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Study is to study what cannot be studied. Undertaking means undertaking what cannot be undertaken. Philosophizing is to philosophize about what cannot be philosophized about. Knowing that knowing is unknowable is true perfection.

Zhuangzi

A frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean.
ZHUANGZI

Deep Ocean One Liner
Right is not right; so is not so. If right were really right it would differ so clearly from not right that there would be no need for argument. If so were really so, it would differ so clearly from not so that there would be no need for argument.
ZHUANGZI

Argument Clear Difference Need Right
The World is Large – Its beauty indescrible.
ZHUANGZI

Beautiful Description Nature World
The living all find death unpleasant; men mourn over it. And yet, what is death, but the unbending of the bow and its return to its case?
ZHUANGZI

Case Death Finding Live Pleasant Return
One whose inner being is fixed upon such greatness emits a Heavenly glow. Even though he has this Heavenly glow, others will see him as just a man. Someone who has reached this point will begin to be consistent.
ZHUANGZI

Beginning Consistent Glow Greatness Heaven Point
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

Mad Man Negative Positive
Verily God does not reward man for what he does, but for what he is.
ZHUANGZI

God Himself Man Reward Work
The ultimate happiness is doing nothing.
ZHUANGZI

Happiness Philosophy Ultimate
The Tao is in all things, in their divisions and their fullness. What I dislike about divisions is that they multiply, and what i dislike about multiplication is that it makes people want to hold fast to it. So people go out and forget to return, seeing little more than ghosts.
ZHUANGZI

Division Fast Forget Hold People Return See
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
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
The greatest tragedy that can befall a person is the atrophy of his mind.
ZHUANGZI

Greatness Mindset Person Tragedy
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
There is a beginning. There is no beginning of that beginning. There is something. There is nothing.
ZHUANGZI

Beginning Philosophy
Are you and I perchance caught up in a dream from which we have not yet awakened?
ZHUANGZI

Awake Dreams Myself Yourself
Once Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly.
ZHUANGZI

Butterfly Dreams Himself Incarnation

Study is to study what cannot be studied. Undertaking means undertaking what cannot be undertaken. Philosophizing is to philosophize about what cannot be philosophized about. Knowing that knowing is unknowable is true perfection.

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Study is to study what cannot be studied. Undertaking means undertaking what cannot be undertaken. Philosophizing is to philosophize about what cannot be philosophized about. Knowing that knowing is unknowable is true perfection.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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