110+ Zhuangzi Quotes On Death, Wisdom And Taoism

Zhuangzi was a Chinese philosopher who lived during the 4th century BCE. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Chinese philosophy and is best known for his philosophical text, the Zhuangzi. He is credited with introducing the concept of relativism and skepticism to Chinese thought, and his works are seen as a major influence on Taoism and Chinese Buddhism. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Zhuangzi on death, wisdom, taoism.

Top 10 Zhuangzi Quotes

1. Perfect happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.
2. A petty thief is put in jail. A great brigand becomes a ruler of a Nation.
3. Do not struggle. Go with the flow of things, and you will find yourself at one with the mysterious unity of the Universe.
4. 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.
5. Let your mind wander in the pure and simple. Be one with the infinite. Let all things take their course.
6. The torch of doubt and chaos, this is what the sage steers by.
7. The perfect man uses his mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing. It regrets nothing. It receives but does not keep.
8. 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.
9. We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away.
10. Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education.

Zhuangzi Image Quotes

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

Zhuangzi Short Quotes

• My opinion is that you never find happiness until you stop looking for it.
• Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free.
• A frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean.
• The sound of water says what I think.
• Life comes from the earth and life returns to the earth.
• Take care of your body, then the rest will automatically become stronger.
• Let everything be allowed to do what it naturally does, so that its nature will be satisfied.
• For we can only know that we know nothing, and a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
• The greatest tragedy that can befall a person is the atrophy of his mind.
• Luck implies an absolute absence of any principle.

Zhuangzi Quotes About Death

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

The living all find death unpleasant; men mourn over it. And yet, what is death, but the unbending of the bow and its return to its case? — 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? — 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

And how do I know that the hate of death is not like a man who has lost his home when young and does not know where his home is to return to? — Zhuangzi

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

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

Compare birth with death, compare death with life; compare what is possible with what is not possible and compare what is not possible with what is possible; because there is, there is not, and because there is not, there is. — Zhuangzi

Zhuangzi Quotes About Wisdom

Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious. Great speech is impassioned, small speech cantankerous. — 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

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

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

My description of wisdom has nothing to do with benevolence and righteousness, it is to do with being wise in one's own virtue, nothing more. My description of being has nothing to do with benevolence and righteousness, it is that one should be led by one's innate nature, nothing more. — Zhuangzi

If one is true to one's inner self, and follows its wisdom, who is without a teacher? — Zhuangzi

The eye is a menace to clear sight, the ear is a menace to subtle hearing, the mind is a menace to wisdom, every organ of the senses is a menace to its own capacity. — 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

When people do not ignore what they should ignore, but ignore what they should not ignore, this is known as ignorance. — Zhuangzi

True depth of understanding is wide and steady, Shallow understanding is lazy and wandering, Words of wisdom are precise and clear — Zhuangzi

Zhuangzi Quotes About Taoism

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

Great knowledge sees all in one. Small knowledge breaks down into the many. — Zhuangzi

To regard the fundamental as the essence, to regard things as coarse, to regard accumulation as deficiency, and to dwell quietly alone with the spiritual and the intelligent - herein lie the techniques of Tao of the ancients. — 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

By ethical argument and moral principle the greatest crimes are eventually shown to have been necessary, and, in fact, a signal benefit to mankind. — Zhuangzi

Man may rest in the eternal fitness; he may abide in the everlasting; and roam from the beginning to the end of all creation. He may bring his nature to a condition of ONE, he may nourish his strength; he may harmonise his virtue, and so put himself into partnership with God. — Zhuangzi

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

The man who has some respect for his person keeps his carcass out of sight, hides himself as perfectly as he can. — Zhuangzi

Tao is beyond words and beyond things. It is not expressed either in word or in silence. Where there is no longer word or silence Tao is apprehended. — 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

Zhuangzi Quotes About Accepting

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

If you have grasped the purpose of life there is no point in trying to make life into something it is not or cannot be. — Zhuangzi

The creature born is the creature dying. — Zhuangzi

Zhuangzi Quotes About Word

Great knowledge is universal. Small knowledge is limited. Great words are inspiring; small words are chatter. — Zhuangzi

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

I am going to try speaking some reckless words, and I want you to try to listen recklessly. — Zhuangzi

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

Yet the stupid believe they are awake, busily and brightly assuming they understand things, calling this man ruler, that one herdsman – how dense! Confucius and you are both dreaming! And when I say you are dreaming, I am dreaming, too. Words like these will be labeled the Supreme Swindle. — Zhuangzi

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

Words exist because of meaning; once you’ve gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. — Zhuangzi

Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him? — Zhuangzi

The fish trap exists because of the fish: once you have gotten the meanings, you can forget the words. — Zhuangzi

Zhuangzi Famous Quotes And Sayings

True men" ... are strong willed, have dignity in their demeanor, serenity in their expression. They are cool like autumn, warm like spring. Their passions arise like the four seasons, in harmony with the ten thousand creatures, and no one knows their limits. — Zhuangzi

We possess our body by chance and we are already pleased with it. If our physical bodies went through ten thousand transformations without end, how incomparable would this joy be! Therefore the sage roams freely in the realm in which nothing can escape, but all endures. — Zhuangzi

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

A battering ram can knock down a city wall, but it cannot stop a hole. Different things have different uses. — 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

He who does his work like a machine grows a heart like a machine and he who carries the heart of a machine in his breast loses his simplicity. He who has lost his simplicity becomes unsure in the strivings of his soul. — Zhuangzi

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

The Tao is in all things, in their divisions and their fullness. What I dislike about divisions is that they multiply, and what i dislike about multiplication is that it makes people want to hold fast to it. So people go out and forget to return, seeing little more than ghosts. — 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

The Portal of God is nonexistence. All things sprang from nonexistence. Existence could not make existence existence. It must have proceeded from nonexistence, and nonexistence and nothing are one. Herein is the abiding place of the sage. — 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

Men do not mirror themselves in running water - they mirror themselves in still water. Only what is still can still the stillness of other things. — Zhuangzi

All existing things are really one. We regard those that are beautiful and rare as valuable, and those that are ugly as foul and rotten. The foul and rotten may come to be transformed into what is rare and valuable, and the rare and valuable into what is foul and rotten. — 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

The Way is to man as rivers and lakes are to fish, the natural condition of life. — Zhuangzi

'I shall have heaven and earth for my coffin and its shell; the sun and moon for my two round symbols of jade, the stars and constellations for my pearls and jewels; and all things assisting as the mourners. Will not the provisions for my funeral be complete? What could you add to them?' — Zhuangzi

The sage embraces things. Ordinary men discriminate amongst them and parade their discriminations before others. So I say; those who discriminate, fail to see. — Zhuangzi

The ultimate happiness is doing nothing. — Zhuangzi

The World is Large - Its beauty indescrible. — Zhuangzi

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

Human life is limited, but knowledge is limitless. To drive the limited in pursuit of the limitless is fatal; and to presume that one really knows is fatal indeed! — Zhuangzi

Those who seek to satisfy the mind of man by hampering it with ceremonies and music and affecting charity and devotion have lost their original nature. — Zhuangzi

The perfect man employs his mind as a mirror. — Zhuangzi

Heaven does without doing through its purity, Earth does without doing through its calmness. — Zhuangzi

Life is finite, While knowledge is infinite. — Zhuangzi

Listening stops with the ears, the mind stops with recognition, but spirit is empty and waits on all things. — Zhuangzi

If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind. — 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

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

The hundred parts of the body are all complete in their places. Which should one prefer? Do you like them all equally? Are they all servants? Are they unable to control one another and need a ruler? Or do they become rulers and servants in turn? Is there any true ruler other than themselves? — Zhuangzi

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

Sound intelligence promises victory in every battle. — 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

There may be difficulty at the moment, but I will not lose the Virtue that I possess. It is when the ice and snow are on them that we see the strength of the cypress and the pine. I am grateful for this trouble around me, because it gives me an opportunity to realize how fortunate I am. — Zhuangzi

Hence it demands the emptiness of all the faculties. And when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens. There is then a direct grasp of what is right there before you that can never be heard with the ear or understood with the mind. — 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

Who knows when the end is reached? Death may be the beginning of life. How do I know that love of life is not a delusion after all? How do I know that he who dreads to die is as a child who has lost the way and cannot find his way home? How do I know that the dead repent of having previously clung to life? — Zhuangzi

If there is existence, there must be non-existence. And if there was a time when nothing existed, there must have been a time before that - when even nothing did not exist. Suddenly, when nothing came into existence, could one really say whether it belonged to the category of existence or non-existence? — 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

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

Being is thoughtless-beyond and beneath all categories of thought. Expression is the realization of creative thought. Being is still; expression, moving. But then if I do not strive, who will? — Zhuangzi

Big? Sure. But, he can't catch mice! So for your big tree. No use? Then plant it in the wasteland - in emptiness. Walk idly around it and rest under it's shadow. No axe or saw prepares its end. No one will ever cut it down. Useless? You should worry!. — Zhuangzi

There is no bandit so powerful as Nature. The interaction of the positive and the negative principles, which produces the visible universe. In the whole universe there is no escape from it. — Zhuangzi

The love of a Sage for his fellows likewise finds expression amongst mankind. Were he not told sop, he would not know that he loved his fellows. But whether he knows it or whether he does not know it, whether he hears it or whether he does not hear it, his love for his is without end, and mankind cease not to repose therein. — Zhuangzi

The Tao has no place for pettiness, and nor has Virtue. Pettiness is dangerous to Virtue; pettiness is dangerous to the Tao. It is said, rectify yourself and be done. — 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

A man who knows he is a fool is not a great fool. — Zhuangzi

I know the joy of fishes in the river through my own joy, as I go walking along the same river. — Zhuangzi

Everything has what is innate,everything has what is necessary. — Zhuangzi

For all people strive to grasp what they do not know, while none strive to grasp what they already know; and all strive to discredit what they do not excel in, while none strive to discredit what they do excel in. This is why there is chaos. — Zhuangzi

Are you and I perchance caught up in a dream from which we have not yet awakened? — Zhuangzi

Horses have hoofs to carry them over frost and snow; hair, to protect them from wind and cold. They eat grass and drink water, and fling up their heels.... Such is the real nature of horses. — Zhuangzi

The true man of the past waited upon Heaven when dealing with people and did not wait upon people when dealing with Heaven. — 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

To have attained to the human form is a source of joy... What an incomparable bliss it is to undergo these countless transitions. — 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

The perfect man of old looked after himself first before looking to help others. — Zhuangzi

When I talk about having good hearing, I don't mean just listening, but listening to yourself. When I talk about good eyesight, I don't mean just looking, but looking at yourself. — Zhuangzi

A sage steers by the bright light of confusion and doubt. — Zhuangzi

There is a saying that Heaven is internal, humanity external and Virtue comes from the Heavenly. Know Heaven and humanity's actions, root yourself in Heaven and follow Virture.Then you can bend, stretch, rush forward or hold back, because you will always return to the core and it will be said you have achieved the supreme. — Zhuangzi

My most interesting memory is of my first real dream. I was a caterpillar, wriggling around in the earth, just the way a caterpillar would. Following my caterpillar whims, completely unaware of anyone. — Zhuangzi

When I look at what the world does and where people nowadays believe they can find happiness, I am not sure that that is true happiness. The happiness of these ordinary people seems to consist in slavishly imitating the majority, as if this were their only choice. And yet they all believe they are happy. I cannot decide whether that is happiness or not. Is there such a thing as happiness? — Zhuangzi

All men know the utility of useful things; but they do not know the utility of futility. — Zhuangzi

If you wish to care for your body, first of all take care of material things, though even when you have all the things you want, the body can still be uncared for — Zhuangzi

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

Life Lessons by Zhuangzi

1. Zhuangzi taught that life should be enjoyed and appreciated for its natural beauty, and that we should strive to live in harmony with the world around us.
2. He also emphasized the importance of finding balance in life, and that we should strive to stay in touch with our inner selves and be aware of our own limitations.
3. Finally, Zhuangzi taught that we should be open to change and accept it as a part of life, rather than trying to resist it.