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Daoism 360

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T he man who has forgotten self may be said to have entered Heaven.


Daoism quote 7357 | 




W ith all the confusion in the world these days, no matter how often I point the way, what good does it do? And if I know it does no good and still make myself do it, this too is a kind of confusion. So it is best to leave things alone and not force them. If I don’t force things, at least I won’t cause anyone any worry.


Daoism quote 7358 | 




I n all affairs, whether large or small, there are few men who reach a happy conclusion except through Tao. If you do not succeed, you are bound to suffer from the judgment of men. If you do succeed, you are bound to suffer from the yin and yang. To suffer no harm whether or not you succeed - only the man who has virtue can do that.


Daoism quote 7359 | 




T he Heavenly Gate is nonbeing. The ten thousand things come forth from nonbeing. Being cannot create being out of being; inevitably it must come forth from nonbeing. Nonbeing is absolute nonbeing, and it is here that the sage hides himself.


Daoism quote 7360 | 




H e who steals a belt buckle pays with his life; he who steals a state gets to be a feudal lord.


Daoism quote 7361 | 




M aster Dongguo asked Zhuangzi, “This thing called the Tao - where does it exist?” said, “There’s no place it doesn’t exist.” “Come,” said Master Dongguo, “you must be more specific!” “It is in the ant.” “As low a thing as that?” “It is in the panic grass.” “But that’s lower still!” “It is in the tiles and shards.” “How can it be so low?” “It is in the piss and shit!”


Daoism quote 7362 | 




T hose who seek to satisfy the mind of man by hampering it with ceremonies and music and affecting charity and devotion have lost their original nature.


Daoism quote 7363 | 




N ow you, Sir, have a large tree, and you don’t know how to use it, so why not plant it in the middle of nowhere, where you can go to wander or fall asleep under its shade? No axe under Heaven will attack it, nor shorten its days, for something which is useless will never be disturbed.


Daoism quote 7364 | 




Z huangzi was walking on a mountain, when he saw a great tree with huge branches and luxuriant foliage. A wood-cutter was resting by its side, but he would not touch it, and, when asked the reason, said, that it was of no use for anything, Zhuangzi then said to his disciples, “This tree, because its wood is good for nothing, will succeed in living out its natural term of years.” Having left the mountain, the Master lodged in the house of an old friend, who was glad to see him, and ordered his waiting-lad to kill a goose and boil it. The lad said, “One of our geese can cackle, and the other cannot - which of them shall I kill?”The host said, “Kill the one that cannot cackle.”


Daoism quote 7365 | 




U nion brings on separation; success, overthrow; sharp corners, the use of the file; honour, critical remarks; active exertion, failure; wisdom, scheming; inferiority, being despised: where is the possibility of unchangeable in any of these conditions? Remember this, my disciples. Let your abode be here - in the Tao and its Attributes.


Daoism quote 7366 | 




T hink of the close-furred fox and of the elegantly-spotted leopard. They lodge in the forests on the hills, and lurk in their holes among the rocks - keeping still. At night they go about, and during day remain in their lairs - so cautious are they. Even if they are suffering from hunger, thirst, and other distresses, they still keep aloof from men, seeking their food about the Jiang and the Hu - so resolute are they. Still they are not able to escape the danger of the net or the trap; and what fault is it of theirs? It is their skins which occasion them the calamity.


Daoism quote 7367 | 




T he practice of the Tao flows abroad, but its master does not care to dwell where it can be seen; his attainments in it hold their course, but he does not wish to appear in its display. Always simple and commonplace, he may seem to be bereft of reason. He obliterates the traces of his action, gives up position and power, and aims not at merit and fame. Therefore he does not censure men, and men do not censure him. The perfect man does not seek to be heard of; how is it that you delight in doing so?


Daoism quote 7368 | 




T he interaction of superior men is tasteless as water, while that of mean men is sweet as new wine. But the tastelessness of the superior men leads on to affection, and the sweetness of the mean men to aversion. The union which originates without any cause will end in separation without any cause.


Daoism quote 7369 | 




Z huangzi in the forest saw a cicada, which had just alighted in a beautiful shady spot, and forgot its (care for its) body. (Just then), a preying mantis raised its feelers, and pounced on the cicada, in its eagerness for its prey, (also) forgetting (its care for) its body; while the bird took advantage of its opportunity to secure them both, in view of that gain forgetting its true (instinct of preservation). with an emotion of pity, said, ‘Ah! so it is that things bring evil on one another, each of these creatures invited its own calamity.


Daoism quote 7370 | 




Y ou are not a fish; how do you know what constitutes the enjoyment of fishes?


Daoism quote 7371 | 




I f water is not pi led up deep enough, it won’t have the strength to bear up a big boat.


Daoism quote 7372 | 




T o pile fire on fire, to add water to water, and is called ‘increasing the excessive.’


Daoism quote 7373 | 




E verything has its “that”, everything has its “this.” From the point of view of “that”, you cannot see it, but through understanding you can know it. So I say, “that” comes of “this” and “this” depends on “that” – which is to say that “this” and “that” give birth to each other.


Daoism quote 7374 | 




H ave you heard about the mantis which waved its arms angrily in front of an approaching carriage, unaware that they were incapable of stopping it? Such was the high opinion it had of its talents.


Daoism quote 7375 | 




T he mountain trees do themselves harm; the grease in the torch burns itself up. The cinnamon can be eaten and so it gets cut down; the lacquer tree can be used and so it gets hacked apart. All men know the use of the useful, but nobody knows the use of the useless!


Daoism quote 7376 | 




T he Saintly Man has forgotten his five viscera and has abandoned his bodily form. He knows without apprehending, sees without looking, accomplishes without doing, and discerns without applying himself. He spontaneously responds to the outer stimuli and acts only if he cannot do without it. He moves without wanting it, like beams of light and particles of brilliance. As his rule he follows the Tao and attains to it. He embraces his foundation in the Great Clarity and nothing can trouble him. Vast and deep, he maintains himself empty; pure and serene, he is without thoughts and worries.


Daoism quote 7377 | 




I n Ancient Times of Creation In ancient times, when there were not yet Heaven and Earth, there were only images without forms. Deep! Obscure! Broad and wide, boundless and measureless! Vaporous and opaque, vast and cavernous! No one knows where this came from. There were two spirits (shen) generated from the inchoate, which aligned Heaven and oriented Earth. Empty! No one knows where it ends. Overflowing! No one knows where it stops. Thereupon it differentiated itself and became Yin and Yang, it separated itself and became the eight poles. The firm and the yielding completed each other, and the ten thousand things took form.


Daoism quote 7378 | 




T he Formless and the Soundless (Tao) Now, the Formless is the great forefather of creatures, and the Soundless is the great ancestor of sounds. . . . Therefore you look at it and cannot see its form, you listen to it and cannot hear its sound, and you follow it and cannot get to its person. It is formless, but what has form is generated from it; it is soundless, but the five sounds resonate from it; it is tasteless, but the five tastes take form from it; it is colourless, but the five colours are developed from it. Therefore Being is generated from Non-Being, and the actual is generated from the empty.


Daoism quote 7379 | 




W hat Gives Life to Life . . . Therefore forms come to depletion but spirit never undergoes transformation; this is because when what undergoes no transformation responds to what is transformed, it will never reach an end even throughout one thousand alterations and ten thousand reversals. Undergoing transformations means returning to formlessness; not undergoing transformations means living as long as Heaven and Earth.


Daoism quote 7380 | 




S ome people think they can find satisfaction in good food, fine clothes, lively music, and sexual pleasure. However, when they have all these things, they are not satisfied. They realize happiness is not simply having their material needs met. Thus, society has set up a system of rewards that go beyond material goods. These include titles, social recognition, status, and political power, all in a package called self-fulfillment. Attracted and goaded on by social pressure, people spend their short lives tiring body and mind to chase after these goals. Perhaps this gives them the feeling that they have achieved something in their lives, but in reality they have sacrificed a lot in life. They can no longer see, hear, act, feel, or think from their hearts. In the end, they’ve spent their lives following other people’s demands and never lived a life of their own. How different is this from the life of a slave or a prisoner?


Daoism quote 7381 | 



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