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All men know the utility of useful things; but they do not know the utility of futility.

Zhuangzi

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

Fame Fear Pursue Risk Scholar
The little child learns to speak, though it has no learned teachers – because it lives with those who know how to speak.
ZHUANGZI

Children Deep Learning Live Talk Teacher
Heaven does without doing through its purity, Earth does without doing through its calmness.
ZHUANGZI

Calm Earth Heaven Purity
Sound intelligence promises victory in every battle.
ZHUANGZI

Battle Intelligence Promise Sound Victory
He who does his work like a machine grows a heart like a machine and he who carries the heart of a machine in his breast loses his simplicity. He who has lost his simplicity becomes unsure in the strivings of his soul.
ZHUANGZI

Carry Growth Himself Lose Machine Work
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
The wise man knows that it is better to sit on the banks of a remote mountain stream than to be emperor of the whole world.
ZHUANGZI

Better Choice King Man Position Stream Wisdom World
We are born from a quiet sleep, and we die to a calm awakening
ZHUANGZI

Awake Born Calm Death Quiet Sleep
Only fools imagine they are already awake. How clearly they understand everything! How easily they distinguish this deception from that reality!
ZHUANGZI

Awake Easy Fools Imagination Reality Understand
He who knows the activities of Nature lives according to Nature.
ZHUANGZI

Activity Himself Live Nature
Heaven is in everything: follow the light, hide in the cloudiness and begin in what is. Do this and your understanding will be like not understanding and your wisdom will be like not being wise. By not being wise you will become wise later.
ZHUANGZI

Cloud Follow Heaven Light Understand Wisdom Yourself
If you have grasped the purpose of life there is no point in trying to make life into something it is not or cannot be.
ZHUANGZI

Life Point Purpose
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 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
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 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

All men know the utility of useful things; but they do not know the utility of futility.

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All men know the utility of useful things; but they do not know the utility of futility.

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