Zhuangzi

“When a man does not dwell in self, then things will of themselves reveal their forms to him. His movement is like that of water, his stillness like that of a mirror, his responses like those of an echo.”

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

“In the world everyone knows enough to pursue what he does not know, but no one knows enough to pursue what he already knows. Everyone knows enough to condemn what he takes to be no good, but no one knows enough to condemn what he has already taken to be good.”

“Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.”

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

“Men honor what lies within the sphere of their knowledge, but do not realize how dependent they are on what lies beyond it.”

“The man who has forgotten self may be said to have entered Heaven.”

“Only he who has no use for the empire is fit to be entrusted with it.”

“The Perfect Man uses his mind like a mirror - going after nothing, welcoming nothing, responding but not storing.”

“Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education.”

“Today, I went to sleep under a plum tree. There, I dreamed I was a butterfly, flying so pleasently. Then, I fell asleep, and the dream ended. Now- I have to ask myself - am I Zhuang Zi who dreamed of a butterfly? Or am I that butterfly, dreaming I am Zhuang Zi?”

“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?”

“When men do not forget what can be forgotten but forget what cannot be forgotten - that may be called true forgetting.”

“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.”

“You can't discuss the ocean with a well frog - he's limited by the space he lives in. You can't discuss ice with a summer insect - he's bound to a single season.”

“Cherish that which is within you, and shut off that which is without; for much knowledge is a curse.”