Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching is cherished for it’s ability to suggest, rather than command a way to find one’s path to beauty, goodness, and high quality of life.
Lao Tzu’s words resonate now as before. One who can follow his teachings will discover the secret to lasting happiness.
Take a moment and contemplate the truth in his words.
About the Self
When you are content to be simply yourself
and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.
Knowing the constant, we accept things as they are.
By accepting things as they are, we are impartial.
By being impartial, we are part of the Nature.
By being a part of the Nature, we are one with Tao.
Tao is eternal, and we survive physical death.
He who conquers others is strong;
he who conquers himself is mighty
Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.
If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.
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.
Non-attachment
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.
Be totally empty,
embrace the tranquility of peace.
Watch the workings of all creation,
observe how endings become beginnings.
All creatures in the universe
return to the point where they began.
Returning to the source is tranquility
meaning submitting to what is and what is to be.To understand the limitation of things,
desire them.If you try to change it,
you will ruin it.
Try to hold it,
and you will lose it.
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.
If good happens, good;
if bad happens, good.
Universal Truths
The Tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.
The gentle overcomes the rigid.
The slow overcomes the fast.
The weak overcomes the strong.Everyone knows that the yielding overcomes the stiff,
and the soft overcomes the hard.
Yet no one applies this knowledge.
Mastery of the world is achieved
by letting things take their natural course.
If you interfere with the way of Nature,
you can never master the world.
In harmony with the Tao,
the sky is clear and spacious,
the earth is solid and full,
all creatures 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.
General Wisdom
The flame that burns Twice as bright
burns half as long.
My teachings are easy to understand
and easy to put into practice.
Yet your intellect will never grasp them,
and if you try to practice them,you’ll fail.My teachings are older than the world.
How can you grasp their meaning?If you want to know me,
Look inside your heart.
Give evil nothing to oppose
and it will disappear by itself.
When goodness is lost there is morality.
There is no greater misfortune
than not knowing what is enough.
There is no greater flaw
than wanting more and more.Whoever knows contentment
is blissful at all times.
Do you have the patience to wait
until your mud settles,
and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
until the right action
arises by itself?
The best leaders are those their people hardly know exist.
The next best is a leader who is loved and praised.
Next comes the one who is feared.
The worst one is the leader that is despised …The best leaders value their words, and use them sparingly.
When they have accomplished their task,
the people say, “Amazing!
We did it, all by ourselves!”
A great nation is like a great man:
When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.
Having realized it, he admits it.
Having admitted it, he corrects it.
He considers those who point out his faults
as his most benevolent teachers.
He thinks of his enemy
as the shadow that he himself casts.
Lao Tzu Tao and Wu Wei on Audiobook
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