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To exercise no-thought and rest in nothing is the first step toward resting in Tao. To start from nowhere and follow no road is the first step toward attaining Tao.
Zhuangzi
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Zhuangzi
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Zhuang Zi
Chuang Tzŭ
Chuang Tzu
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Zhuang Zhou
Chuang Chou
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More quotes by Zhuangzi
My most interesting memory is of my first real dream. I was a caterpillar, wriggling around in the earth, just the way a caterpillar would. Following my caterpillar whims, completely unaware of anyone.
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People value that part of knowledge which is known. They do not know how to avail themselves of the Unknown in order to reach knowledge. Is this not misguided?
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A frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean.
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When the shoe fits, the foot is forgotten. When the belt fits, the belly is forgotten. When the heart is right, for and against are forgotten. No drives, no compulsions, no needs, no attractions: Then your affairs are under control. You are a free man.
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The perfect man uses his mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing. It regrets nothing. It receives but does not keep.
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To have a human form is a joyful thing.
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Luck implies an absolute absence of any principle.
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When I talk about having good hearing, I don't mean just listening, but listening to yourself. When I talk about good eyesight, I don't mean just looking, but looking at yourself.
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Water becomes clear and transparent when in a quiescent stage. How much the more wonderful will be the mind of a sage when poised in quiescence! It is the mirror of heaven and earth, reflecting the ten thousand things.
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But you now, you wear your soul on your sleeve, exhausting your energy, propping yourself up on a tree, mumbling, or bent over your desk, asleep. Heaven gives you a form and you wear it out by pointless argument.
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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.
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The hundred parts of the body are all complete in their places. Which should one prefer? Do you like them all equally? Are they all servants? Are they unable to control one another and need a ruler? Or do they become rulers and servants in turn? Is there any true ruler other than themselves?
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All men know the use of the useful, but nobody knows the use of the useless. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so that I can have a word with him?
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Great wisdom is generous petty wisdom is contentious. Great speech is impassioned, small speech cantankerous.
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A petty thief is put in jail. A great brigand becomes a ruler of a Nation.
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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?
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You are still guided by your expectations.
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If there is existence, there must be non-existence. And if there was a time when nothing existed, there must have been a time before that - when even nothing did not exist. Suddenly, when nothing came into existence, could one really say whether it belonged to the category of existence or non-existence?
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Yet the stupid believe they are awake, busily and brightly assuming they understand things, calling this man ruler, that one herdsman – how dense! Confucius and you are both dreaming! And when I say you are dreaming, I am dreaming, too. Words like these will be labeled the Supreme Swindle.
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To be constant is to be useful. To be useful is to realize one's true nature. Realization of one's true nature is happiness. When one reaches happiness, one is close to perfection.
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