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I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man.

Zhuangzi

Tao is the source of both fullness and emptiness. But it is itself neither fullness nor emptiness.
ZHUANGZI

Complete Empty Full Religion Source
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
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

Born Compare Death Life Possible
The saying goes, ‘The sage rests, truly rests and is at ease.’ This manifests itself in calmness and detachment, so that worries and distress cannot affect him, nothing unpleasant can disturb him, his Virtue is complete and his spirit is not stirred up.
ZHUANGZI

Calm Compete Complete Disturb Ease Manifestation Priest Rest Sage Virtue
The perfect man employs his mind as a mirror.
ZHUANGZI

Employment Himself Man Mindset Mirror Perfection
Those who follow the Tao are of clear mind. They do not load their mind with anxieties and are flexible in their adjustment to external conditions.
ZHUANGZI

Anxiety Condition Follow Mindset Religious
Are you and I perchance caught up in a dream from which we have not yet awakened?
ZHUANGZI

Awake Dreams Myself Yourself
Heaven does without doing through its purity, Earth does without doing through its calmness.
ZHUANGZI

Calm Earth Heaven Purity
Do not struggle. Go with the flow of things, and you will find yourself at one with the mysterious unity of the Universe.
ZHUANGZI

Flow Spiritual Struggle Universe Yourself
Good order results spontaneously when things are let alone.
ZHUANGZI

Alone Goodness Result
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
I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man.
ZHUANGZI

Butterfly Dreams Man Myself
The space under the sky is occupied by all things in their unity.
ZHUANGZI

Occupy Sky Space Unity
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
Perfect happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.
ZHUANGZI

Absence Happiness Perfection Wisdom
For 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.
ZHUANGZI

Chaos Excellence People Strive

I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man.

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I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man.

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