QuoteProject
There are no greater adversaries than yin and yang, because nothing in Heaven or on Earth escapes them. But it is not yin and yang that do this, it is your heart that makes it so.
Zhuangzi
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the duality of life represented by yin and yang, emphasizing that our perceptions shape our experiences.

Zhuangzi's quote can be interpreted as a reminder that the fundamental oppositions in life, symbolized by yin and yang, reflect not just external realities but also the internal workings of our hearts and minds. It suggests that our emotional and psychological state influences how we perceive and interact with the world around us, thereby shaping our experiences and challenges.

Themes

YinYangHeartPerceptionDualityLife

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used during a discussion on mindfulness and self-awareness.

More from Zhuangzi

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
Either 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

Who gave you the ability to contemplate the beauty of the skies, the course of the sun, the round moon, the millions of stars, the harmony and rhythm that issue from the world as from a lyre, the return of the seasons, the alternation of the months, the demarcation of day and night, the fruits of the earth, the vastness of the air, the ceaseless motion of the waves, the sound of the wind?
Gregory Of NazianzusRead
The agnostic, the skeptic, is neurotic, but this does not imply a false philosophy; it implies the discovery of facts to which he does not know how to adapt himself. The intellectual who tries to escape from neurosis by escaping from the facts is merely acting on the principle that “where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise.
Alan WattsRead
Let us understand that God is a physician, and that suffering is a medicine for salvation, not a punishment for damnation.
Saint AugustineRead
Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.
Edmund BurkeRead
The moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave, his fetters fall. Freedom and slavery are mental states.
Mahatma GandhiRead
What is the real breath of a man — the breathing out or the breathing in?
Margaret AtwoodRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.