4. By means of a finger (of my own) to illustrate that the finger (of another) is not a finger is not so good a plan as to illustrate that it is not so by means of what is (acknowledged to be) not a finger; and by means of (what I call) a horse…
If we were to follow the judgments of the predetermined mind, who would be left alone and without a teacher? Not only would it be so with those who know the sequences (of knowledge and feeling) and make their own selection among them, but it would be so as well with the stupid and…
Life is lived in the shadow of language. Language conceals and reveals. Your opinion serves to define my opinion. Would there be any point to my opinion without you, without your opinion? Still there’s the nagging sense that something is missing. What if anything makes your view or my view true? Shall we seek…
Great knowledge is wide and comprehensive; small knowledge is partial and restricted. Great speech is exact and complete; small speech is (merely) so much talk. When we sleep, the soul communicates with (what is external to us); when we awake, the body is set free. Our intercourse with others then leads to…
Sunday, the sun is brilliant and the air cool. Fall. The seasons are reliable, delivering the rhythmic weather essential to the community life here in the Midwest. You might guess that my subtext, about which I struggle to write, — the political upheaval, the social unrest that troubles Chicago and our suburbs. The advent…
81 True words aren’t eloquent;eloquent words aren’t true.Wise men don’t need to prove their point;men who need to prove their point aren’t wise. The Master has no possessions.The more he does for others,the happier he is.The more he gives to others,the wealthier he is. The Tao nourishes by not forcing.By not dominating, the Master…
80 Ifa country is governed wisely,its inhabitants will be content.They enjoy the labor of their handsand don’t waste time inventinglabor-saving machines. Since they dearly love their homes,they aren’t interested in travel.There may be a few wagons and boats,but these don’t go anywhere.There may be an arsenal of weapons,but nobody ever uses them. People enjoy…
79 Failure is an opportunity. If you blame someone else, there is no end to the blame. Therefore the Master fulfills her own obligations and corrects her own mistakes. She does what she needs to do and demands nothing of others. Tao Te Ching by Lao-tsu, trans. by Stephen Mitchell These lines, verse 79…
78 Nothing in the worldis as soft and yielding as water.Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible,nothing can surpass it. The soft overcomes the hard;the gentle overcomes the rigid.Everyone knows this is true,but few can put it into practice. Therefore the Master remainsserene in the midst of sorrow.Evil cannot enter his heart.Because he has…
77 As it acts in the world, the Tao is like the bending of a bow. The top is bent downward; the bottom is bent up. It adjusts excess and deficiency so that there is perfect balance. It takes from what is too much and gives to what isn’t enough. Those who try to…
