Tao of the Day

Tao of the Day

Your Daily Dose of Taoism

 

Chapter Thirty-Nine

About the men of old that had reached perfection
We know that they felt one with the whole creation
That they saw the earth not as chaos but as a unity
That they felt like gods and spiritual beings
That emptiness was no longer empty, but filled
And they saw that the whole creation was inspired
Thanks to their wholeness the world returned to its original order
For one who doesn’t see clearly, the creation is splintered
For one who places oneself outside nature, the earth is chaos
One who doesn’t experience oneself as divine anymore, feels powerless
One who does not experience one’s perfection anymore, feels empty
People who deny their true nature, go to rack and ruin
Therefore they say:
Humility is the source of truthfulness
Smallness the source of grandeur
One who feels elevated over ones fellow men
Isn’t right, is unworthy and small
After all, they climbed up high over other people’s backs
Therefore their richness is poverty
And their gold just tinsel

Share This Post

Leave a Reply

Sign Up



Additional Info

Tao of the Day is a site for all things related to the Tao (also spelled Dao). We'll cover the entire Tao Te Ching several times each year, with one chapter being the center of attention each day. You can always comment on past days, but let's try to keep it flowing as the days progress.

Meta