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Tao Te Ching Articles

Tao Te Ching, by Lau-Tzu (verses 71 - 81)

April 20, 2012 | Lau-Tzu

Translated by J. H. McDonald (1996)

tao verses 71 - 81

71
Knowing you don't know is wholeness.
Thinking you know is a disease.
Only by recognizing that you have an illness
can you move to seek a cure.

The Master is whole because
she sees her illnesses and treats them,
and thus is able to remain whole.

72
When people become overly bold,
then disaster will soon arrive.

Do not meddle with people's livelihood;
by respecting them they will in turn respect you.

Therefore, the Master knows herself but is not arrogant.
She loves herself but also loves others.
This is how she is able to make appropriate choices.

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Tao Te Ching, by Lau-Tzu (verses 61 - 70)

March 26, 2012 | Lau-Tzu

Translated by J. H. McDonald (1996)

chinese landscape

A large country should take the low place like a great watershed,
which from its low position assumes the female role.
The female overcomes the male by the power of her position.
Her tranquility gives rise to her humility.

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Tao Te Ching, by Lau-Tzu (verses 51 - 60)

March 13, 2012 | Lau-Tzu

Translated by J. H. McDonald (1996)

chinese landscapes

51

The Tao gives birth to all of creation.
The virtue of Tao in nature nurtures them,
and their family gives them their form.
Their environment then shapes them into completion.
That is why every creature honors the Tao and its virtue.

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Tao Te Ching, by Lau-Tzu (verses 41 - 50)

February 24, 2012 | Lau-Tzu

Translated by J. H. McDonald (1996)

chinese cranes

41

When a superior person hears of the Tao,
She diligently puts it into practice.
When an average person hears of the Tao,
he believes half of it, and doubts the other half.
When a foolish person hears of the Tao,
he laughs out loud at the very idea.
If he didn't laugh,
it wouldn't be the Tao.

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Tao Te Ching, by Lau-Tzu (verses 31 - 40)

February 1, 2012 | Lau-Tzu

Translated by J. H. McDonald (1996)

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31

Weapons are the bearers of bad news;
all people should detest them.

The wise man values the left side,
and in time of war he values the right.
Weapons are meant for destruction,
and thus are avoided by the wise.
Only as a last resort
will a wise person use a deadly weapon.

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Tao Te Ching, by Lau-Tzu (verses 21 - 30)

January 19, 2012 | Lau-Tzu

Translated by J. H. McDonald (1996)

chinese landscape 4

21

The greatest virtue you can have
comes from following only the Tao;
which takes a form that is intangible and evasive.

Even though the Tao is intangible and evasive,
we are able to know it exists.
Intangible and evasive, yet it has a manifestation.
Secluded and dark, yet there is a vitality within it.
Its vitality is very genuine.
Within it we can find order.

Since the beginning of time, the Tao has always existed.
It is beyond existing and not existing.
How do I know where creation comes from?
I look inside myself and see it.

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Tao Te Ching, by Lau-Tzu (verses 11-20)

January 19, 2012 | Lau-Tzu

Translated by J. H. McDonald (1996)

chinese landscape

11

Thirty spokes are joined together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that allows the wheel to function.

We mold clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that makes the vessel useful.

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Tao Te Ching, by Lau-Tzu (verses 1-10)

January 18, 2012 | Lau-Tzu

Translated by J. H. McDonald (1996)

20120118-bamboo1.jpg

1
The tao that can be described
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be spoken
is not the eternal Name.

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