Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious.

Cherish that which is within you, and shut off that which is without; for much knowledge is a curse.

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.

All existing things are really one. We regard those that are beautiful and rare as valuable, and those that are ugly as foul and rotten The foul and rotten may come to be transformed into what is rare and valuable, and the rare and valuable into what is foul and rotten.

Those who seek to satisfy the mind of man by hampering it with ceremonies and music and affecting charity and devotion have lost their original nature.

Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.

I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?

Rewards and punishment is the lowest form of education.

I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man.

Those who realize their folly are not true fools.

Life comes from the earth and life returns to the earth.

Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious.

Men honor what lies within the sphere of their knowledge, but do not realize how dependent they are on what lies beyond it.

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.

I know the joy of fishes in the river through my own joy, as I go walking along the same river.

Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him?

To lead others, one must find one’s own direction.

Do not struggle. Go with the flow of things, and you will find yourself at one with the mysterious unity of the Universe.

We are born from a quiet sleep, and we die to a calm awakening.

Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him?

Forget the years, forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home.

Eyes that are blind have no way to tell the loveliness of faces and features eyes with no pupils have no way to tell the beauty of colored and embroidered silks.

Cherish that which is within you and shut off what which is without for much knowledge is a curse.

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.

The sage embraces things. Ordinary men discriminate amongst them and parade their discriminations before others. So I say those who discriminate fail to see.

Easy is right. Begin right and you are easy. Continue easy and you are right. The right way to go easy is to forget the right way and forget that the going is easy.

Only he who has no use for the empire is fit to be entrusted with it.

A frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean.

You cannot speak of ocean to a well-frog, the creature of a narrower sphere. You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, the creature of a season.

Human life is limited, but knowledge is limitless. To drive the limited in pursuit of the limitless is fatal; and to presume that one really knows is fatal indeed!

Take care of your body, then the rest will automatically become stronger.

Men of this world all rejoice in others being like themselves, and object to others not being like themselves.

Good order results spontaneously when things are let alone.

To examine oneself makes good use of sight.

The petty thief is imprisoned but the big thief becomes a feudal lord.

Some of the best lessons we ever learn are learned from past mistakes. The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future.

What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?

To light one candle to God and another to the Devil is the principle of wisdom.

I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.

Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two.

Irony is the gaiety of reflection and the joy of wisdom.

More helpful than all wisdom is one draught of simple human pity that will not forsake us.

Wisdom is the knowledge of good and evil, not the strength to choose between the two.

The clouds may drop down titles and estates, and wealth may seek us, but wisdom must be sought.

Books should to one of these fours ends conduce, for wisdom, piety, delight, or use.

Follow the wisdom of the great actor, James Cagney, you hit your mark, you look the other guy in the eye, and you tell the truth.

Kisses are a better fate than wisdom.

Wisdom is not attained by years, but by ability.

A great memory is never made synonymous with wisdom, any more than a dictionary would be called a treatise.