. When the heart is right, “for” and “against” are forgotten. No drives, no compulsions, no needs, no attractions: Then your affairs are under control. You are a free man.
ZHUANGZI -
Compare birth with death, compare death with life; compare what is possible with what is not possible and compare what is not possible with what is possible; because there is, there is not, and because there is not, there is.
ZHUANGZI -
Good fortune is as light as a feather, but nobody knows how to pick it up. Misfortune is as heavy as earth, but nobody knows how to stay out of it’s way.
ZHUANGZI -
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 -
You are still guided by your expectations.
ZHUANGZI -
Everything has what is innate,everything has what is necessary.
ZHUANGZI -
Your preciousness lies in your essence; it cannot be lost by anything that happens.
ZHUANGZI -
The man who has some respect for his person keeps his carcass out of sight, hides himself as perfectly as he can.
ZHUANGZI -
Running around accusing others is not as good as laughing. And enjoying a good laugh is not as good as going along with things.
ZHUANGZI -
Breathing control gives man strength, vitality, inspiration, and magic powers.
ZHUANGZI -
People value that part of knowledge which is known. They do not know how to avail themselves of the Unknown in order to reach knowledge. Is this not misguided?
ZHUANGZI -
The right way to go easy is to forget the right way.
ZHUANGZI -
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