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He looked on the world as so sunk in corruption that it was impossible to speak gravely. Therefore he employed "goblet words" which apply in various directions; he based his statements upon weighty authority in order to inspire confidence; and he put words in other people's mouths in order to secure breadth. In accord with the spirit of the universe, he was at peace with all creation. He judged not the rights and wrongs of mankind, and thus lived quietly in his generation.
Source Chuang Tzu, chapter 33, §11 · 📖 Read the full passage
✨ To meditate on today
According to Chuang Tzu, who is speaking here of his own teaching, he preferred stories and images to long explanations, held to the essential, the union of the spirit with the universe, and avoided quarrels by condemning no one. Today, if a discussion turns sour, give up having the last word and come back to the essential: what connects you rather than what sets you against each other.
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