30Whoever relies on the Tao in governing mendoesn’t try to force issuesor defeat enemies by force of arms.For every force there is a counterforce.Violence, even well intentioned,always rebounds upon oneself. The Master does his joband then stops.He understands that the universeis forever out of control,and that trying to dominate eventsgoes against the current of…
29 Do you want to improve the world? I don’t think it can be done. The world is sacred. It can’t be improved. If you tamper with it, you’ll ruin it. If you treat it like an object, you’ll lose it. There is a time for being ahead, a time for being behind; a…
We read Philip Larkin’s famous 1954 poem Church Going last night. I was five years old when the poem was written. The poem was troubling to everyone in our circle. No doubt that was Larkin’s purpose. I am seventy six now and the dereliction of churches continues unabated. Faith and superstition still die. In…
28 Know the male,yet keep to the female:receive the world in your arms. If you receive the world, the Tao will never leave you and you will be like a little child. Know the white,yet keep to the black:be a pattern for the world. If you are a pattern for…
27 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…
26 The heavy is the root of the light. The unmoved is the source of all movement. Thus the Master travels all day without leaving home. However splendid the views, she stays serenely in herself. Why should the lord of the country flit about like a fool? If you let yourself be blown to…
25 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…
23 Express yourself completely,then keep quiet.Be like the forces of nature:when it blows, there is only wind;when it rains, there is only rain;when the clouds pass, the sun shines through. If you open yourself to the Tao,you are at one with the Taoand you can embody it completely.If you open yourself to insight,you are…
22 If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to become straight, let yourself be crooked. If you want to become full, let yourself be empty. If you want to be reborn, let yourself die. If you want to be given everything, give everything up. The Master, by residing…
21 The Master keeps her mindalways at one with the Tao;that is what gives her her radiance.The Tao is ungraspable.How can her mind be at one with it?Because she doesn’t cling to ideas.The Tao is dark and unfathomable.How can it make her radiant?Because she lets it.Since before time and space were,the Tao is.It is…
