Zhuang Zhou Quotes
Best 54 Quotes by Zhuang Zhou – Page 1 of 2
“A path is made by walking on it.”
“And how do I know that the hate of death is not like a man who has lost his home when young and does not know where his home is to return to?”
“Cease striving. Then there will be transformation.”
“Cherish that which is in you and shut out that which is without, for much knowledge is a curse.”
“Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.”
“Forget the years, forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home!”
“Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious.”
“Happiness is the abscence of the striving for happiness.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.”
“Men honor what lies within the sphere of their knowledge, but do not realize how dependent they are on what lies beyond it.”
“Rewards and punishment is the lowest form of education.”
“The baby looks at things all day without winking; that is because his eyes are not focused on any particular object. He goes without knowing where he is going, and stops without knowing what he is doing. He merges himself within the surroundings and moves along with it. These are the principles of mental hygiene.”
“The one-legged creature is envious of the millipede; the millipede is envious of the snake; the snake is envious of the wind; the wind is envious of the eye; the eye is envious of the heart.”
“The purpose of a fish trap is to catch fish, and when the fish are caught the trap is forgotten. The purpose of a rabbit snare is to catch rabbits. When the rabbits are caught, the snare is forgotten. The purpose of the word is to convey ideas. When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words? He is the one I would like to talk to.”
“The sound of water says what I think.”
“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.”
“To a mind that is still, the entire universe surrenders.”
“To be truly ignorant, be content with your own knowledge.”
“We are born from a quiet sleep, and we die to a calm awakening.”
“When affirmation and negation came into being, Tao faded. After Tao faded, then came one-sided attachments. ”
“Where can I find a man who has forgotten words? He is the one I would like to talk to.”
“Where is that man who has forgotten words that I may have a word with him?”
“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.”
Chuang Tsu Quotes
“Once upon a time, I, Chuang Tzu, dreamt that i was a butterfly. flitting around and enjoying myself. I had no idea I was Chuang Tzu. Then suddenly I woke up and was Chuang Tzu again. But I could not tell, had I been Chuang Tzu dreaming I was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming I was now Chuang Tzu? However, there must be some sort of difference between Chuang Tzu and a butterfly! We call this the transformation of things.”
“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 fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit. Once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning. Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him?”
The Book of Chuang Tzu Quotes
“The purpose of a fish trap is to catch fish, and when the fish are caught, the trap is forgotten. The purpose of words is to convey ideas. When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten. Where can I find a man who has forgotten the words, so that I can talk to him?”
The Butterfly as Companion Quotes
“During our dreams we do not know we are dreaming. We may even dream of interpreting a dream. Only on waking do we know it was a dream. Only after the great awakening will we realize that this is the great dream.”
You Might Like
“I’d rather die for speaking out, than to live and be silent.”