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Word Gems exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching: quotes featuring Sheng Jen - The Sage
from https://www.taoistic.com/taoquotes/ Sheng Jen, the Sage, is the ideal human being, living virtuously in accordance with Tao, the Way. The great classic of Taoism, Tao Te Ching, describes the personality and behavior of the Sage in several of its chapters, hoping for every reader to follow the noble example of such wisdom. Below are those chapters, out of the 81 in Tao Te Ching, which deal mainly with the theme of Sheng Jen, the Sage, and how such a person behaves.
They regard all things as offerings. The sage is not kind. He regards people as offerings.
It is empty, but lacks nothing. The more it moves, the more comes out of it.
Unlike remaining centered.
How can they be eternal and lasting? Because they do not live for themselves. That is how they can be eternal.
The sage puts himself last and becomes the first, Neglects himself and is preserved. Is it not because he is unselfish that he fulfills himself?
The five tones deafen the ear. The five flavors dull the mouth.
Searching for precious goods leads astray.
And not to what he sees. He rejects the latter and chooses the former.
And a depth too profound to comprehend. Because they were impossible to comprehend, I will try to describe them by their appearance.
Wary, as if surrounded by strangers. Dignified, like a guest. Yielding, like ice about to melt. Simple, like uncarved wood. Open, like a valley. Obscure, like muddy waters.
Who can rest until the moment of action?
Since he lacks excess, He can grow old in no need to be renewed.
What's the difference between beautiful and ugly? Must one dread what others dread? Oh barbarity! Will it never end?
Like on the way up to the terrace in the spring. I alone am inert, giving no sign, Like a newborn baby who has not learned to smile. I am wearied, as if I lacked a home to go to.
I alone seem wanting. I have the mind of a fool, Understanding nothing.
I alone am held in the dark. The common people are sharp, Only I am clumsy, Like drifting on the waves of the sea, Without direction.
I alone am unwilling, like the outcast. I alone am different from the others, Because I am nourished by the great mother.
Bend to be straight. Empty to be filled. Wear down to be renewed. Reduce to gain. Excess confuses.
And is an example to the world. He does not show off, therefore he shines. He does not justify himself, therefore he is revered. He does not boast, therefore he is honored. He does not praise himself, therefore he remains. Because he opposes no one, No one in the world can oppose him.
Hulk to be whole. Are these just empty words? Indeed, he shall remain whole.
A good speaker does not stutter. A good counter needs no calculator. A good door needs no lock, Still it can't be opened. A good mooring needs no knot, Still no one can untie it.
Forsaking no one. He takes care of all things, Forsaking nothing. This is called following the light.
A bad person is the good person's task. The one who does not honor the teacher And the one who does not honor the task, Although ever so knowledgeable, They are confused. This is called the subtle essence.
But makes the concerns of others his own.
He is also good to those who are not good. That is the virtue of good. He is faithful to people who are faithful. He is also faithful to people who are not faithful. That is the virtue of faithfulness.
And lives in harmony with it. People turn their eyes and ears to him, And the sage cares for them like his own children.
Because they lie below them. That is why they can be the kings of a hundred valleys.
If the sage wants to stand above people, He must speak to them from below. If he wants to lead people, He must follow them from behind.
When the sage stands above people, They are not oppressed. When he leads people, They are not obstructed. The world will exalt him And not grow tired of him.
None in the world resists him.
And very easy to practice. Still, no one in the world Can understand or practice them.
My deeds have a sovereign. Truly, because people do not understand this, They do not understand me.
Therefore, the sage wears coarse clothes, concealing jade.
Not knowing that you do not know is an illness.
Can avoid illness. The sage is not ill, Because he sees illness as illness. Therefore he is not ill.
Pleasing words are not true. Those who are right do not argue. Those who argue are not right. Those who know are not learned. Those who are learned do not know.
The more he does for others, The more he has. The more he thereby gives to others, The ever more he gets.
Is to benefit and not to harm. The sage's Way Is to act and not to contend.
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