must you fear what others fear?

Renounce knowledge and your problems will end.

What is the difference between yes and no?

What is the difference between good and evil?

Must you fear what others fear?

Nonsense, look how far you have missed the mark!

Other people are joyous,

as though they were at a spring festival.

I alone am unconcerned and expressionless,

like an infant before it has learned to smile.

Other people have more than they need;

I alone seem to possess nothing.

I am lost and drift about with no place to go.

I am like a fool, my mind is in chaos.

Ordinary people are bright;

I alone am dark.

Ordinary people are clever;

I alone am dull.

Ordinary people seem discriminating;

I alone am muddled and confused.

I drift on the waves on the ocean,

blown at the mercy of the wind.

Other people have their goals,

I alone am dull and uncouth.

I am different from ordinary people.

I nurse from the Great Mother's breasts.

~ Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching

photo: Harlan and Anna Hubbard

leaders?

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

translation by j.h.mcdonald

straw dogs

Heaven and Earth are impartial;

they treat all of creation as straw dogs.

The Master doesn't take sides;

she treats everyone like a straw dog.

The space between Heaven and Earth is like a bellows;

it is empty, yet has not lost its power.

The more it is used, the more it produces;

the more you talk of it, the less you comprehend.

It is better not to speak of things you do not understand.

~ Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching

translation by j.h.mcdonald

art by van gogh

overly bold

When people become overly bold,

then disaster will soon arrive.

Do not meddle with people's livelihoods;

if you respect them, they will in turn respect you.

Therefore, the Master knows herself but is 

not arrogant.

She loves herself but also loves others.

This is how she is able to make appropriate choices.

~ Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching

translation by j.h.mcdonald

the dark and mysterious virtue

The Tao gives birth to all of creation.

The virtue of Tao in nature nurtures them,

and their families give them their form.

Their environment then shapes them into completion.

That is why every creature honors the Tao and its virtue.

No one tells them to honor the Tao and its virtue,

it happens all by itself.

So the Tao gives them birth,

and its virtue cultivates them,

cares for them,

nurtures them,

gives them a place of refuge and peace,

helps them to grow and shelters them

It gives them life without wanting to posses them,

and cares for them expecting nothing in return.

It is their master, but it does not seek to dominate them.

This is called the dark and mysterious virtue.

~ Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching

no resistance

That which offers no resistance,

overcomes the hardest substances.

That which offers no resistance

can enter where there is no space.

Few in the world can comprehend

the teaching without words,

or understand the value of non-action.

~ Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching

translation by j.h. mcdonald

like water

.

The best, like water, 

Benefit all and do not compete. 

They dwell in lowly spots that everyone else scorns. 

Putting others before themselves, 

They find themselves in the foremost place 

And come very near to the Tao. 

~  Lao Tzu

only the lowest servant of the kingdom, is worthy to become its ruler

Water is the softest and most yielding substance.

Yet nothing is better than water,

for overcoming the hard and rigid,

because nothing can compete with it.

Everyone knows that the soft and yielding

overcomes the rigid and hard,

but few can put this knowledge into practice.

Therefore the Master says:

"Only he who is the lowest servant of the kingdom,

is worthy to become its ruler.

He who is willing to tackle the most unpleasant tasks,

is the best ruler in the world."

True sayings seem contradictory.

~ Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching

non-action

.

.

That which offers no resistance,

overcomes the hardest substances.

That which offers no resistance

can enter where there is no space.

.

Few in the world can comprehend

the teaching without words,

or understand the value of non-action.

.

~ Lao Tzu

from The Tao Te Ching
translation j.h. mcdonald

.

returning to the source is tranquility

If you can empty your mind of all thoughts

your heart will embrace the tranquility of peace.

Watch the workings of all of creation,

but contemplate their return to the source.

All creatures in the universe

return to the point where they began.

Returning to the source is tranquility

because we submit to Heaven's mandate.

Returning to Heaven's mandate is called being constant.

Knowing the constant is called 'enlightenment'.

Not knowing the constant is the source of evil deeds

because we have no roots.

By knowing the constant we can accept things as they are.

By accepting things as they are, we become impartial.

By being impartial, we become one with Heaven.

By being one with Heaven, we become one with Tao.

Being one with Tao, we are no longer concerned about

losing our life because we know the Tao is constant

and we are one with Tao.

~ Lao Tzu

from the Tao Te Ching

translated by j. h. mcdonald

cave art: chauvet-pont-d'arc

.

They dwell in lowly spots

.

The best, like water, 

Benefit all and do not compete. 

They dwell in lowly spots that everyone else scorns. 

Putting others before themselves, 

They find themselves in the foremost place 

And come very near to the Tao. 

.

~ Lao Tzu

.

Supple like a tree

.

.

A good traveller has no fixed plans

and is not intent on arriving.
Supple like a tree in the wind,
she has no destination in view
and makes use of anything
life happens to bring her way.
.
~ Lao Tzu

.

from the Tao Te Ching

Nothing in the world,
Is as yielding and receptive as water;
Yet in attacking the firm and inflexible,
Nothing triumphs so well.
Because of what it is not, 
This becomes easy.
The receptive triumphs over the inflexible;
The yielding triumphs over the rigid.
.
-Lao Tzu

The law is the husk of faith

.
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.
.
~ Tao Teh Ching, by Lao Tzu

from the Tao Teh Ching

...

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.
...
The Tao is great.
The universe is great.
Earth is great
Man is great.
These are the four great powers.
...
Man follows the earth.
Earth follows the universe.
The universe follows the Tao.
The Tao follows only itself.
...

~ Lao-tzu

.

Do you have the patience 
to wait until your mud settles, 
and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving

 until the right action arises by itself? .


~ Lao-tzu

.