Daily Tao

[Wu Wei]

DailyTao.org
The Book of The Way, Day by Day

Tuesday, 16 November, 2021

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

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.

When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete,
everybody will respect you.

 

[PureX]

Not too sure about that last part. But I like the focus on paying attention to the 'yin of the yang', so to speak. An important aspect of eastern wisdom relies on an awareness of the whole, by minding the apparent opposing parts.

 

[Wu Wei]

Wednesday, 17 November, 2021 | 9
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.

 

[Wu Wei]

November 19, 2021

Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu - chapter 11

Thirty spokes share the wheel's hub;
It is the center hole that makes it useful.
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 profit comes from what is there;
Usefulness from what is not there.

 

[Wu Wei]

DailyTao.org
The Book of The Way, Day by Day
Saturday, 27 November, 2021 | 19
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.

If these three aren't enough,
just stay at the center of the circle
and let all things take their course.

----------------------------------------------

19
Abandon wisdom, discard knowledge,
And people will benefit a hundredfold.
Abandon benevolence, discard duty,
And people will return to the family ties.
Abandon cleverness, discard profit,
And thieves and robbers will disappear.

These three, though, are superficial, and not enough.

Let this be what to rely on:
Behave simply and hold on to purity.
Lessen selfishness and restrain desires.
Abandon knowledge and your worries are over.

 

[Wu Wei]

DailyTao.org
The Book of The Way, Day by Day
Friday, 17 December, 2021 | 39
In harmony with the Tao,
the sky is clear and spacious,
the earth is solid and full,
all creature flourish together,
content with the way they are,
endlessly repeating themselves,
endlessly renewed.

When man interferes with the Tao,
the sky becomes filthy,
the earth becomes depleted,
the equilibrium crumbles,
creatures become extinct.

The Master views the parts with compassion,
because he understands the whole.
His constant practice is humility.
He doesn't glitter like a jewel
but lets himself be shaped by the Tao,
as rugged and common as stone.

 

[Wu Wei]

Daily Tao

Monday, November 21, 2022

Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear.

What does it mean that success is a dangerous as failure?
Whether you go up the ladder or down it,
your position is shaky.
When you stand with your two feet on the ground,
you will always keep your balance.

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.

 

[PureX]

My friend Mike used to say that anyone can be a hero when they've got nothing left to lose. If you really want to find out what a man is made of, give him massive success, and see who he becomes, then.

 

[Wu Wei]

DailyTao.org

The Book of The Way, Day by Day

Tuesday, 22 November, 2022 | 14

Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.

Above, it isn't bright.
Below, it isn't dark.
Seamless, unnamable,
it returns to the realm of nothing.
Form that includes all forms,
image without an image,
subtle, beyond all conception.

Approach it and there is no beginning;
follow it and there is no end.
You can't know it, but you can be it,
at ease in your own life.
Just realize where you come from:
this is the essence of wisdom.

 

[Wu Wei]

DailyTao.org :: The Book of The Way, Day by Day

DailyTao.org displays a new chapter of the Tao Te Ching everyday, for your enjoyment and enlightmentment.

dailytao.org

Saturday, 24 February, 2024 | 67​

Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Others call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep.

I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.

 

[Wu Wei]

DailyTao.org :: The Book of The Way, Day by Day

DailyTao.org displays a new chapter of the Tao Te Ching everyday, for your enjoyment and enlightmentment.

dailytao.org

Saturday, 2 March, 2024 | 74

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.

Trying to control the future
is like trying to take the master carpenter's place.
When you handle the master carpenter's tools,
chances are that you'll cut your hand.


This one is particularly interesting to me today, it pointed out that a decision I am currently trying yo make, is being heavily influenced by fear.

 

[Wu Wei]

DailyTao.org
The Book of The Way, Day by Day

Monday, 11 March, 2024 | 2​

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.

 

[Spice]

DailyTao.org :: The Book of The Way, Day by Day

DailyTao.org displays a new chapter of the Tao Te Ching everyday, for your enjoyment and enlightmentment.

dailytao.org

Saturday, 24 February, 2024 | 67​

Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Others call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep.

I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.

Thank you, so much, for the link. I'm sure to appreciate it daily.

 

[Wu Wei]

DailyTao.org
The Book of The Way, Day by Day

Thursday, 14 March, 2024 | 5​

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.

 

[Wu Wei]

DailyTao.org
The Book of The Way, Day by Day

Saturday, 30 March, 2024 | 21​

The Master keeps her mind
always at one with the Tao;
that is what gives her radiance.

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.

 

[Wu Wei]

DailyTao.org
The Book of The Way, Day by Day

Tuesday, 2 April, 2024 | 24​

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.

If you want to accord with the Tao,
just do your job, then let go.

 

[Wu Wei]

DailyTao.org
The Book of The Way, Day by Day

Saturday, 6 April, 2024 | 28​

Know the male,
yet keep to the female:
receive the world in your arms.
If you receive the world,
the Tao will never leave you
and you will be like a little child.

Know the white,
yet keep to the black:
be a pattern for the world.
If you are a pattern for the world,
the Tao will be strong inside you
and there will be nothing you can't do.

Know the personal,
yet keep to the impersonal:
accept the world as it is.
If you accept the world,
the Tao will be luminous inside you
and you will return to your primal self.

The world is formed from the void,
like utensils from a block of wood.
The Master knows the utensils,
yet keeps to the block:
thus she can use all things

 

[Wu Wei]

DailyTao.org
The Book of The Way, Day by Day

Wednesday, 10 April, 2024 | 32​

The Tao can't be perceived.
Smaller than an electron,
it contains uncountable galaxies.

If powerful men and women
could remain centered in the Tao,
all things would be in harmony.
The world would become a paradise.
All people would be at peace,
and the law would be written in their hearts.

When you have names and forms,
know that they are provisional.
When you have institutions,
know where their functions should end.
Knowing when to stop,
you can avoid any danger.

All things end in the Tao
as rivers flow into the sea.