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Zhuangzi Quotes

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Famous Zhuangzi Quotes

“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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“If a man is crossing the river and an empty boat collides with his skiff, even though he is a bad tempered man he will not become very angry. But if he sees a man in the other boat he will scream and shout and curse at the man to steer clear. If you can empty your own boat crossing the river of the world, no one will oppose you, no one will seek to harm you. Thus is the perfect man - his boat is empty.”

IfsMenWorldPerfectClearHe ManRiversEmptyAngryHarmBoatCurseScreamCrossingsSteersPerfect ManCollideBad Temper
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“If the Tao could be served up, everyone would serve it up to their lords. If the Tao could be offered, there is no one who would not offer it to their parents. If the Tao could be spoken of, there is no one in the world who would not speak of it to their brothers and sisters. if the Tao could be passed on, there is no one who would not pass it on to their heirs. However, it obviously cannot be so and the reason is as follows. If there is no true centre within to receive it, it cannot remain;if there is no true direction outside to guide it,it cannot be received.”

IfsWorldReasonSpeakParentLordBrotherOffersGuidesCentreBrothers And SistersTaoHeirs
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“Goods and possessions are no gain in his eyes. He stays far from wealth and honor. Long life is no ground for joy, nor early death for sorrow. Success is not for him to be pround of, failure is no shame. Had he all the world's power he would not hold it as his own. If he conquered everything he would not take it to himself. His glory is in knowing that all things come together in One and life and death are equal.”

IfsWorldLifeLongEyeTogetherLife IsJoyWealthKnowingFailureHonorSorrowEqualGloryGainsAll ThingsShamePossessionHis EyesLife And DeathGoodsLong LifeEarly Death
Author:Zhuangzi
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“To use what has a boundary to pursue what is limitless is dangerous; with this knowledge, if we still go after knowledge, we will run into trouble. Do not do what is good in order to gain praise. If you do what is bad be sure to avoid the punishment. Follow the Middle Course, for this is the way to keep yourself together, to sustain your life, to care for your parents and to live for many years.”

IfsWayLifeYearsStillsUseCareRunningTogetherOrderCoursesParentKnowledgeTroubleMiddleDangerousGainsPraisePunishmentBoundariesPursueLimitlessCare For You
Author:Zhuangzi
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“Love of colors bewilders the eye and it fails to see right. Love of harmonies bewitches the ear, and it loses its true hearing. Love of perfumes fills the head with dizziness. Love of flavors ruins the taste. Desires unsettle the heart until the original nature runs amok. These five are enemies of true life. Yet these are what men of discernment claim to live for. They are not what I live for. If this is life, then pigeons in a cage have found happiness!”

IfsMenHeartEyeRunningDesireFoundLosesEnemyFiveFailingColorTasteEarsClaimsHarmonyOriginalsHearingRuinsCagesFlavorPerfumeDiscernmentPigeonsTrue LifeFound Happiness
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“Once Chuang Chou dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know he was Chuang Chou. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakeable Chuang Chou. But he didn't know if he was Chuang Chou who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Chuang Chou.”

IfsKnowsPhilosophyDreamButterflyFluttering
Book:The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu
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“I cannot tell if what the world considers ‘happiness’ is happiness or not. All I know is that when I consider the way they go about attaining it, I see them carried away headlong, grim and obsessed, in the general onrush of the human herd, unable to stop themselves or to change their direction. All the while they claim to be just on the point of attaining happiness.”

IfsKnowsWorldWayHumansClaimsObsessedHerdsGrimCarried AwayAttaining Happiness
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“Tzu Li went to see Tzu Lai who was dying. Leaning against the door, he said, 'Great is the Creator! What will he make of you now? Will he make you into a rat's liver? Will he make you into an insect's leg?' Tzu-Lai replied, 'The universe gave me my body so I may be carried, my life so I may work, my old age so I may repose, and my death so I may rest. To regard life as good is the way to regard death as good. . . . If I regard the universe as a great furnace and creation as a master foundryman, why should anywhere I go not be all right?'”

IfsWayLifeShouldMaySaidBodyAgeUniverseDoorsDyingCreationMastersRegardCreatorLegsOld AgeRatsInsectsReposeLiverFurnaces
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“The hidden so-called scholars of old did not hide themselves and refuse to be seen. They did not close the door on their words and refuse to let them out. They did not shut away their wisdom and refuse to share it. But those times were all haywire. If it had been possible for them to act, they could have done great things, bringing all to Oneness without any sign of doing so. However, the times were not favorable and it was not possible, so they put down deep roots, remained still and waited. this was the Tao by which they survived.”

IfsStillsDoneWisdomDoorsShareRootsRefuseGreat ThingsOnenessScholarSurvivedTaoDeep Roots
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“If you want to nourish a bird, you should let it live any way it chooses. Creatures differ because they have different likes and dislikes. Therefore the sages never require the same ability from all creatures. . . concepts of right should be founded on what is suitable. The true saint leaves wisdom to the ants, takes a cue from the fishes, and leaves willfulness to the sheep.”

IfsWayWantShouldDifferentAbilityCreaturesBirdConceptsSaintFishesLikesTaoismDislikeSheepSageAntsSuitableLikes And DislikesWillfulness
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“If you persist in trying to attain what is never attained (It is Tao's gift), if you persist in making effort to obtain what effort cannot get, if you persist in reasoning about what cannot be understood, you will be destroyed by the very thing you seek. To know when to stop, to know when you can get no further by your own action, this is the right beginning!”

IfsKnowsTryingActionUnderstandingEffortUnderstoodDestroyedReasoningTaoismPersistTao
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“An archer competing for a clay vessel shoots effortlessly, his or her skill and concentration unimpeded. If the prize is changed to a brass ornament, the hands begin to shake. If it is changed to gold, he or she squints as if going blind. The abilities do not deteriorate, but belief in them does, as he or she allows the supposed value of an external reward to cloud the vision.”

IfsDoeHandsValuesBeliefAbilityVisionChangedPerspectiveSkillsGoldBlindRewardsCloudsShakesConcentrationPrizeCompetingClayVesselOrnamentsBrassArcher
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“When an archer is shooting for nothing, he has all his skill. If he shoots for a brass buckle, he is already nervous. If he shoots for a prize of gold, he goes blind or sees two targets - He is out of his mind! His skill has not changed. But the prize divides him. He cares. He thinks more of winning than of shooting- And the need to win drains him of power.”

IfsThinkingNeedsMindTwoCareWinningChangedSkillsGoldBlindCaringNervousShootingPrizeTargetDividesDrainsBrassArcherBuckles
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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
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“When I look at what the world does and where people nowadays believe they can find happiness, I am not sure that that is true happiness. The happiness of these ordinary people seems to consist in slavishly imitating the majority, as if this were their only choice. And yet they all believe they are happy. I cannot decide whether that is happiness or not. Is there such a thing as happiness?”

PeopleIfsWorldBelieveLooksDoeSeemsHappinessChoicesOrdinaryMajorityNot SureOrdinary PeopleTrue HappinessFinding HappinessImitating
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