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Religion Title: Tao Te Ching
2. Qualities
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When Beauty is recognized in the World
Ugliness has been learned;
When Good is recognized in the World
Evil has been learned.
In this way:
Alive and dead are abstracted from growth;
Difficult and easy are abstracted from progress;
Far and near are abstracted from position;
Strong and weak are abstracted from control;
Song and speech are abstracted from harmony;
After and before are abstracted from sequence.
The sage controls without authority,
And teaches without words;
He lets all things rise and fall,
Nurtures, but does not interfere,
Gives without demanding,
And is content.
3. Control
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Not praising the worthy prevents cheating
Not esteeming the rare prevents theft
Not flaunting beauty prevents lust
So the sage controls people by:
Emptying their hearts,
Filling their bellies,
Weakening their ambitions,
And strengthening their bodies.
If people lack knowledge and desire
The crafty among them can not act;
If no action is taken
Then all live in peace.
4. Properties of Tao
5. Nature
---------
Nature is not kind;
It treats all things impartially.
The Sage is not kind,
And treats all people impartially.
Nature is like a bellows
Empty, yet supplying all needs,
The more it moves, the more it yields;
The sage draws upon Tao in the same way
And can not be exhausted.
6. The Heart
------------
Like a riverbed, the heart is never filled
It is an ineffable female
Whose entrance is the source of the World;
Tao is ever present within it:
Draw upon it and it will never fail.
7. Self
-------
Nature is everlasting because it does not have a Self.
In this way the sage:
Serves his Self last and finds it served first;
Sees his body as accidental and finds it endures.
Because he does not serve his Self, he is content.
8. Intimacy
-----------
The best of man is like water,
Which benefits all things, and does not contend with them,
Which flows in places that others disdain,
Where it holds fast to Tao.
So the sage:
In dwelling holds fast to the land,
In governing holds fast to order,
In talking holds fast to truth,
In dealing holds fast to men,
In acting holds fast to opportunity,
In crafting holds fast to competence,
In feeling holds fast to the heart;
He does not contend, and so is without blame.
9. Hubris
---------
Stretch a bow to its limit and it is soon broken;
Temper a blade to its sharpest and it is soon blunted;
Amass the greatest treasure and it is soon stolen;
Claim credit and honour and you will soon fall;
Retire once your purpose is acheived - this is the way of Nature.
10. Love
--------
Embracing Tao, you become embraced.
Supple, breathing gently, you become reborn.
Clearing your vision, you become clear.
Nurturing your beloved, you become impartial.
Opening your heart, you become accepted.
Accepting the World, you embrace Tao.
Bearing and nurturing,
Creating but not owning,
Giving without demanding,
Controlling without authority,
This is love.
11. Wealth and Worth
12. Distraction
---------------
Too much color blinds the eye
Too much tone deafens the ear
Too much taste dulls the palate
Too much play maddens the mind
Too much desire tears the heart.
The sage provides for the belly, not for the senses;
He lets go of sensation and accepts substance.
13. Anxiety
-----------
The saints said: "Praise and blame cause anxiety;
The objects of hope and fear are within your Self."
"Praise and blame cause anxiety"
For you must hope and fear to receive or to lose them.
"The objects of hope and fear are within your Self"
For, without Self, neither fortune nor disaster can befall.
Therefore:
He who regards the World as the Self is able to control the World;
He who loves the World as the Self is able to nurture the World.
14. The Continuity of Tao
15. The Saints
--------------
The Saints had understanding
So profound they can not be understood.
Because they cannot be understood
I can only describe their appearance:
Cautious, like one crossing thin ice,
Hesitant, like one who fears danger,
Modest, like one who is a guest,
Smooth, like melting ice,
Genuine, like unshaped wood,
Empty, like a riverbed,
Opaque, like muddy water.
He who can lie still while the mud settles,
And remain still until the water flows
Does not seek fulfillment
And transcends Nature.
16. Transcending Nature
17. Rulers
----------
The best rulers are scarcely known by their subjects;
The next best are loved and praised;
The next are feared;
The next despised:
They have no faith in their subjects,
So their subjects become unfaithful to them.
When the best rulers achieve their purpose
Their subjects claim the achievement as their own.
18. Loss of Tao
---------------
When Tao is forgotten
Duty and justice arise;
Then wisdom and sagacity are born
Along with hypocrisy.
When family relationships dissolve
Then respect and devotion arise;
When a nation falls to chaos
Then loyalty and patriotism are born
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