The attempt to produce equality with what is not equal will only result in inequality. The attempt to make certain with what is not certain will not go beyond uncertainty. One who relies only on seeing with his eyes will be led only by what he sees. It is spirit that leads to certainty….
“The goodness of service does not imply that it is the same on all occasions. Serving parents to provide contentment does not prescribe how it is to be done; in festivities enjoyment does not depend on the dishes that are used; in mourning as an expression of grief the rituals are insignificant. Rites determine…
The vain take pleasure in every good opinion they hear about themselves (abstracted entirely from the point of view of utility, and just as much removed from truth or falsity), just as they suffer from every bad opinion. This is because they submit – they feel submissive – to both good and bad opinions…
Wu Yue said, “The small man seeks wealth. The superior man seeks renown. They differ in the way they frame their mind and transform their nature. However, as they both cast away what they possess in pursuit of what they lack, they are alike. Hence it is said, ‘Do not be a small man;…
Zizhang said,“In the past Jie and Zhou reveled in being sovereignand possessed all the wealth in the world.If you now say to a grasping man, ‘Your conductis like that of Jie and Zhou,’ he will look contriteand will object to the charge,for even the smallest men despise them. Confucius and Mo Di, on the…
The Penumbrae asked the Shadow, “A moment ago you were looking down and now you are looking up; a moment ago you were sitting down but now, you are standing up; a moment ago you were walking, but now you have stopped. Why is this?” The Shadow replied, “Honored Sirs, why…
But without the words which flow daily as from a cup and without our nature being aligned with heaven, what could be made of these characteristics? Things are divided into various genera and develop successively into distinct physical forms. They begin and end In an unbroken circle; But how this occurs we cannot fathom….
How is a thing right? It is right because it is right. How is a thing wrong? It is wrong because it is wrong. How is a thing possible? It is possible because it is so. How is a thing not possible? It is not possible because it is not possible. Things have within…
Of my assertions,9 out of 10 are metaphorical;7 in 10 are from existing writings. Words flow on every day clarified bythe heavenly elementin our nature. The 9 assertions in 10 which are metaphoricalare borrowed from external sources to expound my arguments. It is said,“A father does not act as the matchmakerfor his own son.”This…
A comparison of two quotations is a riddle. Language is a pivot, a fulcrum to rouse understanding in the mind. Zhuangzi, the taoist sage and Ludwig Wittgenstein, a very influential intellectual of the 20th century, “play” in the same sandbox. Jump in the box with them! There’s enough toys for everyone. (A riddle naturally…
