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daoism

  • Daodejing 33

    #33* Knowing others: lucidity. Knowing self: brilliance.† Defeating others: strength. Defeating self: discipline. Contentedness: wealth. Perseverance: will. Never losing self: endurance. Dead yet unforgotten: longevity. †The characters translated in these two lines both contain the glyph for sun. Lucidity is… Continue reading

    Daodejing 33

  • Daodejing 30

    #30* The minister who relies on the DAO never threatens all under heaven with violence. Surely such an action must lead to retaliation. Wherever troops walk, weeds grow After the time of war, must come the time of famine. The… Continue reading

    Daodejing 30

  • Carrying Over Laozi

    The translation of Daodejing proceeds apace. Dear Wenlong works harder than ever to help me understand the simultaneous complexity and simplicity of Laozi. The term “to translate” literally mean to move something from one place to another or to carry… Continue reading

    Carrying Over Laozi

  • Daodejing 28

    #28* Knowing power, abiding in modesty; like a stream under Heaven. Like a stream under Heaven- never abandoning eternal virtue, returning at last to purity. Knowing white, abiding in black; like this order under Heaven. Like this order under Heaven-… Continue reading

    Daodejing 28

  • Daodejing 27

    #27* The one who masters walking leaves no footprints. The one who masters speaking makes no slips of the tongue. The one who masters counting needs no tally tools to count. The one who masters shutting the door needs no… Continue reading

    Daodejing 27

  • Daodejing 26

    #26* Heaven is the root of lightness. Tranquility masters recklessness. Therefore the Sage travels all day careful to abandon nothing. Even in the face of luxury, like the swallow he flies undistracted. Why is the King with 10,000 chariots reckless… Continue reading

    Daodejing 26

  • Daodejing 25

    #25* There is a thing born of Nature before Heaven & Earth. Soundless, formless Independent, unchanging Always turning, never stopping. Regard it: the Mother of All. I do not know its name, reluctantly I call it the Great Way (Dao).… Continue reading

    Daodejing 25

  • Daodejing 24

    #24* A show-off never learns A know-it-all never shines A braggart never achieves A boaster never gets ahead All of this is most unnecessary Seen from the viewpoint of the Way The person on the Way avoids all of this… Continue reading

    Daodejing 24

  • Daodejing 23

    #23* Speak rarely like Nature. Typhoons do not blow all morning. Thunderstorms do not last all day. Who makes the typhoon to blow and storm to thunder? Heaven and earth. If even Heaven and Earth cannot sustain things for long,… Continue reading

    Daodejing 23

  • Recalling This Beautiful Order

    In attempting to philosophize as a way of life, I have often “translated” many terms/concepts into a single notion that would comprehend the nuances of diverse sages across time & cultures. Whether I succeed is another story entirely. A particularly… Continue reading