the soft overcomes the hard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Nothing in the world is weaker than water

 but against the hard and the strong

  nothing outdoes it for nothing can change it

 the soft overcomes the hard

 the weak overcomes the strong

 this is something everyone knows

 but no one is able to practice.

 

 

 

 

 ~ Lao Tzu 

TaoTeChing

 translated by Red Pine

why scurry about looking for the truth?

Why scurry about looking for the truth? 

It vibrates in every thing and every not-thing, right off the tip of your nose. 

Can you be still and see it in the mountain? the pine tree? yourself? 

Don't imagine that you'll discover it by accumulating more knowledge. 

Knowledge creates doubt, and doubt makes you ravenous for more knowledge. 

You can't get full eating this way. 

The wise person dines on something more subtle: 

He eats the understanding that the named was born from the unnamed, 

that all being flows from non- being,

 that the describable world emanates from an indescribable source. 

He finds this subtle truth inside his own self, 

and becomes completely content. 

So who can be still and watch the chess game of the world?

 The foolish are always making impulsive moves,

 but the wise know that victory and defeat are decided by something more subtle.

 They see that something perfect exists before any move is made. 

This subtle perfection deteriorates when artificial actions are taken, 

so be content not to disturb the peace.

 Remain quiet. 

Discover the harmony in your own being. 

Embrace it. 

If you can do this, you will gain everything, 

and the world will become healthy again.

 If you can't, you will be lost in the shadows forever.



~  Lao Tzu

from Hua Hu Ching: The Unknown Teachings of Lao Tzu
by Brian Walker

 

formless and perfect

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was something
formless and perfect
before the universe was born.
It is serene. Empty.
.

Solitary. Unchanging.

Infinite. Eternally present.
It is the mother of the universe.
For lack of a better name,
I call it the Tao.
.
It flows through all things,
inside and outside, and returns
to the origin of all things.

 

 

 

 

 ~ Lao-tzu

Tao Te Ching

skill seems like clumsiness

.

 

 

 

The greatest accomplishments seem imperfect,

yet their usefulness is not diminished.

The greatest fullness seems empty,

yet it will be inexhaustible.

 

The greatest straightness seems crooked.

The most valued skill seems like clumsiness.

The greatest speech seems full of stammers.

 

Movement overcomes the cold,

and stillness overcomes the heat.

That which is pure and still is the universal ideal.

 

 

 

 

 

Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching
translation by j.h.mcdonald

.photo by Rodney Campbell

 

 

 

 

supple

Can you focus your life-breath until you become

supple as a newborn child?

 

While you cleanse your inner vision

will you be found without fault?

 

Can you love people and lead them

without forcing your will on them?

 

When Heaven gives and takes away

can you be content with the outcome?

 

When you understand all things

can you step back from your own understanding?

Giving birth and nourishing,

making without possessing,

expecting nothing in return.

To grow, yet not to control:

This is the mysterious virtue.

~ Lao Tzu

from Tao Te Ching

art: Aboriginal Australia Rainbow Serpent

Middle School Art

 

 

while things are quiet

Things are easier to control while things are quiet.

Things are easier to plan far in advance.

Things break easier while they are still brittle.

Things are easier hid while they are still small.

Prevent problems before they arise.

Take action before things get out of hand.

The tallest tree

begins as a tiny sprout.

The tallest building

starts with one shovel of dirt.

A journey of a thousand miles

starts with a single footstep.

If you rush into action, you will fail.

If you hold on too tight, you will lose your grip.

Therefore the Master lets things take their course

and thus never fails.

She doesn't hold on to things

and never loses them.

By pursing your goals too relentlessly,

you let them slip away.

If you are as concerned about the outcome

as you are about the beginning,

then it is hard to do things wrong.

The master seeks no possessions.

She learns by unlearning,

thus she is able to understand all things.

~ Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching

translation by j. h. mcdonald

embodying the light

 

A good traveler has no fixed plans
and is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition
lead him wherever it wants.
A good scientist has freed himself of concepts
and keeps his mind open to what is.

Thus the Master is available to all people
and doesn’t reject anyone.
He is ready to use all situations
and doesn’t waste anything.
this is called embodying the light.

What is a good man but a bad man’s teacher?
What is a bad man but a good man’s job?
If you don’t understand this, you will get lost,
however intelligent you are.
It is the great secret.




~   Lao Tzu
translated by Stephen Mitchell

leadership

 

The best leaders are those the people hardly know exist.

The next best is a leader who is loved and praised.

Next comes the one who is feared.

The worst one is the leader that is despised.

If you don't trust the people,

they will become untrustworthy.

The best leaders value their words, and use them sparingly.

When she has accomplished her task,

the people say, "Amazing:

we did it, all by ourselves!"

 

 

~ Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching

primal simplicity

.

Tao is always nameless.

Small as it is in its Primal Simplicity,

It is inferior to nothing in the world.

If only a ruler could cling to it,

Everything will render homage to him.

Heaven and Earth will be harmonized

And send down sweet dew

Peace and order will reign among the people

Without any command from above.

.

When once the Primal Simplicity diversified,

Different names appeared.

Are there not enough names now?

.

Is this not the time to stop?

To know when to stop is to preserve ourselves from danger.

The Tao is to the world what a great river or an ocean

is to the streams and brooks.

.

~ Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching

translated by John C. H. Wu

.

born in Tao

Fishes are born in water

Man is born in Tao.

If fishes, born in water,

Seek the deep shadow

Of pond and pool,

All their needs

Are satisfied.

If man, born in Tao,

Sinks into the deep shadow

Of non-action

To forget aggression and concern,

He lacks nothing 

His life is secure.

~ Lao Tzu

translated by Thomas Merton

from The Collected Poems of Thomas Merton

concepts only block your perception

The ego says
that the world is vast, and
that the particles which form it are tiny.
When tiny particles join, it says, the vast
world appears. When the vast world
disperses, it says, tiny particles
appear.


The ego
is entranced by
all these names and ideas,
but the subtle truth is that world and particle
are the same; neither one vast, neither one tiny. Every
thing is equal to every other thing. Names and
concepts only block your perception
of this Great Oneness. Therefore
it is wise to ignore
them.


Those
who live inside
their egos are continually bewildered:
they struggle frantically to know whether things
are large or small, whether or not there is a purpose
to joining or dispersing, whether the universe is blind and
mechanical or the divine creation of a conscious being.
In reality there are no grounds for having beliefs
or making comments about such things. Look
behind them instead, and you will discern
the deep, silent, complete truth
of the Tao. Embrace it, and
your bewilderment
vanishes.

~ Lao-tzu

 Hua Hu Ching - Verse 32

 translated by Brian Walker

 

govern

Govern your country with integrity,

Weapons of war can be used with great cunning,

but loyalty is only won by not-doing.

How do I know the way things are?

By these:

 

The more prohibitions you make,

the poorer people will be.

The more weapons you possess,

the greater the chaos in your country.

The more knowledge that is acquired,

the stranger the world will become.

The more laws that you make,

the greater the number of criminals.

 

Therefore the Master says:

I do nothing,

and people become good by themselves.

I seek peace,

and people take care of their own problems.

I do not meddle in their personal lives,

and the people become prosperous.

I let go of all my desires,

and the people return to the uncarved Block.

 

Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching

the power of low position

Rivers and seas are rulers

of the streams of hundreds of valleys

because of the power of their low position.

If you want to be the ruler of people,

you must speak to them like you are their servant.

If you want to lead other people,

you must put their interest ahead of your own.

The people will not feel burdened,

if a wise person is in a position of power.

The people will not feel like they are being manipulated,

if a wise person is in front as their leader.

The whole world will ask for her guidance,

and will never get tired of her.

Because she does not like to compete,

no one can compete with the things she accomplishes.

~ Lao Tzu

from The Tao Te Ching

translation by j.h. mcdonald

Tao Te Ching

 

 

~ Lao Tzu

hope is as hollow as fear

Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear.

What does it mean that success is as dangerous as failure?
Whether you go up the ladder or down it,
Your position is shaky.
When you stand with your two feet on the ground,
You will always keep your balance.

What does it mean that hope is as hollow as fear?
Hope and fear are both phantoms
That arise from thinking of the self.
When we don't see the self as self,
What do we have to fear?

See the world as your self.
Have faith in the way things are.
Love the world as your self;
Then you can care for all things.

~  Lao Tzu

can you

2nd century BC Ink-on-silk manuscript of the Tao Te Ching

Can you keep your soul in its body,
hold fast to the one,
and so learn to be whole?
Can you center your energy,
be soft, tender,
and so learn to be a baby?

Can you keep the deep water still and clear,
so it reflects without blurring?
Can you love people and run things,
and do so by not doing?

Opening, closing the Gate of Heaven,
can you be like a bird with her nestlings?
Piercing bright through the cosmos,
can you know by not knowing?

To give birth, to nourish,
to bear and not to own,
to act and not lay claim,
to lead and not to rule:
this is mysterious power.

~   Lao Tzu

 from Tao Te Ching

 version by Ursula K. Le Guin

with thanks to brain pickings

if you open yourself

Nature uses few words:

when the gale blows, it will not last long;

when it rains hard, it lasts but a little while;

What causes these to happen? Heaven and Earth.

Why do we humans go on endlessly about little

when nature does much in a little time?

If you open yourself to the Tao,

you and Tao become one.

If you open yourself to Virtue,

then you can become virtuous.

If you open yourself to loss,

then you will become lost.

If you open yourself to the Tao,

the Tao will eagerly welcome you.

If you open yourself to virtue,

virtue will become a part of you.

If you open yourself to loss,

the lost are glad to see you.

"When you do not trust people,

people will become untrustworthy."

~ Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching, 23

translation by j.h. mcdonald

beauty and ugliness

When people see things as beautiful,

ugliness is created.

When people see things as good,

evil is created.

Being and non-being produce each other.

Difficult and easy complement each other.

Long and short define each other.

High and low oppose each other.

Fore and aft follow each other.

Therefore the Master

can act without doing anything

and teach without saying a word.

Things come her way and she does not stop them;

things leave and she lets them go.

She has without possessing,

and acts without any expectations.

When her work is done, she takes no credit.

That is why it will last forever.

~ Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching

translation by j.h.mcdonald

the center of the circle

Forget about knowledge and wisdom,

and people will be a hundred times better off.

Throw away charity and righteousness,

and people will return to brotherly love.

Throw away profit and greed,

and there won't be any thieves.

These three are superficial and aren't enough

to keep us at the center of the circle, so we must also:

Embrace simplicity.

Put others first.

Desire little.



~ Lao-tzu
Tao Teh Ching
Mcdonald translation

allow yourself to become it

The highest good is not to seek to do good,

but to allow yourself to become it.

The ordinary person seeks to do good things,

and finds that they can not do them continually.

The Master does not force virtue on others,

thus she is able to accomplish her task.

The ordinary person who uses force,

will find that they accomplish nothing.

The kind person acts from the heart,

and accomplishes a multitude of things.

The righteous person acts out of pity,

yet leaves many things undone.

The moral person will act out of duty,

and when no one will respond

will roll up his sleeves and use force.

When the Tao is forgotten, there is righteousness.

When righteousness is forgotten, there is morality.

When morality is forgotten, there is the law.

The law is the husk of faith,

and trust is the beginning of chaos.

Our basic understandings are not from the Tao

because they come from the depths of our misunderstanding.

The master abides in the fruit and not in the husk.

She dwells in the Tao,

and not with the things that hide it.

This is how she increases in wisdom.

~ Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching

translation by j.h.mcdonald