Zhuangzi Quotes

Quotes about:

• 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.

  Zhuangzi

  Forget, Obsessed, Existence

  189 Copy quote

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

  Zhuangzi

  Spiritual, Inspirational Life, Struggle

  103 Copy quote

• Perfect happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.

  Zhuangzi

  Happiness, Happy, Perfect

  134 Copy quote

• 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.

  Zhuangzi

  Wise, Wisdom, Men

  56 Copy quote

• A path is made by walking on it.

  Zhuangzi

  Life, Path, Made

  76 Copy quote

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

  Zhuangzi

  Regret, Men, Mirrors

  101 Copy quote

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

  Zhuangzi

  Motivational, Encouraging, Spiritual

  Zhuangzi, Gia-fu Feng (1974). “Chuang tsu: Inner chapters”, Vintage

  98 Copy quote

• 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.

  Zhuangzi

  Fall, Winter, Autumn

  Zhuangzi (1974). “Chuang tsu: Inner chapters”, Vintage Books USA

  83 Copy quote

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

  Zhuangzi

  Wisdom, Ignorance, People

  42 Copy quote

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

  Zhuangzi

  Forget

  18 Copy quote

• Verily God does not reward man for what he does, but for what he is.

  Zhuangzi

  Men, Understanding, Doe

  12 Copy quote

• For all people strive to grasp what they do not know, while none strive to grasp what they already know; and all strive to discredit what they do not excel in, while none strive to discredit what they do excel in. This is why there is chaos.

  Zhuangzi

  Knowledge, People, Chaos

  11 Copy quote

• 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.

  Zhuangzi

  Life, Thinking, Heaven

  Zhuangzi (1974). “Chuang tsu: Inner chapters”, Vintage Books USA

  50 Copy quote

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

  Zhuangzi

  Birth, Starting, Ends

  54 Copy quote

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

  Zhuangzi

  Lying, Essence, Lost

  42 Copy quote

• A frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean.

  Zhuangzi

  Ocean, Frogs, Wells

  44 Copy quote

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

  Zhuangzi

  Way, Made, Clear

  13 Copy quote

• 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.

  Zhuangzi

  Dream, Butterfly, Men

  'Chuang Tzu' (1889, translated by H. A. Giles) ch. 2

  133 Copy quote

• Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education.

  Zhuangzi

  Inspirational, Education, Teacher

  Zhuangzi (1927). “Musings of a Chinese Mystic: Selections from the Philosophy of Chuang Tzŭ”

  70 Copy quote

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

  Zhuangzi

  Jail, Thieves, Petty

  127 Copy quote

• The sound of water says what I think.

  Zhuangzi

  Nature, Thinking, Water

  32 Copy quote

• Great understanding is broad and unhurried; little understanding is cramped and busy

  Zhuangzi

  Understanding, Littles, Busy

  Zhuangzi, Burton Watson, Columbia College (Columbia University) (1968). “The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu”, p.37, Columbia University Press

  9 Copy quote

• 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?

  Zhuangzi

  Inspirational, Philosophy, Philosophical

  Zhuangzi, Burton Watson, Columbia College (Columbia University) (1968). “The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu”, p.302, Columbia University Press

  97 Copy quote

• Breathing control gives man strength, vitality, inspiration, and magic powers.

  Zhuangzi

  Inspiration, Men, Breathing

  12 Copy quote

• Let your mind wander in the pure and simple. Be one with the infinite. Let all things take their course.

  Zhuangzi

  Simple, Mind, Infinite

  Zhuangzi (2000). “Chuan Tsu: Inner Chapters”

  93 Copy quote

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