Zhuang Zhou (commonly known as Zhuangzi), was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BC during the Warring States period, a period corresponding to the summit of Chinese philosophy. These inspirational Zhuang Zhou Quotes will transform you.
Best Zhuang Zhou Quotes
- “When people do not ignore what they should ignore, but ignore what they should not ignore, this is known as ignorance.” – Zhuangzi
- “Do not struggle. Go with the flow of things, and you will find yourself at one with the mysterious unity of the Universe.” – Zhuangzi
- “Perfect happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.” – Zhuangzi
- “The perfect man uses his mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing. It regrets nothing. It receives but does not keep.” – Zhuangzi
- “Your preciousness lies in your essence; it cannot be lost by anything that happens.” – Zhuangzi
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“A petty thief is put in jail. A great brigand becomes a ruler of a Nation.” – Zhuangzi
- “The greatest tragedy that can befall a person is the atrophy of his mind.” – Zhuangzi
- “Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education.” – Zhuangzi
- “When deeds and words are in accord, the whole world is transformed.” – Zhuangzi
- “Breathing control gives man strength, vitality, inspiration, and magic powers.” – Zhuangzi
- “A path is made by walking on it.” – Zhuangzi
- “Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end. There is existence without limitation; there is continuity without a starting point.” – Zhuangzi, Zhuangzi Quotes are mostly attributed to Zhuang Zhou who contributed to the book.
- “Let your mind wander in the pure and simple. Be one with the infinite. Let all things take their course.” – Zhuangzi
- “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.” – Zhuangzi
- “Take care of your body, then the rest will automatically become stronger.” – Zhuangzi
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“Silence and non-action are the root of all things.” – Zhuangzi
- “Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.” – Zhuangzi
- “A frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean.” – Zhuangzi
- “My opinion is that you never find happiness until you stop looking for it.” – Zhuangzi
- “Words exist because of meaning; once you’ve gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.” – Zhuangzi
- “You are still guided by your expectations.” – Zhuangzi
- “The sound of water says what I think.” – Zhuangzi
- “Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free.” – Zhuangzi
- “Great knowledge is universal. Small knowledge is limited. Great words are inspiring; small words are chatter.” – Zhuangzi
- “If one is true to one’s inner self, and follows its wisdom, who is without a teacher?” – Zhuangzi
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“To be truly ignorant, be content with your own knowledge.” – Zhuangzi
- “Great knowledge sees all in one. Small knowledge breaks down into the many.” – Zhuangzi
- “Forget the years, forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home!” – Zhuangzi
- “The way is to man as rivers and lakes are to fish, the natural condition of life.” – Zhuangzi
- “You cannot speak of ocean to a well-frog, the creature of a narrower sphere. You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, the creature of a season.” – Zhuangzi
- “We are born from a quiet sleep, and we die to a calm awakening” – Zhuangzi
- “Do not let the artificial obliterate the natural; do not let will obliterate destiny; do not let virtue be sacrificed to fame.” – Zhuangzi
- “Good order results spontaneously when things are let alone” – Zhuangzi
- “There is a beginning. There is no beginning of that beginning … There is something. There is nothing.” – Zhuangzi
- “He who regards all things as one is a companion of Nature.” – Zhuangzi
- “The ultimate happiness is doing nothing.” – Zhuangzi
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“Life is finite, while knowledge is infinite.” – Zhuangzi
- “When affirmation and negation came into being, Tao faded. After Tao faded, then came one-sided attachments.” – Zhuangzi
- “The World is Large – Its beauty indescrible.” – Zhuangzi
- “The creature born is the creature dying.” – Zhuangzi
- “Running around accusing others is not as good as laughing. And enjoying a good laugh is not as good as going along with things.” – Zhuangzi
- “He who knows he is a fool is not the biggest fool; He who knows he is confused is not in the worst confusion.” – Zhuangzi
- “Can a man cling to the positive without any negative in contrast to which it is seen to be positive? If he claims to do so he is a rouge or a madman.” – Zhuangzi
- “Each one’s destiny cannot be altered.” – Zhuangzi
- “For we can only know that we know nothing, and a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” – Zhuangzi
- “The perfect man of old looked after himself first before looking to help others.” – Zhuangzi
- “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.” – Zhuangzi
- “Heaven does without doing through its purity, Earth does without doing through its calmness.” – Zhuangzi
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“Fish live in water. Men die in it. Nature is diverse, and not all tastes are the same.” – Zhuangzi
- “He who pursues fame at the risk of losing his self is not a scholar.” – Zhuangzi
- “Once Zhuangzi dreamt, he was a butterfly…” – Zhuangzi
- “Everything has what is innate, everything has what is necessary.” – Zhuangzi
- “Transmit the established facts; do not transmit words of exaggeration. If you do that, you will probably come out all right.” – Zhuangzi
- “If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind.” – Zhuangzi
- “Tao is the source of both fullness and emptiness. But it is itself neither fullness nor emptiness.” – Zhuangzi
- “Are you and I perchance caught up in a dream from which we have not yet awakened?” – Zhuangzi
- “To have a human form is a joyful thing.” – Zhuangzi
- “Sound intelligence promises victory in every battle.” – Zhuangzi
- “The true man breathes with his heels.” – Zhuangzi
