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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that true self-reflection occurs in calmness and tranquility rather than in chaos and movement.
Zhuangzi's quote highlights the importance of stillness for introspection and understanding oneself. It implies that in order to truly reflect on oneβs nature and essence, one must find a peaceful state of mind, as it is in stillness that clarity arises and one can influence their surroundings in a meaningful way.
Themes
StillnessReflectionCalmSelf-AwarenessTranquility
In practice
Example use cases
During a mindfulness workshop, a facilitator shared this quote to emphasize the importance of finding inner peace.
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.
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When people do not ignore what they should ignore, but ignore what they should not ignore, this is known as ignorance.
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The true man of the past waited upon Heaven when dealing with people and did not wait upon people when dealing with Heaven.
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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
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All the fish needs is to get lost in the water. All man needs is to get lost in Tao.
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