December 1, 2019
My words are easy to understand
My actions are easy to perform
Yet no other can understand or perform them
My words have meaning
My actions have reason
Yet these cannot be known and I cannot be known
We are each unique, and therefore valuable
Though the sage wears coarse clot...
April 29, 2019
There is a saying among soldiers:
It is easier to lose a yard than to take an inch
In this manner one may deploy troops without marshaling them
Sleeves up but no bare arms
Engage the foe without fighting thenm
There is no worse disaster than misunderstanding my enemy
To the...
March 4, 2019
Compassion is the finest weapon and best defense
If you would establish harmony,
Compassion must surround you like a fortress
A skillful soldier is not violent
An able fighter does not rage
A mighty conqueror does not instigate battle
A great commander is a humble man
This is...
February 25, 2019
Rivers carve out valleys by flowing underneath
Thus the river is the master of the valley
In order to master people
One must represent them as their servant
In order to lead people
One must follow
Thus when a sage rises above people
They do not feel oppressed
And when a sage s...
February 18, 2019
The ancients skilled in the Tao did not seek to rule with knowledge
But to help others return to what is natural
It is difficult for the knowledgeable to see simply
So to use law to control a nation weakens the nation
But to make people see to control a nation strengthens...
February 12, 2019
What lies still is easy to grasp
What lies far off is easy to anticipate
What is brittle is easy to shatter
What is small is easy to disperse
Yet a tree broader than what a man can embrace
Comes from a tiny seed
A dam greater than a river can overcome
Starts with a clump of e...
January 28, 2019
Act in repose
Be at rest when you work
Savor unflavored things
Magnify the small
Multiply the few
Return love for hate
Deal with difficult while it is yet easy
Deal with the great while it is yet small
The difficult develops naturally from the easy
And the great from the small
...
January 22, 2019
The Tao is the meaning of man's life
It is the treasure of the saint
And the refuge of the sinner
Consoling words are often borrowed
Good deeds are often copied
Thus when a man falls,
Do not abandon him
When a man gains power,
Do not honor him
Treat both the same
For they are...
January 14, 2019
A great state is a place where paths converge
It becomes a center where smaller states can meet in peace
Just as a maiden wins her husband by submitting to his advances
Thus submission is a means to union
So when a large state submits to a smaller country
It adopts the sma...
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