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Zhuangzi Quotes

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Famous Zhuangzi Quotes

“It comes out from no source, it goes back in through no aperture. It has reality yet no place where it resides; it has duration yet no beginning or end. Something emerges, though through no aperture - this refers to the fact that it has reality. It has reality yet there is no place where it resides - this refers to the dimension of space. It has duration but no beginning or end - this refers to the dimension of time. There is life, there is death, there is a coming out, there is a going back in - yet in the coming out and going back its form is never seen. This is called the Heavenly Gate. The Heavenly Gate is nonbeing. The ten thousand things come forth from nonbeing. Being cannot create being out of being; inevitably it must come forth from nonbeing. Nonbeing is absolute nonbeing, and it is here that the sage hides himself.”

LifeRealityDeathHeavenExistenceSourceLife And DeathTaoismTaoBeingYin And YangNonbeingNonexistenceYang And Yin
Book:The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu
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“As regards the quietude of the sage, he is not quiet because quietness is said to be good. He is quiet because the multitude of things cannot disturb his quietude. When water is still, one's beard and eyelashes are reflected in it. A skilled carpenter uses it in a level to obtain a measurement. If still water is so clear, how much more are the mental faculties! The mind of the sage is the mirror of heaven and earth in which all things are reflected.”

IfsMindSaidStillsUseEarthHeavenWaterLevelsVirtueClearQuietAll ThingsMirrorsRegardBe GoodFacultyMultitudesSageBeardMeasurementHeaven And EarthQuietnessCarpenterEyelashesStill Waters
Author:Zhuangzi
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“Those that think that wealth is the proper thing for them cannot give up their revenues; those that seek distinction cannot give up the thought of fame; those that cleave to power cannot give the handle of it to others. While they hold their grasp of those things, they are afraid of losing them. When they let them go, they are grieved and they will not look at a single example, from which they might perceive the folly of their restless pursuits - such men are under the doom of heaven.”

ThinkingMenGivingLooksMightHeavenWealthExampleFameGiving UpLosingPursuitHandlePerceiveFollyDistinctionNot Giving UpRestlessRevenueDoom
Author:Zhuangzi
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“Heaven does nothing: its non-doing is its serenity. Earth does nothing: its non-doing is its rest. From the union of these two non-doings All actions proceed. All things are made. How vast, how invisible This coming-to-be! All things come from nowhere! How vast, how invisible No way to explain it! All beings in their perfection Are born of non-doing. Hence it is said: Heaven and earth do nothing Yet there is nothing they do not do. Where is the man who can attain To this non-doing?”

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Author:Zhuangzi
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“People live their lives, constantly surrounded by anxiety. if they live long before dying, they end up in senility, worn out by concerns: a terrible fate! The body is treated in a very harsh fashion. Courageous men are seen by everyone under Heaven as worthy, but this doesn't preserve them from death. I am not sure I know whether this is sensible or not.”

PeopleIfsKnowsMenLongEndsBodyHeavenFateDyingFashionTerribleAnxietyConcernWorthyTreatedPreservesNot SureCourageousSensibleWornHarshWorn OutSenilityCourageous Man
Author:Zhuangzi
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