Zhuangzi's Nine Truths
1My life is finite, while knowledge is infinite. To pursue the infinite knowledge with a finite life is bound to fail!
Life is limited, while learning and knowledge are endless. To pursue the endless knowledge with a finite life is inevitably a failure.
2Human existence is like a fleeting moment between the gaps of a white horse passing by; it vanishes in an instant.
Human existence is like a white horse running through a narrow gap – it's gone in an instant.
3Ordinary people delight in the agreement of others and dislike their own difference; they love to be praised and hate to be different.
Ordinary people like to be praised and hate to be different; they like to be agreed with and hate to disagree.
4The greatest sorrow is spiritual stagnation and dullness, and death is even less significant.
The greatest sadness is spiritual numbness and dullness; the physical death is still secondary.
5A frog in a well cannot speak to the sea, and a summer insect cannot talk to ice.
Don't discuss the vastness of the ocean with a frog in a well, and don't talk to summer insects about ice – creatures that live only a short season won't understand winter's cold.
6A dog doesn't praise goodness, and a person doesn't admire virtue because of good words.
You don't praise a dog for barking well, and you don't consider a person virtuous because of their eloquent speech.
7Those who seek fame and reputation often enjoy slander and defamation.
People who crave fame and reputation will also enjoy defaming others behind their backs.
8Without a clear purpose, plans become entangled; without preparation, things will be wasted.
Without a clear purpose, plans become entangled; without preparation, things will inevitably fail.
9Without sincerity, one cannot move people.
Sincerity is essential to persuade others.
Zhuangzi believes that the Dao has a great effect, it is everywhere and can master everything, adapting to nature, achieving harmony with heaven and man, is the ultimate state. Zhuangzi's 'heaven and I are born together, and all things are one' with this spiritual realm is the clearly defined state of 'heaven and man' being one. Therefore, people should return to simplicity and return to the true nature of nature to maintain their perfect humanity and to live in harmony with nature. This is Zhuangzi's cosmology and epistemology, containing a naive dialectical idea.
Zhuangzi believes that if you can achieve 'unity of all things', you will attain the realm of (xiāo yáo - serenity, freedom). This is Zhuangzi's philosophical concept of individual spiritual liberation – living without contradiction in the world. Zhuangzi doesn't deny contradictions, but emphasizes overcoming contradictions subjectively. He uses 'non-action' (wu wei) to explain this concept, which is different from Laozi; 'non-action' here means a state of freedom and ease of mind, without being dragged by external things. In this state, people abandon their pursuit of fame and fortune, ride with the 'rectification of heaven' (heaven's positive qualities) and master the 'six airs' (the six elements/weather), and wander endlessly.
