Tao Te Ching
October 21st, 2007
Excerpts from the Tao Te Ching
(by Lao Tzu, translation by Stephen Mitchell.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Who will prefer the jingle of jade pendants
If she once has heard stone growing in a cliff?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the
manifestations.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
If you overesteem great men,
people become powerless.
If you overvalue possessions,
people begin to steal.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.
In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will be blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people’s approval
and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Can you coax your mind from its wandering
and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become
supple as a newborn child’s?
Can you cleanse your inner vision
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from your own mind
and thus understand all things?
Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the way of the Tao.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.
We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds what we want.
We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that we live within.
We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Colors blind the eye.
Sounds deafen the ear.
Flavors numb the tongue.
Thoughts weaken the mind.
Desires wither the heart.
The Master observes the world
but trusts her inner vision.
She allows things to come and go,
her heart as open as the sky.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The ancient Masters were careful
as someone crossing an iced-over stream.
Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
Considerate as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Shapable as a block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Clear as a glass of water.
Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear.
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?
The Master doesn’t seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present,
and can welcome all things.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In harmony with the Way,
the sky is clear and spacious,
the earth is solid and full,
all creatures flourish together,
content with the way they are,
endlessly repeating themselves,
endlessly renewed.
When man abandons the Way,
the sky becomes filthy,
the earth becomes depleted,
the equilibrium crumbles,
creatures become extinct.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Every being in the universe
is an expression of the Tao.
It springs into existence,
unconscious, perfect, free,
takes on a physical body,
lets circumstances complete it.
The Tao gives birth to all beings,
nourishes them, maintains them,
cares for them, comforts them, protects them,
takes them back to itself,
creating without possessing,
acting without expecting,
guiding without interferring.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate towards yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When they lose their sense of awe,
people turn to religion.
When they no longer trust themselves,
they begin to depend on authority.
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