The world may be known without stepping outside one's home The Tao may be seen without looking out a window The further you go, the less...

When the Tao rules the world Horses bear manure in the fields When nations ignore the Tao Horses bear soldiers through the streets There...

Rare perfection seems incomplete, Yet does not decay Rare abundance seems empty, Yet does not fail A rare truth seems contradictory; Rare...

What is dearer, health or reputation? What has more worth, health or possessions? What is more troublesome, profit or loss? Passionate...

Water, the softest of substances Overcomes hard stone For being insubstantial, It requires no opening There is the benefit of action...

The Tao gave birth to reality And reality, to sensation Sensation gave birth to thought And thought, to all else Each thought contains...

When the wise man hears of the Tao he does his best to practice it. When the average man hears of the Tao he sometimes has it and...

The movement of the Tao is to return In its fragility lies its main usefulness From what-is all things are born But what-is, in turn,...

In ancient times, the world was whole The sky was clear, the earth was stable The mountains were firm The riverbeds were full Nature was...

Well established class systems are not easily uprooted Closely held beliefs are not easily given up So ritual imprisons generations upon...