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Word Gems exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching: quotes featuring Tao - the Way
from https://www.taoistic.com/taoquotes/ Below are those chapters, out of the 81 in Tao Te Ching, which deal mainly with the theme of Tao, the Way, and how to understand it.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth. The named is the mother of all things.
Free from desire you see the mystery. Full of desire you see the manifestations. These two have the same origin but differ in name. That is the secret, The secret of secrets, The gate to all mysteries.
Like an abyss! It seems to be the origin of all things. It dulls the sharpness, Unties the knots, Dims the light, Becomes one with the dust.
I do not know whose child it is. It seems to precede the ancestor of all.
It is called the mystical female. The entrance to the mystical female Is called the root of Heaven and Earth.
As if barely existing, It is used but never spent.
So it is called invisible. Listen, it cannot be heard, So it is called soundless. Touch, it cannot be caught, So it is called elusive. These three cannot be examined, So they unite into one.
Below it there is no darkness. Endlessness beyond description. It returns to non-existence. It is called the shapeless shape, The substance without form. It is called obscurely evasive. Meet it and you do not see its beginning, Follow it and you do not see its end.
And to learn the distant beginning. This is called the unbroken strand of the Way.
Its nature is utterly vague and evasive. How evasive and vague! Yet its center has form. How vague and evasive! Yet its center has substance. How deep and obscure! Yet its center has essence. This essence is real, So, its center can be trusted.
Its name has not been lost. Thereby, see the origin of all. How do I know it is the origin of all? By this.
Born before Heaven and Earth. So silent and still! So pure and deep! It stands alone and immutable, Ever-present and inexhaustible. It can be called the mother of the whole world. I do not know its name. I call it the Way. For the lack of better words I call it great.
Constant flow means far-reaching. Far-reaching means returning.
Heaven is great, Earth is great, And the king is also great. In the world there are four greats, And the king is one of them.
Earth is ruled by Heaven. Heaven is ruled by the Way. The Way is ruled by itself.
Though simple and subtle, The world cannot lead it. If princes and kings could follow it, All things would by themselves abide, Heaven and Earth would unite And sweet dew would fall. People would by themselves find harmony, Without being commanded.
There are already many names. One must know when it is enough. Those who know when it is enough will not perish.
The stream is to the river and the sea.
It reaches to the left and to the right. All things depend on it with their existence. Still it demands no obedience. It demands no honor for what it accomplishes. It clothes and feeds all things without ruling them.
So, it can be called small. All things return to it, Although it does not make itself their ruler. So, it can be called great.
Thereby he can accomplish the great.
And the whole world follows, Follows unharmed, Content and completely at peace.
But words spoken about the Way have no taste. When looked at, there's not enough to see. When listened to, there's not enough to hear. When used, it is never exhausted.
Heaven obtained unity and became clear. Earth obtained unity and became firm. The spirits obtained unity and became deities. The valleys obtained unity and became abundant. All things obtained unity and became animate. Princes and kings obtained unity and became rulers of the world. They all obtained unity with the one.
If Earth were not firm it might crumble. If the spirits were not deities they might wither. If the valleys were not abundant they might dry up. If all things were not animate they might perish. If princes and kings were not exalted they might be overthrown.
The noble must make humility his root. The high must make the low its base. That is why princes and kings call themselves orphaned, desolate, unworthy. Is that not to make humility their root?
So, do not strive for the shine of jade, But clatter like stone.
Yielding is the manner of the Way.
Being is born out of non-being.
And follows it closely. The average student listens to the Way And follows some and some not. The lesser student listens to the Way And laughs out loud. If there were no laughter it would not be the Way.
The light of the Way seems dim. The progress of the Way seems retreating. The straightness of the Way seems curved. The highest virtue seems as low as a valley. The purest white seems stained. The grandest virtue seems deficient. The sturdiest virtue seems fragile. The most fundamental seems fickle. The perfect square lacks corners. The greatest vessel takes long to complete. The highest tone is hard to hear. The great image lacks shape.
Still only the Way nourishes and completes.
One gave birth to two. Two gave birth to three. Three gave birth to all things.
They reach harmony by blending with the vital breath.
Is to be orphaned, desolate, unworthy. But this is what princes and kings call themselves. Sometimes gain comes from losing, And sometimes loss comes from gaining.
The forceful and violent will not die from natural causes. This will be my chief doctrine.
Virtue gives them nourishment. Matter gives them shape. Conditions make them whole.
Of all things, None does not revere the Way and honor virtue. Reverence of the Way and honoring virtue Were not demanded of them, But it is in their nature.
Nourishes them, Raises them, Nurtures them, Protects them, Matures them, Takes care of them. It gives birth without seizing, Helps without claim, Fosters without ruling. This is called the profound virtue.
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