Here are a few quotes from the first 5 chapters of "The Essential Chuang Tzu":

• If all the Chinese poets, painters, and writers who ever lived were queried and asked to name just one bok of their favorite reading, the nomination would certainly go to the writings of Master Chuang. The book that came to be known a the Chuang Tzu is an anthology of early Taoist thought. At least seven of its thirty-three surviving chapters can be attributed to the philosopher Chuang Chou (369 - 286 BCE). ... Chuangs Tzu's message of freedom and nonconformity liberates the Chinese mind and provides a wholesome antidote to the ethical and social values embraced by the Confucianists. (Preface, p. ix)
• In the centuries that followed, Taoism provided a balance to Confucianism, and the two teachings were blended in social philosophy. Buddhism eventually provided the third of the interlocking Three Systems that dominated Chinese thinking and social policy into the present century. (p. xvi)
• "And it is equally true of the one who knows how to perform efficiently at a certain official position, one whose behavior may serve as a model for neighbors, one whose powers may serve the needs of a certain lord, or even of a state. Such a person makes a self-assessment in the same way small creatures do.Master Sung Jung Tzu would burst out laughing. The whole world could prize him and he would wprk no harder; the whole world could call him wrong, and yet he would persist. He knows what is Inner and what is Outer; he knows the difference between true honor and disgrace. It's as simple as that. In this world, few can equal him when it comes to instinctively knowing and doing what is right. But despite his proximity to perfection, he has not yet attained the perfectiion of a tree." (Chap. 1, p. 3)
• "There is deafness and blindness in the comprehending mind as well." (Chap. 1, p. 5)
• "The man who leans here is not the one who did before." (Chap. 2, p. 8)
• "What differentiates words from the chirps of fledgling birds?" (Chap. 2, p. 11)
• "Self-knowledge precedes knowing others." (Chap. 2, p. 11)
• "Don't be going from anywhere to anywhere. Here is where it is!" (Chap. 2, p. 14)
• "I'll talk a little crazy to you. See whether you can't listen a little crazy too." (Chap. 2, p. 16)
• "How do I know that the dead do not regret clinging so ignominiously to life?" (Chap. 2, p. 17)
• "Make staying close to main arteries a constant rule. Doing so, you may remain whole, rear a family, and live out all your days." (Chap. 3, p. 19)
• "All I care about is the Way. I find it in my craft, that's all." (Chap. 3, p. 20)
• "Just take advantage of things as they are. Let your heart and mind roam free. Accept what you can't get and nourish your center on that acceptance." (Chap. 4, p. 29)
• "the story of the praying mantis who, enraged, spread his arms to stop the approaching chariot in its tracks. He didn't have a chance. So it is with anyone so vain about his talents." (Chap. 4, p. 29)
• "No one uses running water for a mirror." (Chap. 5, p. 34)
• "Let your mind be in harmony. Take delight. Understand. Never let joy be lost, day or night, ceaselessly, eternally in the springrtime of things, always connecting, making the very seasons come alive within your heart and mind." (Chap. 5, p. 39)
• "He goes as nature goes, and seeks no benefit from life." (Chap. 5, p. 40)