A good athlete can enter a state of body-awareness in which the right stroke or the right movement happens by itself, effortlessly, without any interference of the conscious will. This is a paradigm for non-action: the purest and most effective form of action. The game plays the game; the poem writes the poem; we can’t tell the dancer from the dance.
Less and less do you need to force things, until finally you arrive at non-action. When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
Lao-tzu’s central figure is a man or woman whose life is in perfect harmony with the way things are. This is not an idea; it is a reality; I have seen it. The Master has mastered Nature; not in the sense of conquering it, but of becoming it. In surrendering to the Tao, in giving up all concepts, judgments, and desires, her mind has grown naturally compassionate
Unencumbered by any concept of sin, the Master doesn’t see evil as a force to resist, but simply as an opaqueness, a state of self-absorption which is in disharmony with the universal process, so that, as with a dirty window, the light can’t shine through.
Thus the Master is available to all people and doesn’t reject anyone. He is ready to use all situations and doesn’t waste anything. This is called embodying the light. What is a good man but a bad man’s teacher? What is a bad man but a good man’s job? If you don’t understand this, you will get lost, however intelligent you are. It is the great secret.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery. Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations. Yet mystery and manifestations arise from the same source. This source is called darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gateway to all understanding.
When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly. When people see some things as good, other things become bad.
Things arise and she lets them come; things disappear and she lets them go. She has but doesn’t possess, acts but doesn’t expect. When her work is done, she forgets it. That is why it lasts forever.
If you overvalue possessions, people begin to steal.
The Master leads by emptying people’s minds and filling their cores, by weakening their ambition and toughening their resolve.
If you overvalue possessions, people begin to steal.
The Master leads by emptying people’s minds and filling their cores, by weakening their ambition and toughening their resolve. He helps people lose everything they know, everything they desire, and creates confusion in those who think that they know. Practice not-doing, and everything will fall into place.
The Tao is like a well: used but never used up. It is like the eternal void: filled with infinite possibilities. It is hidden but always present. I don’t know who gave birth to it. It is older than God.
The Tao doesn’t take sides; it gives birth to both good and evil. The Master doesn’t take sides; she welcomes both saints and sinners
The Tao is like a bellows: it is empty yet infinitely capable. The more you use it, the more it produces; the more you talk of it, the less you understand. Hold on to the center.
The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds. It is always present within you. You can use it any way you want.
Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will 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.
Giving birth and nourishing, having without possessing, acting with no expectations, leading and not trying to control: this is the supreme virtue.
We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want. We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable. We work with being, but non-being is what we use.
Colors blind the eye. Sounds deafen the ear. Flavors numb the taste. Thoughts weaken the mind. Desires wither the heart.
Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear.
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.
When you realize where you come from, you naturally become tolerant, disinterested, amused, kindhearted as a grandmother, dignified as a king. Immersed in the wonder of the Tao, you can deal with whatever life brings you, and when death comes, you are ready.
If you don’t realize the source, you stumble in confusion and sorrow. When you realize where you come from, you naturally become tolerant, disinterested, amused, kindhearted as a grandmother, dignified as a king. Immersed in the wonder of the Tao, you can deal with whatever life brings you, and when death comes, you are ready.
The Master doesn’t talk, he acts. When his work is done, the people say, “Amazing: we did it, all by ourselves!”
If you don’t trust the people, you make them untrustworthy.
When the country falls into chaos, patriotism is born.
Throw away holiness and wisdom, and people will be a hundred times happier. Throw away morality and justice, and people will do the right thing. Throw away industry and profit, and there won’t be any thieves.
We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable. We work with being, but non-being is what we use.
Colors blind the eye. Sounds deafen the ear. Flavors numb the taste. Thoughts weaken the mind. Desires wither the heart.
The Master observes the world but trusts his inner vision. He allows things to come and go. His heart is open as the sky.
Success is as dangerous as failure. Hope is as hollow as fear.
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.
Each separate being in the universe returns to the common source.
If you don’t realize the source, you stumble in confusion and sorrow. When you realize where you come from, you naturally become tolerant, disinterested, amused, kindhearted as a grandmother, dignified as a king. Immersed in the wonder of the Tao, you can deal with whatever life brings you, and when death comes, you are ready.
If you don’t trust the people, you make them untrustworthy.
The Master doesn’t talk, he acts. When his work is done, the people say, “Amazing: we did it, all by ourselves!”
When the country falls into chaos, patriotism is born.
Throw away holiness and wisdom, and people will be a hundred times happier. Throw away morality and justice, and people will do the right thing. Throw away industry and profit, and there won’t be any thieves.
Other people are bright; I alone am dark. Other people are sharp; I alone am dull. Other people have a purpose; I alone don’t know. I drift like a wave on the ocean, I blow as aimless as the wind.
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 beyond is and is not. How do I know this is true? I look inside myself and see.
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.
Because he doesn’t know who he is, people recognize themselves in him. Because he has no goal in mind, everything he does succeeds.
Open yourself to the Tao, then trust your natural responses; and everything will fall into place.
He who clings to his work will create nothing that endures. If you want to accord with the Tao, just do your job, then let go.
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.
There is a time for being ahead, a time for being behind; a time for being in motion, a time for being at rest; a time for being vigorous, a time for being exhausted; a time for being safe, a time for being in danger.
Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men doesn’t try to force issues or defeat enemies by force of arms. For every force there is a counterforce
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.
If you want to shrink something, you must first allow it to expand. If you want to get rid of something, you must first allow it to flourish. If you want to take something, you must first allow it to be given.
The Master doesn’t try to be powerful; thus he is truly powerful. The ordinary man keeps reaching for power; thus he never has enough.
The Master does nothing, yet he leaves nothing undone. The ordinary man is always doing things, yet many more are left to be done. The kind man does something, yet something remains undone. The just man does something, and leaves many things to be done. The moral man does something, and when no one responds he rolls up his sleeves and uses force.
When the Tao is lost, there is goodness. When goodness is lost, there is morality. When morality is lost, there is ritual. Ritual is the husk of true faith, the beginning of chaos.
Therefore the Master concerns himself with the depths and not the surface, with the fruit and not the flower. He has no will of his own. He dwells in reality, and lets all illusions go.
true steadfastness seems changeable, true clarity seems obscure, the greatest art seems unsophisticated, the greatest love seems indifferent, the greatest wisdom seems childish. The Tao is nowhere to be found. Yet it nourishes and completes all things.
The path into the light seems dark, the path forward seems to go back, the direct path seems long, true power seems weak, true purity seems tarnished, true steadfastness seems changeable, true clarity seems obscure, the greatest art seems unsophisticated, the greatest love seems indifferent, the greatest wisdom seems childish. The Tao is nowhere to be found. Yet it nourishes and completes all things.
The gentlest thing in the world overcomes the hardest thing in the world. That which has no substance enters where there is no space. This shows the value of non-action. Teaching without words, performing without actions: that is the Master’s way.
True straightness seems crooked. True wisdom seems foolish. True art seems artless. The Master allows things to happen. She shapes events as they come. She steps out of the way and lets the Tao speak for itself.
True perfection seems imperfect, yet it is perfectly itself. True fullness seems empty, yet it is fully present. True straightness seems crooked. True wisdom seems foolish. True art seems artless. The Master allows things to happen. She shapes events as they come. She steps out of the way and lets the Tao speak for itself.
In the pursuit of knowledge, every day something is added. In the practice of the Tao, every day something is dropped.
The Master arrives without leaving, sees the light without looking, achieves without doing a thing.
True mastery can be gained by letting things go their own way. It can’t be gained by interfering.
The Master has no mind of her own. She works with the mind of the people.
She trusts people who are trustworthy. She also trusts people who aren’t trustworthy. This is true trust.
The Master gives himself up to whatever the moment brings. He knows that he is going to die, and he has nothing left to hold on to: no illusions in his mind, no resistances in his body. He doesn’t think about his actions; they flow from the core of his being. He holds nothing back from life; therefore he is ready for death, as a man is ready for sleep after a good day’s work.
In the beginning was the Tao. All things issue from it; all things return to it. To find the origin, trace back to the manifestations.
If you close your mind in judgments and traffic with desires, your heart will be troubled. If you keep your mind from judging and aren’t led by the senses, your heart will find peace.
Whoever is planted in the Tao will not be rooted up.
He lets all things come and go effortlessly, without desire. He never expects results; thus he is never disappointed. He is never disappointed; thus his spirit never grows old.
Close your mouth, block off your senses, blunt your sharpness, untie your knots, soften your glare, settle your dust. This is the primal identity.
If you want to be a great leader, you must learn to follow the Tao. Stop trying to control. Let go of fixed plans and concepts, and the world will govern itself. The more prohibitions you have, the less virtuous people will be. The more weapons you have, the less secure people will be. The more subsidies you have, the less self-reliant people will be.
Therefore the Master says: I let go of the law, and people become honest. I let go of economics, and people become prosperous. I let go of religion, and people become serene. I let go of all desire for the common good, and the good becomes common as grass.
Try to make people happy, and you lay the groundwork for misery.
Try to make people moral, and you lay the groundwork for vice.
Governing a large country is like frying a small fish. You spoil it with too much poking.
Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself.
If a nation is centered in the Tao, if it nourishes its own people and doesn’t meddle in the affairs of others, it will be a light to all nations in the world.
When a country obtains great power, it becomes like the sea: all streams run downward into it. The more powerful it grows, the greater the need for humility. Humility means trusting the Tao, thus never needing to be defensive.
The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man’s treasure, the bad man’s refuge.
Why did the ancient Masters esteem the Tao? Because, being one with the Tao, when you seek, you find; and when you make a mistake, you are forgiven. That is why everybody loves it.
Act without doing; work without effort.
The Master never reaches for the great; thus she achieves greatness.
Rushing into action, you fail. Trying to grasp things, you lose them. Forcing a project to completion, you ruin what was almost ripe.
He has nothing, thus has nothing to lose.
What he desires is non-desire; what he learns is to unlearn.
He simply reminds people of who they have always been. He cares about nothing but the Tao. Thus he can care for all things.
The ancient Masters didn’t try to educate the people, but kindly taught them to not-know.
When they think that they know the answers, people are difficult to guide. When they know that they don’t know, people can find their own way.
If you want to govern the people, you must place yourself below them.
If you want to lead the people, you must learn how to follow them.
I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures
The best athlete wants his opponent at his best.
The best leader follows the will of the people. All of them embody the virtue of non-competition. Not that they don’t love to compete, but they do it in the spirit of play.
All of them embody the virtue of non-competition. Not that they don’t love to compete, but they do it in the spirit of play. In this they are like children and in harmony with the Tao.
My teachings are easy to understand and easy to put into practice. Yet your intellect will never grasp them, and if you try to practice them, you’ll fail.
My teachings are older than the world. How can you grasp their meaning? If you want to know me, look inside your heart.
Not-knowing is true knowledge. Presuming to know is a disease. First realize that you are sick; then you can move toward health.
The Master is her own physician. She has healed herself of all knowing. Thus she is truly whole.
When they lose their sense of awe, people turn to religion.
When they no longer trust themselves, they begin to depend upon authority.
Therefore the Master steps back so that people won’s be confused. He teaches without a teaching, so that people will have nothing to learn.
If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to.
If you aren’t afraid of dying, there is nothing you can’t achieve.
When taxes are too high, people go hungry. When the government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit. Act for the people’s benefit. Trust them; leave them alone.
Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.
The Master can keep giving because there is no end to her wealth. She acts without expectation, succeeds without taking credit, and doesn’t think that she is better than anyone else.
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 remains serene in the midst of sorrow. Evil cannot enter his heart. Because he has given up helping, he is people’s greatest help. True words seem paradoxical.
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 leads.
The gateway to all understanding: In order to understand, we have to remain in the darkness of not-knowing.
teaches without saying anything: The way she buys oranges or ties her shoelaces is a teaching. Her face is more eloquent than any scripture could be.
emptying people’s minds: He empties them of concepts, judgments, and desires. Thus they can return to a state of childlike simplicity.
filling their cores: He fills
filling their cores: He fills them with a sense of their original identity. Thus they can return to a state of joy.
weakening their ambition: When they have no false self to nourish or defend, they find that greed, hatred, and arrogance vanish by themselves.
toughening their resolve: Their innermost intention. They develop enough self-reliance to give up the idea of self.
There is no self-consciousness in the newborn child. Later on, the mind wanders into self-images, starts to think Should I do this? Is this movement right? and loses the immediacy of the moment.
his inner vision: There is no inside or outside for him. He reflects whatever appears, without judgment, whether it is a flower or a heap of garbage, a criminal or a saint. Whatever happens is all right. He treats his own anger or grief just as he would treat an angry or grieving child: with compassion.
A mirror will reflect all things perfectly, whether they are beautiful or ugly; it never refuses to show a thing, nor does it retain the thing after it is gone. The mind should be as open as this.
The Master doesn’t talk, he acts: His words are in perfect harmony with his actions. He is always genuine.
When one fellow is called wise, others imagine that there is something they need to know. The Master doesn’t have these categories; for her, no one is wise or holy; thus, in her presence everyone feels at home.
you will get lost: In moral judgments. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is the Tree of Death.
available to all people: Because he is not attached to his own ideas.
Do you want to improve the world: Ramana Maharshi said, Wanting to reform the world without discovering one’s true self is like trying to cover the world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes.
true wisdom: When I know myself, I know others. When I master myself, I don’t need to master others.
doesn’t create them: It is more like a mother than like an artisan, giving birth rather than making.
it doesn’t create them: It is more like a mother than like an artisan, giving birth rather than making.
peace in her heart: She is centered in the peace; thus she can give herself fully to the pain.
If you want to shrink something: For example, defects in your character. When suppressed or ignored, they continue; but when allowed to be present in your awareness, they eventually wither away. Or, as Blake said from a slightly different perspective, “The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.”
The Master does nothing: He has no goal in mind, doesn’t think that he is doing anything. He’s just along for the ride.
When the Tao is lost: You can never lose the Tao. But you can find it.
yet he leaves nothing undone: No expectations. No regrets. No residue.
Therefore the Master concerns himself / with the depths and not the surface: In the depths, there is no distinction between depths and surface. Fruit in autumn, flowers in spring. He enjoys the flowers, as he enjoys the fruit.
lets himself be shaped by the Tao: As a piece of marble lets itself be shaped by the sculptor, so that the statue inside can be revealed. Hammer and chisel are necessary agents. Ouch.
Being is born of non-being: “Non-being” means beyond the categories of being and non-being.
the greatest love seems indifferent: Because it has no preferences. A good father loves all his children equally, whether they turn out to be thieves or carpenters or messiahs. As Jesus of Nazareth said, “Love your enemies [i.e., treat them with generosity and compassion], so that you may be children of your father in heaven: for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends his rain on the just and on the unjust.”
People hate to be orphans, widowers, starvelings. Yet kings and princes take these names as their titles. Therefore sometimes you gain by losing; sometimes you lose by gaining. What others have taught, I teach also: ‘The violent will not die a natural death.’ I will make this the father of my teaching.
Fame or integrity, etc.: But why be caught in these dichotomies? Once he has surrendered to the Tao, the Master accepts whatever comes to him. If fame comes, he uses it with integrity. If money comes, he uses it as pure energy. Success and failure are equally irrelevant to him, because his heart rests in the Tao.
True mastery can be gained: Actually, it can’t be gained. True mastery is letting things take their course.
trace back the manifestations: Where do you come from?
The great Way is not difficult if you don’t cling to good and bad. Just let go of your preferences: and everything will be perfectly clear.
genuine: The mark of a genuine person is straightforwardness. He has nothing to hide, nothing to defend.
like a newborn child: Chuang-tzu said, The infant cries all day long without straining its throat. It clenches its fist all day long without cramping its hand. It stares all day long without weakening its eyes. Free from all worries, unaware of itself, it acts without thinking, doesn’t know why things happen, doesn’t need to know.
the world will govern itself: Just as Nature regulates itself, without any need of our bright ideas.
Prosperity rests on disaster; disaster is hidden in prosperity. Who knows the line that separates them? The normal becomes the perverted, the good becomes the monstrous. People have long been confused about this.
the bad man’s refuge: It doesn’t judge him. Thus he can step outside his idea of himself. There is always another chance.
Offer instead / to teach him about the Tao: Better yet, don’t offer. The Master simply responds to circumstances in the appropriate way. If the president or the pope or a border guard has a question, he will be glad to answer it. Otherwise, he minds his business and leaves everything to the Tao.
He cares about nothing but the Tao: Which is not to say that he doesn’t love his wife, children, friends, country, planet. But he sees them in the proper perspective: of eternity. And since he and his wife love the Tao even more than they love each other, their marriage is radiant with love. This is the meaning of the Biblical verse “You shall love the Unnamable your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
no one can compete with her: She sees everyone as her equal.
But to be brave without compassion, generous without frugality, prominent without humility: this is fatal. Whoever shows compassion in battle will conquer. Whoever shows compassion in defense will stand firm. Heaven helps and protects those with compassion.
A skillful officer isn’t warlike. A skillful fighter isn’t violent. A skillful conqueror isn’t competitive. A skillful employer places himself below others. This is called the te of not competing. This is called the power to use men’s abilities. This is called complying with heaven. Since ancient times it has been the best way.
easy to put into practice: Grasses and trees have no trouble with it; animals are perfect disciples.
look inside your heart: And keep looking. Keep listening, too, until the sights and the sounds disappear by themselves.
First realize that you are sick: Novalis said, “We are close to waking up when we dream that we are dreaming.”
Therefore the Master steps back: He doesn’t act as guru or messiah, because he doesn’t want to keep people dependent on him, and thus spiritually immature. When people start to treat him like a holy man, he nips their adoration in the bud and points them to their inner messiah.
people will have nothing to learn: They just need to unlearn.
The Tao is always at ease: At ease with herself, the Master puts everyone else at ease.
Trying to control the future: Thinking that you know what is good or bad, what is advantageous or harmful.
The Huai Nan Tzu tells a story about this: A poor farmer’s horse ran off into the country of the barbarians. All his neighbors offered their condolences, but his father said, “How do you know that this isn’t good fortune?” After a few months the horse returned with a barbarian horse of excellent stock. All his neighbors offered their congratulations, but his father said, “How do you know that this isn’t a disaster?” The two horses bred, and the family became rich in fine horses. The farmer’s son spent much of his time riding them; one day he fell off and broke his hipbone. All his neighbors offered the farmer their condolences, but his father said, “How do you know that this isn’t good fortune?” Another year passed, and the barbarians invaded the frontier. All the able-bodied young men were conscripted, and nine-tenths of them died in the war. Thus good fortune can be disaster and vice versa. Who can tell how events will be transformed?
leave them alone: Offer them the gift of not being dependent on you.
disciple of life: The less rigid, the readier for life or death.
he is people’s greatest help: The greatest help is wholeheartedly trusting people to resolve their own problems. A true philanthropist, like a good parent, brings people to the point where they can help themselves.
If you blame someone else: Confucius said, In the archer there is a resemblance to the mature person. When he misses the mark, he turns and seeks the reason for his failure in himself.
The more he does for others, / the happier he is: Because he is doing it for himself.
The more he gives to others, / the wealthier he is: The less he holds on to, the more he can give himself to others. When he can give himself completely, his wealth is infinite.