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When you study the Tao Te Ching, you have to use your heart to try to imagine what Tao really is.
Sep 23, 2025
If good happens, good; if bad happens, good.
To understand the limitation of things, desire them.
All streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. Humility gives it its power.
Try to change it and you will ruin it. Try to hold it and you will lose it.
If there is to be peace in the world, There must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the nations, There must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, There must be peace between neighbors. If there is to be peace between neighbors, There must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, There must be peace in the heart.
He who stands on tiptoe doesn't stand firm. He who rushes ahead doesn't go far. He who tries to shine dims his own light. He who defines himself can't know who he really is. He who has power over others can't empower himself. He who clings to his work will create nothing that endures.
The mark of a moderate man is freedom from his own ideas. Tolerant like the sky, all-pervading like sunlight, firm like a mountain, supple like a tree in the wind, he has no destination in view and makes use of anything life happens to bring his way.
Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires.
Shape clay into a vessel; It is the space within that makes it useful. Cut doors and windows for a room; It is the holes which make it useful. Therefore benefit comes from what is there; Usefulness from what is not there.
Initially I was very drawn to the Tao Te Ching, the Taoist philosophy. It was helping me deal with the balance of these external and internal issues with my chess life. Tai chi is the martial embodiment of Taoist philosophy. Initially, I had no intention of competing in the martial arts; it was just the meditation.
If you want to know me, look inside your heart.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Stop thinking, and end your problems.
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.
If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.
Those who know do not talk. Those who talk do not know.
I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.
The Master's power is like this. 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.
When people see some things as good, other things become bad.
When there is no desire, all things are at peace
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple.
In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.
Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery, caught in the desire, you see only the manifestations.
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.
Darkness within darkness. The gateway to all understanding.
Since before time and space were, the Tao is. It is beyond is and is not.
Close your mouth, block off your senses, blunt your sharpness, untie your knots, soften your glare, settle your dust. This is the primal identity.
Those who know don't talk. Those who talk don't know. Close your mouth, block off your senses, blunt your sharpness, untie your knots, soften your glare, settle your dust. This is the primal identity. Be like the Tao. It can't be approached or withdrawn from, benefited or harmed, honored or brought into disgrace. It gives itself up continually. That is why it endures.
The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long.
Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth.
We are born male. We must learn to be men. Remember, strength is a force. It is an attribute of the heart. Its opposite is not weakness and fear, but confusion, lack of clarity, and lack of sound intention. If you are able to discern the path with heart and follow it even when at the moment it seems wrong, then and only then are you strong. Remember the words of Tao te ching. "The only true strength is a strength that people do not fear." Strength based in force is a strength people fear. Strength based in love is a strength people crave.
He who stands on tiptoe does not stand firm.
When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly. When people see some things as good, other things become bad. Being and non-being create each other. Difficult and easy support each other. Long and short define each other. High and low depend on each other. Before and after follow each other. Therefore the Master acts without doing anything and teaches without saying anything. 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.
Yet mystery and imagination arise from the same source. This source is called darkness ... Darkness within darkness, the gateway to all understanding.
Care about people's approval and you will be their prisoner.
If you are at peace, you are living in the present.
Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses.
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.
According to the ancient Chinese proverb, A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.
Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habit.
If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve
Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Watch your step.
When the student is ready the teacher will appear.