When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
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The origin of the world is its mother;
Understand the mother, and you understand the child;
Embrace the child, and you embrace the mother,
Who will not perish when you die.
Reserve your judgments and words
And you maintain your influence;
Speak your mind and take positions
And nothing will save you.
As observing detail is clarity,
So maintaining flexibility is strength;
Use the light but shed no light,
So that you do yourself no harm, But embrace clarity.
Those who know they don’t know
Gain Wisdom
Those who pretend they know
Remain ignorant
Those who acknowledge their weaknesses
Become strong
Those who flaunt their power
Will lose it
Wisdom and Power
Follow Truth above All
For truth is the way of the Tao
Tao 71 – inspired by Anne Dorman
The Way bears sensation,
Sensation bears memory,
Sensation and memory bear abstraction,
And abstraction bears all the world;
Each thing in the world bears feeling and doing,
And, imbued with mind, harmony with the Way.
As others have taught, so do I teach,
“Who loses harmony opposes nature”;
This is the root of my teaching.
with thanksgiving
Tao 43
The softest of all things
Overrides the hardest of all
Only Nothing can enter in to no-space.
Hence I know the advantages of Non-Ado.
Few things under heaven are as instructive as the lessons of Silence,
Or as beneficial as the fruits of Non-Ado.
Lao Tzu, John C.H. Wu
TAO 8
The highest form of goodness is like water.
Water knows how to benefit all things without striving with them.
It stays in places loathed by all men.
Therefore, it comes near the Tao.
In choosing your dwelling, know how to keep the ground.
In cultivating your mind, know how to dive in the hidden deeps.
In dealing with others, know how to be gentle and kind.
In speaking, know how to keep your words.
In governing, know how to maintain order.
In transacting business, know how to be efficient.
In making a move, know how to choose the right moment.
If you do not strive with others,
You will be free from blame.
Lao Tzu, John C.H. Wu
The best of man is like water,
Which benefits all things, and does not contend with them,
Which flows in places that others disdain,
Where it is in harmony with the Way.
Which benefits all things, and does not contend with them,
Which flows in places that others disdain,
Where it is in harmony with the Way.
So the sage:
Lives within nature,
Thinks within the deep,
Gives within impartiality,
Speaks within trust,
Governs within order,
Crafts within ability,
Acts within opportunity.
He does not contend, and none contend against him.
Trying to control the world?
I see you won’t succeed.
T’ien hsia shen ch’i
The world is a spiritual vessel
And cannot be controlled.
Those who control, fail.
Those who grasp, loose.
Some go forth, some are led,
Some weep, some blow flutes,
Some beceome strong, some superfluous,
Some oppress, some are destroyed.
Therefore the sage
Casts off extremes,
Casts off excess,
Casts off extravagance.
- TAO TE CHING by Lao-Tzu Translated by Stephen Addiss, Stanley Lombardo
Water overcomes the stone;
Without substance it requires no opening;
This is the benefit of taking no action.
Yet benefit without action,
And experience without abstraction,
Are practiced by very few.
What lies still is easy to grasp;
What lies far off is easy to anticipate;
What is brittle is easy to shatter;
What is small is easy to disperse.
Yet a tree broader than a man can
embrace is born of a tiny shoot;
A dam greater than a river can
overflow starts with a clod of earth;
A journey of a thousand miles begins at the spot under one’s feet.
Therefore deal with things before they happen;
Create order before there is confusion.
