Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi
understanding doe finest
Understanding that rests in what it does not understand is the finest.
science doe highest
That knowledge which stops at what it does not know, is the highest knowledge.
past reality doe
Although things seem to be sometimes going up and sometimes descending, sometimes slipping away, nevertheless there is a reality, the same today as in the past. It does not change, for nothing can affect it. Could we not say it is one great harmony? So why shouldn't we ask about it...
heaven earth doe
Heaven does without doing through its purity, Earth does without doing through its calmness.
nature doe satisfied
Let everything be allowed to do what it naturally does, so that its nature will be satisfied.
chinese-philosopher dreamed dreamt flitting man
I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?
chinese-philosopher knowledge shut
Cherish that which is within you, and shut off that which is without; for much knowledge is a curse.
man
Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him?
absence happiness
Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.
dream memories real
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.
reality deception fool
Only fools imagine they are already awake. How clearly they understand everything! How easily they distinguish this deception from that reality!
dream wake-up might
When you're dreaming, you don't know it's a dream. You might even interpret a dream in your dream - and then wake up and realize it was all a dream. Perhaps a great awakening will reveal this to be a dream as well.
life men breathe
The true man breathes with his heels.
men useful-things futility
All men know the utility of useful things; but they do not know the utility of futility.