When
machinations cease,
then the moon is there and the
breeze comes; so one needn’t experience
the world as an ocean of misery. When
the mind is aloof, there are no dust
and tracks from the rat race;
so why get addicted to
mountains?
When
machinations cease,
then the moon is there and the
breeze comes; so one needn’t experience
the world as an ocean of misery. When
the mind is aloof, there are no dust
and tracks from the rat race;
so why get addicted to
mountains?
A truly
good person doesn’t
dwell on her goodness.
Thus she can be good.
A person of false goodness
never forgets her goodness.
Thus her goodness is
always false.
A truly
good person does nothing,
yet nothing remains undone.
A person of false goodness is forever
doing, yet everything remains
forever undone.
Those who
are interested in service
act without motive. Those who are
interested in righteousness act with
motives of all sorts. Those who are
interested in propriety act, and
receiving no response, they
roll up their sleeves
and use force.
When
Tao is lost,
goodness appears.
When goodness is lost,
philanthropy appears.
When philanthropy is lost,
justice appears.
When justice is lost,
only etiquette
is left.
Etiquette
is the faintest husk
of real loyalty and faith,
and it is the beginning of confusion.
Knowledge of the future is only
a blossom of Tao; to become
preoccupied with it
is folly.
Thus the
sage sets her sights
on the substance and not the
surface, on the fruit and not the
flower. Leaving the one,
she gains the
other.
from The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu,
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In this
tradition of wei wu wei,
we don’t have a thing to offer you.
That is why you can rely upon
it for everything.
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Anyone
can say anything.
Eyes look without obstruction,
And the nose, it sniffs everything.
Legs go where they want to. Hands reach.
The mind respects nothing. Even the heart
Is unsure where to stand. This is how
Things are. Is something missing?
A human being can walk in different ways,
Deliberately, as though going somewhere,
Or strolling with no purpose, or marching,
Or limping, or pretending to be a gorilla
With arms hanging down.
He or she can curse you or trust you, comfort you,
Or act without considering anything or anyone.
Truth and lies, both glitter in the eyes.
He or she can hear and enjoy and embrace
The language coming in, but to understand everything
With divine wisdom is hard.
There is one clear truth, the pure loving.
When people do not have that, they are
Disconnected. Words are just words,
And good actions are done for wrong reasons.
Paint on a red dot like the dancing Shiva,
But if you don’t know how to open your heart
With modesty, dignity, and respect for others,
It’s just collecting more honors and robes.
It’s easy to explain the condition of being human,
What’s missing and what’s here, but if
You don’t know God exists,
It’s foolishness.
To know this and act accordingly is difficult.
Saying the words is easy.
In the
practice of the Way,
nothing is forced. Remaining
at home in quiet concentration,
you merge the outside
and inside into
one.
At peace
with everything,
unlearned, unworried,
untouched by phenomena,
you enter into reality
as an ordinary
person.
You
can now buy
Wei wu Wei Ching as part of a
five-app bundle of Taoist classics
for iPhone or iPad for less than
the cost of one hardcover
book.