Zhuangzi Quotes & Sayings

Those who follow the Tao are of clear mind. They do not load their mind with anxieties and are flexible in their adjustment to external conditions. — Zhuangzi

Therefore, the truly great man, although he does not injure others, does not credit himself with charity and mercy (these are natural to him). He does not seek gain, but does not despise his followers who do. He struggles not for wealth, but does not take credit for leaving it alone ... The ranks and emoluments of the world are to him no cause for joy, it's punishments and shame no cause for disgrace. — Zhuangzi

Forget about life, forget about worrying about right and wrong. Plunge into the unknown and the endless and find your place there! — Zhuangzi

I have heard that he who knows what is enough will not let himself be entangled by thoughts of gain; that he who really understands how to find satisfaction will not be afraid of other kinds of loss; and that he who practices the cultivation of what is within him will not be ashamed because he holds no position in society. — Zhuangzi

To use what has a boundary to pursue what is limitless is dangerous; with this knowledge, if we still go after knowledge, we will run into trouble. Do not do what is good in order to gain praise. If you do what is bad be sure to avoid the punishment. Follow the Middle Course, for this is the way to keep yourself together, to sustain your life, to care for your parents and to live for many years. — Zhuangzi

The non-action of the wise man is not inaction. It is not studied. It is not shaken by anything. The sage is quiet because he is not moved, not because he wills to be quiet ... Joy does all things without concern. For emptiness, stillness, tranquillity, tastelessness, silence, and non-action are the root of all things. — Zhuangzi

Joy and anger,
sorrow and happiness,
caution and remorse
Come upon us by turns,
with ever changing mood.

They come like music from hollows,
like wood when played by the wind,
or how mushrooms grow from the damp.

Daily and nightly they alternate within
but we cannot tell whence they spring.

Without these emotions I should not be.
Without me, they would have no instrument — Zhuangzi

When deeds and words are in accord, the whole world is transformed. — Zhuangzi

Your life has a limit, but knowledge has none. If you use what is limited to pursue what has no limit, you will be in danger. — Zhuangzi

If we look on heaven and earth as a single crucible, and on the creator as the founder, would there be any place I could not go? When it is time, I will fall asleep, and when the right time comes, I will wake up again. — Zhuangzi

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? — Zhuangzi

Cease striving. Then there will be transformation. — Zhuangzi

With all the confusion in the world these days, no matter how often I point the way, what good does it do? And if I know it does no good and still make myself do it, this too is a kind of confusion. So it is best to leave things alone and not force them. If I don't force things, at least I won't cause anyone any worry. — Zhuangzi

The Spirit Tower has its guardian, but unless it understands who its guardian is, it cannot be guarded. — Zhuangzi

Never admire a man by his strength; judge him in how he uses it- A way is made by walking it — Zhuangzi

If you'd called me an ox, I'd have said I was an ox; if you'd called me a horse, I'd have said I was a horse. If the reality is there and you refuse to accept the name men give it, you'll only lay yourself open to double harassment. — Zhuangzi

There are no greater adversaries than yin and yang, because nothing in Heaven or on Earth escapes them. But it is not yin and yang that do this, it is your heart that makes it so. — Zhuangzi

If a man, having lashed two hulls together, is crossing a river, and an empty boat happens along and bumps into him, no matter how hot-tempered the man may be, he will not get angry. But if there should be someone in the other boat, then he will shout out to haul this way or veer that. If his first shout is unheeded, he will shout again, and if that is not heard, he will shout a third time, this time with a torrent of curses following. In the first instance, he wasn't angry; now in the second he is. Earlier he faced emptiness, now he faces occupancy. If a man could succeed in making himself empty, and in that way wander through the world, then who could do him harm? — Zhuangzi

Do not use life to give life to death. Do not use death to bring death to life. — Zhuangzi

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

Words have value; what is of value in words is meaning. Meaning has something it is pursuing, but the thing that it is pursuing cannot be put into words and handed down. — 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. The man in the worst confusion will end his life without ever getting straightened out; the biggest fool will end his life without ever seeing the light. If three men are traveling along and one is confused, they will still get where they are going - because confusion is in the minority. But if two of them are confused, then they can walk until they are exhausted and never get anywhere - because confusion is in the majority. — Zhuangzi

Transmit the established facts; do not transmit words of exaggeration. If you do that, you will probably come out all right. — Zhuangzi

Men of this world all rejoice in others being like themselves, and object to others not being like themselves. — Zhuangzi

To have a human form is a joyful thing. — Zhuangzi

He who pursues fame at the risk of losing his self is not a scholar. — Zhuangzi

He who dreams ... does not know he is dreaming ... Only when he awakens does he know he has dreamt. But there is also the great awakening (ta-chiao), and then we see that [everything] here is nothing but a great dream. Of course, the fools believe that they are already awake-what foolishness! Confucius and you, both of you, are dreams; and I, who tell you this, am also a dream. — Zhuangzi

He who knows the activities of Nature lives according to Nature. — Zhuangzi

Good fortune is as light as a feather, but nobody knows how to pick it up. Misfortune is as heavy as earth, but nobody knows how to stay out of it's way. — Zhuangzi

Beneath multiple specific and individual distinctions, beneath innumerable and incessant transformations, at the bottom of the circular evolution without beginning or end, there hides a law, a unique nature participated in by all beings, in which this common participation produces a ground of common harmony. — Zhuangzi

Men all pay homage to what understanding understands, but no one understands enough to rely upon what understanding does not understand and thereby come to understand. — Zhuangzi

Look at this window: it is nothing but a hole in the wall, but because of it the whole room is full of light. So when the faculties are empty, the heart is full of light. — Zhuangzi

Perfect happiness is the absence of striving for happiness. — Zhuangzi

To examine oneself makes good use of sight. — Zhuangzi

Take care of your body, then the rest will automatically become stronger. — Zhuangzi

Heaven is in everything: follow the light, hide in the cloudiness and begin in what is. Do this and your understanding will be like not understanding and your wisdom will be like not being wise. By not being wise you will become wise later. — Zhuangzi

If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind! The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe, the speculum of all creation. — Zhuangzi

To exercise no-thought and rest in nothing is the first step toward resting in Tao. To start from nowhere and follow no road is the first step toward attaining Tao. — Zhuangzi

Either in conflict with others or in harmony with them, we go through life like a runaway horse, unable to stop. — Zhuangzi

Goods and possessions are no gain in his eyes. He stays far from wealth and honor. Long life is no ground for joy, nor early death for sorrow. Success is not for him to be pround of, failure is no shame. Had he all the world's power he would not hold it as his own. If he conquered everything he would not take it to himself. His glory is in knowing that all things come together in One and life and death are equal. — Zhuangzi

Only the intelligent knows how to identify all things as one ... When one is at ease with himself, one is near Tao. This is to let Nature take its own course. — Zhuangzi

As regards the quietude of the sage, he is not quiet because quietness is said to be good. He is quiet because the multitude of things cannot disturb his quietude. When water is still, one's beard and eyelashes are reflected in it. A skilled carpenter uses it in a level to obtain a measurement. If still water is so clear, how much more are the mental faculties! The mind of the sage is the mirror of heaven and earth in which all things are reflected. — Zhuangzi

Those who realize their folly are not true fools. — Zhuangzi

Rest in inaction, and the world will be reformed of itself; Forget your body and spit forth intelligence. Ignore all differences and become one with the Infinite. Release your mind, and free your spirit. Be vacuous, be devoid of soul. Thus will things grow and prosper and return to their Rust and Rest. Returning to their Root. Returning to their Root without their knowing it, the result will be a formless whole which will never be cut up, to know it is to cut it up. (Great Nebulous says to General Clouds) — Zhuangzi

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

The ten thousand things belong to one storehouse and life and death share the same body. — Zhuangzi

All men know the use of the useful, but nobody knows the use of the useless! — Zhuangzi

To guard yourself against thieves who slash open suitcases, rifle through bags and smash open boxes, one should strap the bags and lock them. The world at large knows that this shows wisdom. However, when a master thief comes, he simply picks up the suitcase, lifts the bag, carries off the box and runs away with them, his only concern being whether the straps and locks will hold! In such an instance, what seemed like wisdom on the part of the owner surely turns out to have been of use only to the master thief! — Zhuangzi

A beam or pillar can be used to batter down a city wall, but it is no good for stopping up a little hole - this refers to a difference in function. Thoroughbreds like Qiji and Hualiu could gallop a thousand li in one day, but when it came to catching rats they were no match for the wildcat or the weasel - this refers to a difference in skill. The horned owl catches fleas at night and can spot the tip of a hair, but when daylight comes, no matter how wide it opens its eyes, it cannot see a mound or a hill - this refers to a difference in nature. Now do you say, that you are going to make Right your master and do away with Wrong, or make Order your master and do away with Disorder? If you do, then you have not understood the principle of heaven and earth or the nature of the ten thousand things. This is like saying that you are going to make Heaven your master and do away with Earth, or make Yin your master and do away with Yang. Obviously it is impossible. — Zhuangzi

Fish live in water. Men die in it.Nature is diverse, and not all tastes are the same. — Zhuangzi

Life comes from the earth and life returns to the earth. — Zhuangzi

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

You will always find an answer in the sound of water. — Zhuangzi

Birth is not the beginning, Death is not the end. — Zhuangzi

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

Tzu Li went to see Tzu Lai who was dying. Leaning against the door, he said, 'Great is the Creator! What will he make of you now? Will he make you into a rat's liver? Will he make you into an insect's leg?' Tzu-Lai replied, 'The universe gave me my body so I may be carried, my life so I may work, my old age so I may repose, and my death so I may rest. To regard life as good is the way to regard death as good ... If I regard the universe as a great furnace and creation as a master foundryman, why should anywhere I go not be all right?' — Zhuangzi

If a man crosses a river
and an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
Even though he be bad tempered man
He will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
He will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again, and yet again, and begin cursing.
And all because someone is in the boat.
Yet if the boat were empty,
He would not be shouting, and not angry.
If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you — Zhuangzi

When an archer shoots for enjoyment, he has all his skill; when he shoots for a brass buckle, he gets nervous; when he shoots for a prize of gold, he begins to see two targets. — Zhuangzi

Life is finite, While knowledge is infinite. — 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

Things joined by profit, when pressed by misfortune and danger, will cast each other aside. — Zhuangzi

That knowledge which stops at what it does not know, is the highest knowledge. — Zhuangzi

The hidden so-called scholars of old did not hide themselves and refuse to be seen. They did not close the door on their words and refuse to let them out. They did not shut away their wisdom and refuse to share it. But those times were all haywire. If it had been possible for them to act, they could have done great things, bringing all to Oneness without any sign of doing so. However, the times were not favorable and it was not possible, so they put down deep roots, remained still and waited. this was the Tao by which they survived. — Zhuangzi

Where is that man who has forgotten words that I may have a word with him? — Zhuangzi

Understanding that rests in what it does not understand is the finest. — Zhuangzi

Paraphrased: When Chuang Tzu was about to die, his disciples began planning a splendid funeral. However some disciples expressed concern that given a particular arrangement, birds and kites would eat his remains. Chuang Tzu replied, Well, above ground I shall be eaten by crows and kites, below it by ants and worms. What do you have against birds? — Zhuangzi

I've heard my teacher say, where there are machines, there are bound to be machine worries; where there are machine worries, there are bound to be machine hearts. With a machine heart in your breast, you've spoiled what was pure and simple; and without the pure and simple, the life of the spirit knows no rest. — Zhuangzi

The space under the sky is occupied by all things in their unity. — Zhuangzi

Suppose I try saying something. What way do I have of knowing that if I say I know something I don't really not know it? Or what way do I have of knowing that if I say I don't know something I don't really in fact know it? — Zhuangzi

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

Flow
with whatever may happen + let your mind be free.
.. stay centered, by accepting whatever you're doing.
.. this is the ultimate. — Zhuangzi

He who steals a belt buckle pays with his life; he who steals a state gets to be a feudal lord. — Zhuangzi

Standards are different for all things, so the standard set by man is by no means the only 'certain' standard. If you mistake what is relative for something certain, you have strayed far from the ultimate truth. — Zhuangzi

Only fools imagine they are already awake. How clearly they understand everything! How easily they distinguish this deception from that reality! — Zhuangzi

The tao is made because we walk it,things become what they are called. — Zhuangzi

It is only when the formed learns from the unformed that there is understanding. — Zhuangzi

Ah," said Lien Shu, "it is true that a blind person cannot appreciate beautiful patterns and forms, and the deaf cannot appreciate the music of bells and drums. Yet blindness and deafness do not only afflict people physically, they also exist in the minds and attitudes of people. — Zhuangzi

Can you be a little baby? The baby howls all day, yet its throat never gets hoarse - harmony at its height! The baby makes fists all day, yet its fingers never get cramped - virtue is all it holds to. The baby stares all day without blinking its eyes - it has no preferences in the world of externals. — Zhuangzi

The raven hatches its young; the fish spew forth their eggs; the slim-waisted wasp transforms, and when a younger brother comes along the elder brother weeps. For too long I have not been able to work in harmony with these changes. So, given that I did not play my part in harmony with others, how could I expect to change people? — Zhuangzi

When I speak of good hearing, I do not mean listening to others; I mean simply listening to yourself. When I speak of good eyesight, I do not mean looking at others; I mean simply looking at yourself. He who does not look at himself but looks at others, who does not get hold of himself but gets hold of others, is getting what other men have got and failing to get what he himself has got. He finds joy in what brings joy to other men, but finds no joy in what would bring joy to himself. — Zhuangzi

Life, death, preservation, loss, failure, success, poverty, riches, worthiness, unworthiness, slander, fame, hunger, thirst, cold, heat - these are the alternations of the world, the workings of fate. Day and night they change place before us, and wisdom cannot spy out their source. Therefore, they should not be enough to destroy your harmony; they should not be allowed to enter the storehouse of the spirit. If you can harmonize and delight in them, master them and never be at a loss for joy; if you can do this day and night without break and make it be spring with everything, mingling with all and creating the moment within your own mind - this is what I call being whole in power. — Zhuangzi

Once Chuang Chou dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know he was Chuang Chou. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakeable Chuang Chou. But he didn't know if he was Chuang Chou who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Chuang Chou. — Zhuangzi

Tao is obscured when men understand only one pair of opposites, or concentrate only on a partial aspect of being. Then clear expression also becomes muddled by mere wordplay, affirming this one aspect and denying all the rest. The pivot of Tao passes through the center where all affirmations and denials converge. He who grasps the pivot is at the still-point from which all movements and oppositions can be seen in their right relationship ... Abandoning all thought of imposing a limit or taking sides, he rests in direct intuition. — Zhuangzi

How do I know that loving life is not a delusion? How do I know that in hating death I am not like a man who, having left home in his youth, has forgotten the way back?
Lady Li was the daughter of the border guard of Ai. When she was first taken captive and brought to the state of Jin, she wept until her tears drenched the collar of her robe. But later, when she went to live in the palace of the ruler, shared his couch with him, and ate the delicious meats of his table, she wondered why she had ever wept. How do I know that the dead do not wonder why they ever longed for life? — Zhuangzi

In an archery contest, when the stakes are earthenware tiles a contestant shoots with skill. When the stakes are belt buckles he becomes hesitant, and if the stakes are pure gold he becomes nervous and confused. There is no difference as to his skil. — Zhuangzi

Let your mind wander in simplicity, blend your spirit with the vastness, follow along with things the way they are, and make no room for personal views - then the world will be governed. — Zhuangzi

We can't expect a blind man to appreciate beautiful patterns or a deaf man to listen to bells and drums. And blindness and deafness are not confined to the body alone - the understanding has them, too. — Zhuangzi

The Book of Chuang Tzu is like a travelogue. As such, it meanders between continents, pauses to discuss diet, gives exchange rates, breaks off to speculate, offers a bus timetable, tells an amusing incident, quotes from poetry, relates a story, cites scripture. To try and make it read like a novel or a philosophical handbook is simply to ask it, this travelogue of life, to do something it was never designed to do. And always listen out for the mocking laughter of Chuang Tzu. — Zhuangzi

We are born from a quiet sleep, and we die to a calm awakening — Zhuangzi

The hearing that is only in the ears is one thing. The hearing of the understanding is another. But the hearing of the spirit is not limited to any one faculty to the ear, or to the mind. — Zhuangzi

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

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 ... — Zhuangzi

Am I a human dreaming I am a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming I am a human? — 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

I was given life because it was my time, and now I take leave of it according to the same law. Content with the natural sequence of these events, I am touched neither by joy nor by grief. I am simply hanging in the air ... incapable of freeing myself, tied by the threads of things. — Zhuangzi

In the midst of darkness, he alone sees the dawn; in the midst of the soundless, he alone hears harmony. — Zhuangzi

The sage has the sun and moon by his side and the universe under his arm. He blends everything into a harmonious whole ... He blends the disparities of ten thousand years into one complete purity. All things are blended like this and mutually involve each other. — Zhuangzi

When affirmation and negation came into being, Tao faded. After Tao faded, then came one-sided attachments. — Zhuangzi

The creature born is the creature dying. — Zhuangzi

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. No drives, no compulsions, no needs, no attractions: Then your affairs are under control. You are a free man. — Zhuangzi