He who is vain and delights in his own ability is deceived by his inferiors. When he likes to bring forth arguments and kindliness, his inferiors take advantage of his abilities.
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Han Fei
A wise ruler, when he makes his laws, is bound to find himself in conflict with the world.
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Han Fei
A ruler of men faces two possible misfortunes: if he employs the worthy, the ministers will use worthiness as a pretext to rob their ruler of his power, but if he promotes men recklessly, his affairs will be neglected, and he will not prevail.
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Han Fei
A ruler makes use of the majority and neglects the minority, and so he does not devote himself to virtue but to law.
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Han Fei
Your preciousness lies in your essence; it cannot be lost by anything that happens.
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Zhuangzi
Words exist because of meaning; once you’ve gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.
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Zhuangzi
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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Zhuangzi
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.
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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.
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Zhuangzi
The effect of life in society is to complicate and confuse our existence, making us forget who we really are by causing us to become obsessed with what we are not.
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Zhuangzi
Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.
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Zhuangzi
The perfect man uses his mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing. It regrets nothing. It receives but does not keep.
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Zhuangzi
Do not struggle. Go with the flow of things, and you will find yourself at one with the mysterious unity of the Universe.
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Zhuangzi
Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end. There is existence without limitation; there is continuity without a starting point.
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Zhuangzi
Walking on willow tree roads by a river dappled with peach blossoms, I look for spring light, but am everywhere lost. Birds fly up and scatter floating catkins. A ponderous wave of flowers sags the branches.
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Wang wei