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
A battering ram can knock down a city wall, but it cannot stop a hole. Different things have different uses.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Different tools serve different purposes, and effective solutions depend on context.
This quote by Zhuangzi illustrates the idea that various tools, ideas, or approaches have specific strengths and weaknesses. Just as a battering ram is powerful for breaching a solid structure like a city wall, it is ineffective for dealing with a small, existing hole, emphasizing that one must choose the right method for the situation at hand.
Themes
ToolsContextApproachesSituationsPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about problem-solving strategies at a workshop.
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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