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
The torch of doubt and chaos, this is what the sage steers by.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that a sage navigates life's uncertainties and complexities by embracing doubt and chaos.
Zhuangzi implies that the journey of wisdom is not about avoiding confusion and doubt but rather about understanding and navigating through them. A true sage recognizes that chaos is an inherent part of existence, and instead of resisting it, they use it as a guiding force to gain deeper insights into life and reality.
Themes
DoubtChaosWisdomSageNavigation
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about overcoming challenges.
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.
ZhuangziRead
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