Zhuangzi Quotes

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.

The perfect man uses his mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing. It regrets nothing. It receives but does not keep.

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

Perfect happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.

A path is made by walking on it.

We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away.

Words exist because of meaning; once you’ve gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.

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.

Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end. There is existence without limitation; there is continuity without a starting point.

Your preciousness lies in your essence; it cannot be lost by anything that happens.

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.

Do not seek fame. Do not make plans. Do not be absorbed by activities. Do not think that you know. Be aware of all that is and dwell in the infinite. Wander where there is no path. Be all that heaven gave you, but act as though you have received nothing. Be empty, that is all.

Great knowledge sees all in one. Small knowledge breaks down into the many.

When people do not ignore what they should ignore, but ignore what they should not ignore, this is known as ignorance.

A frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean.

Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was myself. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now 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.

If the Way is made clear, it is not the Way.

Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education.

A petty thief is put in jail. A great brigand becomes a ruler of a Nation.

Take care of your body, then the rest will automatically become stronger.

Silence, and non action are the root of all things.

My opinion is that you never find happiness until you stop looking for it.

Never admire a man by his strength; judge him in how he uses it- A way is made by walking it

Look at this window: it is nothing but a hole in the wall, but because of it the whole room is full of light. So when the faculties are empty, the heart is full of light.

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.