Zhuangzi

You are not I. How do you know I don't know the happiness of fish?

Let's go back to the beginning. When you asked 'How do you know the happiness of fish?' you already knew that I knew it when you asked the question. I knew it by standing here on the Hao River.

Above ground, I'll be eaten by the crows and kites; below ground, I'll be eaten by the ants and molecrickets. You rob the one of them to give to the other; how come you like them so much better?

I have heaven and earth for my outer and inner coffin, the sun and moon for my pair of jade discs, the stars for my pearls, the myriad creatures for my farewell presents. Is anything missing from my funeral paraphernalia? What will you add to these?

A monkey trainer tells his monkeys that he will give them three nuts in the morning and four in the evening. The monkeys are outraged. So the trainer changes course. He offers the monkeys four in the morning and three in the evening. Now the monkeys are happy.

Running around accusing others is not as good as laughing. And enjoying a good laugh is not as good as going along with things.

The unity and my saying it make two. The two and their unity make three. Starting from here, even a clever mathematician couldn't get it, much less an ordinary person! If going from nothing to something you get three, what about going from something to something? Don't do it! Just go along with things.

The sage is a mirror to heaven and earth, a glass to all things.

The fish trap is for catching fish; once you've caught the fish, you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare is for catching rabbits; once you've caught the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for catching ideas; once you've caught the idea, you can forget the words. Where shall I find a man who has forgotten words so that I can have a word with him?

A man is not a horse, and a horse is not a man. Why bother to distinguish?

When you are fishing, you should not be thinking of fishing.

To be able to keep the mind from being swayed by the winds of change, this is what I call joy.

The sage is born without a body, and yet he can walk without stepping.

I dreamed 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 awoke, 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.

How do I know that wanting to live is not a mistake? How do I know that hating death is not like a man who, having left home in his youth, has forgotten the way back?

If a man is crossing a river and an empty boat collides with his own skiff, even though he be a bad-tempered man he will not get 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 to curse. And all because there is a man in the boat. If you can empty your own boat, you will not be in conflict with anyone in the world.

To a man who understands, a thing is just a thing. To a man who does not understand, a thing is either this or that.

The little understanding cannot come up to the great understanding; the short span of life cannot come up to the long span of life.

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 limited by the season he lives in.

The purpose of a net is to catch fish. Once the fish are caught, you can forget the net. The purpose of words is to convey ideas. Once the ideas are grasped, you can forget the words.