a GRAM OF TRUTH » Tao Te Ching

Beneath Abstraction

adele — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 07:43:04 +0000

Writings by Lao Tzu

There is a mystery,
Beneath abstraction,
Silent, depthless,
Alone, unchanging,
Ubiquitous and liquid,
The mother of nature.
It has no name, but I call it “the Way”;
It has no limit, but I call it “limitless”.

Being limitless, it flows away forever;
Flowing away forever, it returns to my self:

The Way is limitless,
So nature is limitless,
So the world is limitless,
And so I am limitless.

For I am abstracted from the world,
The world from nature,
Nature from the Way,
And the Way from what is beneath abstraction.

Home

adele — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 08:51:20 +0000

#22 by Lao Tzu

Accept and you become whole,
Bend and you straighten,
Empty and you fill,
Decay and you renew,
Want and you acquire,
Fulfill and you become confused.

The sage accepts the world
As the world accepts the Way;
He does not display himself, so is clearly seen,
Does not justify himself, so is recognized,
Does not boast, so is credited,
Does not pride himself, so endures,
Does not contend, so none contend against him.

The ancients said, “Accept and you become whole”,
Once whole, the world is as your home.

The Great Way – One

adele — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 12:14:56 +0000

Translation by James Legge

The Tao that can be trodden is not the
enduring and unchanging Tao. The name
that can be named is not the enduring
and unchanging name.

(Conceived of as) having no name, it
is the Originator of heaven and earth;
(conceived of as) having a name, it is
the Mother of all things.

Always without desire we must be found,
If its deep mystery we would sound;
But if desire always within us be,
Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.

Under these two aspects, it is really the
same; but as development takes place, it
receives the different names. Together we
call them the Mystery. Where the Mystery
is the deepest is the gate of all that
is subtle and wonderful.

TaoDeChing – Harmony

adele — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 09:34:34 +0000

Words from Lao Tze

Embracing the Way, you become embraced; Breathing gently, you become newborn; Clearing your mind, you become clear; Nurturing your children, you become impartial; Opening your heart, you become accepted; Accepting the world, you embrace the Way.
Bearing and nurturing, Creating but not owning, Giving without demanding, This is harmony.