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.
ZhuangziRead
Life comes from the earth and life returns to the earth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is a cycle of existence, originating from and ultimately returning to the earth.
This quote by Zhuangzi emphasizes the cyclical nature of life, suggesting that all living beings come from the earth and will eventually return to it. It reflects a philosophical understanding of existence, advocating for a deep connection with nature and the inevitability of life and death as natural processes.
Themes
LifeEarthCycleNatureExistence
In practice
Example use cases
In a eulogy, one might reference this quote to highlight the return of a loved one to nature.
More from Zhuangzi
All quotes βEither in conflict with others or in harmony with them, we go through life like a runaway horse, unable to stop.
ZhuangziRead
When people do not ignore what they should ignore, but ignore what they should not ignore, this is known as ignorance.
ZhuangziRead
The true man of the past waited upon Heaven when dealing with people and did not wait upon people when dealing with Heaven.
ZhuangziRead
The mind remains undetermined in the great Void. Here the highest knowledge is unbounded. That which gives things their thusness cannot be delimited by things. So when we speak of 'limits', we remain confined to limited things. The limit of the unlimited is called 'fullness.' The limitlessness of the limited is called 'emptiness.' Tao is the source of both. But it is itself neither fullness nor emptiness
ZhuangziRead
All the fish needs is to get lost in the water. All man needs is to get lost in Tao.
ZhuangziRead
Similar quotes
Approved attributes and their relation to face make every man his own jailer; this is a fundamental social constraint even though each man may like his cell.
Erving GoffmanRead
My day passes between logic, whistling, going for walks, and being depressed. I wish to God that I were more intelligent and everything would finally become clear to me - or else that I needn't live much longer.
Ludwig WittgensteinRead
There's the constant concern with what happens to you when you die. Every society thinks about that and makes things to deal with that.
Neil MacgregorRead
The difference between an admirer and a follower still remains, no matter where you are. The admirer never makes any true sacrifices. He always plays it safe. Though in words, phrases, songs, he is inexhaustible about how highly he prizes Christ, he renounces nothing, gives up nothing, will not reconstruct his life, will not be what he admires, and will not let his life express what it is he supposedly admires.
Soren KierkegaardRead
To shut one's eyes to half of life that one may live securely is as though one blinded oneself that one might walk with more safety in a land of pit and precipice.
Oscar WildeRead
Don't run your life by what's legal or illegal. Run your life based on what's right or wrong.
Ross PerotRead