Tao of the Day

In life I am great, but to the world I am a failure

In my grandeur, I am different from all the rest

And that is exactly therefore the reason I am great

If I would be like the rest, I would be just as unimportant and insignificant

I have three treasures I cherish:

The first is compassion

The second is austerity

The third is modesty

Thanks to my compassion I can be brave

Because I am austere I can be unselfish

Because I am modest I can lead the way

But one who abandons his compassion and yet wants to be brave

One who renounces austerity and yet wants to be unselfish

One who stops being modest and still wants to be important

Won’t make it far

One who fights with compassion, will conquer

Because he doesn’t need to defend himself, he’s invulnerable

The Unspeakable will protect him with its compassion

March 3rd, 2010 | Category: Daily Tao | Leave a comment

Why are the seas and rivers the biggest among all waters?

Because they are located on the lowest places

Therefore they are the biggest

So one who is wise among fools must be the least

And therefore he is the greatest

But fools won’t consider him as a threat

They just don’t understand him and take no notice of him

Because he doesn’t fight and argue with anybody, he is indisputable

March 2nd, 2010 | Category: Daily Tao | Comments (1)

The former sages, who travelled along the straight and simple path

Brought the people wisdom instead of knowledge

When people know much, unity is impossible to keep

That’s why science disturbs the togetherness of men

And wisdom guards that togetherness

One who understands this

Understands that wisdom and knowledge are in conflict with each other

Once you understand this, you’ll be wise

And you will turn back to simplicity

And feel one with everything and everybody

March 1st, 2010 | Category: Daily Tao | Leave a comment

Peace is easy to keep

What might happen is easy to prevent

That which is fragile is easy to break

What’s still very small, can be chased away easily

A big tree starts with a small seed

A terrace-yard started with a mound of earth

A thousand-mile journey starts with a single step

One who disturbs the natural order, harms oneself

One who intervenes loses oneself

A wise man abstains far from this

Therefore he won’t hurt himself and so he remains himself

But people break down everything and they call it “progress”

Once started, there is no end to

A wise man strives for what others don’t

And takes to be important what others take to be unimportant

He unlearns what other are still learning

And turns back to a state of mind others have left

Then he knows the way back to the source

But realizes that the people do not want to hear about it

February 26th, 2010 | Category: Daily Tao | Leave a comment

Act without intention

Stop labouring

Just enjoy life

One who doesn’t honour something small

Isn’t worthy of something big

No more eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth

Turn to them your other cheek

Discover that what seems complicated is in fact very simple

See the grandeur in what seems insignificant

Don’t turn simplicity into complexity

Living purely is simple

But people have made it complicated

So one who’s wise will never make trouble

And therefore he can move mountains

One who promises a lot is hardly ever trustworthy

One with a lot of blinkers on will bring to pass lots of troubles

But one who is wise looks before he leaps

Therefore he won’t start at all

And because of that he knows no trouble

February 25th, 2010 | Category: Daily Tao | Leave a comment