Top 10 Quotes by Zhuangzi (Zhuang Zhou)

Zhuangzi (Zhuang Zhou) was a Chinese philosopher during the Warring States period, around the 4th century BCE. A central figure in Daoism, he is known for his influential text Zhuangzi. His philosophy emphasizes spontaneity, freedom, and the relativity of human perspectives. Zhuangzi advocated for a naturalistic and intuitive approach to life, questioning the value of intellectual pursuits and knowledge. His ideas had a lasting impact on Daoist and Chinese philosophical thought, promoting a worldview that values harmony with nature and the acceptance of change and uncertainty.

Top 10 Quotes by Zhuangzi (Zhuang Zhou)

1. "Once Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly. A butterfly fluttering happily around— was he revealing what he himself meant to be? He knew nothing of Zhou."
— Zhuangzi

2. "For we can only know that we know nothing, and a little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
— Zhuangzi

3. "My opinion is that you never find happiness until you stop looking for it."
— Zhuangzi

4. "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

5. "When there is no more separation between 'this' and 'that,' it is called the still-point of the Tao. At the still point in the center of the circle one can see the infinite in all things."
— Zhuangzi

6. "Your mind must become one, do not try to understand with your ears but with your heart. Indeed, not with your heart but with your soul."
— Zhuangzi

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

8. "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

9. "Let everything be allowed to do what it naturally does, so that its nature will be satisfied."
— Zhuangzi

10. "All the fish needs is to get lost in the water. All man needs is to get lost in Tao."
— Zhuangzi