Great music does not move the villagers, but if they hear “The Breaking of the Willow” or “Bright Flowers” they will be rollicking with laughter. Noble words do not stay in the minds of the multitude, and consummate words are not comprehended because common words proliferate. Two clay instruments will overpower the sound of…
A tree of a hundred years is cut and carved into a sacrificial wood vessel decorated with green and yellow. The rest is thrown into a ditch. If we compare the sacrificial vessel with what was thrown away, there is a difference between them in relation to beauty and ugliness. But they have a…
One who knows that he is ignorant is not entirely ignorant. One who knows that he is deluded is not entirely deluded. One who is severely deluded will not become free of delusion. One who is steeped in ignorance will not become discerning. If three men…
“I should like to hear of the rule of kind and virtuous men,” continued Yuan Feng. “The virtuous men are unmoved. They have no thought. They act without fear. Judgments of right and wrong or good and bad do not occupy them. All within the four seas delight in what they possess and are…
Confucius asked Lao-tsu,“Some men approach the taoas a regimentation to submit to.they say a thing is either admissible or inadmissible;it is so or not so.They are like disputers who claimthat they can distinguish clearlywhat is hard and what is white.Can such men be considered sages?” Lao-tsu replied,they are like the subordinates in a courtwho…
At the ultimate origin of all things, there was nothing; there was nothing that could be named. From this emerged the One, the first existence without form. Then different things were produced receiving what we regard as their attributes. What was formless was divided and then continued to be interconnected. The two processes led…
The tao,how deep and still it is.How clear is its purity. Metal and stone would not reverberate without it.They have the sound within thembut unless they are struck,they produce no sound.Who could determine the characteristics of all things? ~*~ The man of sovereign virtueproceeds unencumberedand is distressed to be preoccupiedwith the…
What is the Tao? There is the tao of heaven and there is the tao of man. Doing nothing and retaining all is the tao of heaven. Straining with action is the tao of man. The tao of heaven is the sovereign and the tao of man is the attendant. The tao of heaven…
Permeating heaven and earth, there is virtue.Operating in all things, there is the Tao. It is the duty of rulers to govern the people.Ability was developed into skill,which led to righteousness;righteousness rose from virtue, and virtue emerged from the Tao.The Tao was aligned with heaven. The ancients who sustained the worlddesired nothing and the…
Undistinguished and yet needed for use—Such are things.Low and yet to be relied upon—Such are people.Hidden and yet necessary to be set forth—Such are the laws.Remote and yet necessary to hold within-–Such is righteousness.Near and yet necessary to extend widely—Such is benevolence.Restrictive and yet necessary to be applied broadly—Such are ceremonies. Placed in the…
