#zhuangzi

Once upon a time, I dreamed I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. Suddenly I awoke, and there I was, unmistakably Zhuangzi. But 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.

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

All men know the usefulness of the useful, but nobody knows the usefulness of the useless.

The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap. Words exist because of meaning. Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.

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.

A path is made by walking on it.

Great wisdom is generous; small wisdom is contentious. Great speech is quiet; small speech is noisy.

Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.

The perfect man employs his mind as a mirror; it grasps nothing, it refuses nothing, it receives but does not keep.

Those who follow the Dao turn away from self-interest and look to the source of all things.

When there is no peace within ourselves, it is vain to seek it from without.

To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.

Easy is right. Begin right and you are easy. Continue easy and you are right.

A dog is not considered good at barking, and a man is not considered wise at speaking.

Do not seek fame. Do not make plans. Do not be absorbed by activities. Do not think that you know.

The gnarled oak tree that no carpenter wants to cut down lives out its natural years in peace.

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

The frog in the well cannot conceive of the ocean, for it is limited by the narrowness of its domain.

The summer insect cannot conceive of ice, for it is bound to a single season.

Do not be an embodier of fame; do not be a storehouse of schemes; do not be an undertaker of projects; do not be a proprietor of wisdom.

Forget the years, forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home!

Cook Ding sliced through the ox with his blade finding the hollows and spaces between joints; his knife remained as sharp as if newly whetted.

Where there is space, the blade moves with effortless ease. So too does the spirit that does not force its way.

You look at the fish darting freely in the water and say, 'Look how happy they are.' How do you know? I know it by the joy I feel beside the river.

The torch of chaos and doubt is what the sage steers by.

Do not value the worldly prize of jade and gold above the unblemished integrity of your inner nature.

Great music has the fewest notes; great form is without shape; the Dao hides in nameless stillness.

When the water is still, it reflects the sky and trees with flawless clarity. When the mind is still, it reflects the universe.

A man does not gaze into running water to see his face; he gazes into still water.

Only stillness can impart stillness to others.