The Tao is like an empty bowl,
yet it may be used
without ever needing to be filled.
It is the deep and unfathomable source
of the ten thousand things.
Blunt the sharpness.
Untie the knot.
Soften the glare.
Settle with the dust.
It is hidden deep yet ever present.
I do not know whose child it is.
It existed before the common ancestor.
Not exalting the talented prevents rivalry.
Not valuing goods that are hard to obtain
prevents stealing.
Not displaying desirable things
prevents confusion of the heart.
Therefore, the True Person governs by
emptying the heart of desire
and filling the belly with food,
weakening ambitions
and strengthening bones.
If the people are simple and free from desire,
then the clever ones never dare to interfere.
Practice action without [...]
All under heaven see beauty as beauty
only because they also see ugliness.
All announce that good is good
only because they also denounce what is bad.
Therefore, something and nothing give birth to one another
Difficult and easy complete one another.
Long and short fashion one another.
High and low arise from one another.
Notes and tones harmonize with one another.
Front and [...]
Today we begin a translation of the Tao by Tolbert McCarroll.
Tolbert McCarroll, better known as “Brother Toby” has lived by Meister Eckhart’s adage that what a person acquires in contemplation should be spent in compassion. He is a highly respected spiritual guide for people on many paths and journeys. An award-winning author of nine books, [...]
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Announcement
For those of you who get the Tao of the Day emails, and especially those of you who don’t, the http://www.taooftheday.com website is restarting with a new translation as of Monday. We’ve finished another round of 81 chapters, and it’s time to start over again with #1.¬† Now is the best time to start looking [...]
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Chapter 81
Trustworthy words are not beautiful.
Beautiful words are not trustworthy.
The knower does not know everything.
The know-it-all knows nothing.
Kindness is not overindulgent.
Overindulgence is not kind.
The sage does not collect.
As soon as he exists for others, he has more.
As soon as he gives to others, he has more.
So the Tao of heaven benefits and does not harm.
The [...]
