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The perfect man employs his mind as a mirror.

Zhuangzi

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

Beyond Dependent Honor Knowledge Lying Man
He who regards all things as one is a companion of Nature.
ZHUANGZI

Himself Infinite Nature Oneself Regard Whole
Great understanding is broad and unhurried; little understanding is cramped and busy.
ZHUANGZI

Broad Busy Calm Greatness Understand
Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious. Great speech is impassioned, small speech cantankerous.
ZHUANGZI

Generous Greatness Passion Small Speech Wisdom
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
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
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
The man who has some respect for his person keeps his carcass out of sight, hides himself as perfectly as he can.
ZHUANGZI

Hide Himself Man Perfection Person Respect Sight
During our dreams we do not know we are dreaming. We may even dream of interpreting a dream. Only on waking do we know it was a dream. Only after the great awakening will we realize that this is the great dream.
ZHUANGZI

Awakening Dreams Greatness Realize Wake Up
The torch of doubt and chaos, this is what the sage steers by.
ZHUANGZI

Chaos Doubt Priest
My opinion is that you never find happiness until you stop looking for it.
ZHUANGZI

Finding Happiness Opinion Stop Yourself
For we can only know that we know nothing, and a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
ZHUANGZI

Dangerous Knowledge Known
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
Standards are different for all things, so the standard set by man is by no means the only ‘certain’ standard. If you mistake what is relative for something certain, you have strayed far from the ultimate truth.
ZHUANGZI

Different Man Mistake Standard Truth Ultimate Yourself
Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end. There is existence without limitation; there is continuity without a starting point.
ZHUANGZI

Beginning Born Death Existence Limitation Philosophy Spiritual Start
A battering ram can knock down a city wall, but it cannot stop a hole. Different things have different uses.
ZHUANGZI

Different Power Stop Wall

The perfect man employs his mind as a mirror.

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The perfect man employs his mind as a mirror.

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