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Heaven does without doing through its purity, Earth does without doing through its calmness.

Zhuangzi

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

Fame Fear Pursue Risk Scholar
You cannot speak of ocean to a well-frog, the creature of a narrower sphere. You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, the creature of a season.
ZHUANGZI

Creature Ocean Season Summer Talk Yourself
Do not let the artificial obliterate the natural; do not let will obliterate destiny; do not let virtue be sacrificed to fame.
ZHUANGZI

Artificial Destiny Fame Natural Sacrifice Virtue
Those who seek to satisfy the mind of man by hampering it with ceremonies and music and affecting charity and devotion have lost their original nature.
ZHUANGZI

Affect Ceremony Charity Donation Lost Man Mindset Music Nature Original Satisfaction Seek
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
All men know the utility of useful things; but they do not know the utility of futility.
ZHUANGZI

Known Men Utility
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
All existing things are really one. We regard those that are beautiful and rare as valuable, and those that are ugly as foul and rotten. The foul and rotten may come to be transformed into what is rare and valuable, and the rare and valuable into what is foul and rotten.
ZHUANGZI

Beautiful Existence Rare Regard Transformation Ugly Value
You are still guided by your expectations.
ZHUANGZI

Expectation Guide Yourself
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.
ZHUANGZI

Beginning Enjoyment Himself Nervous Skill Target
Easy is right. Begin right and you are easy. Continue easy and you are right. The right way to go easy is to forget the right way, and forget that the going is easy.
ZHUANGZI

Beginning Easy Forget Right Yourself
Silence, and non action are the root of all things.
ZHUANGZI

Action Root Silence
Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education.
ZHUANGZI

Education Form Low Punishment Reward
The space under the sky is occupied by all things in their unity.
ZHUANGZI

Occupy Sky Space Unity
Men do not mirror themselves in running water – they mirror themselves in still water. Only what is still can still the stillness of other things.
ZHUANGZI

Deep Man Mirror Run Water
Each one’s destiny cannot be altered.
ZHUANGZI

Change Destiny One Liner Oneself

Heaven does without doing through its purity, Earth does without doing through its calmness.

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Heaven does without doing through its purity, Earth does without doing through its calmness.

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