Seven virtues of water Lao Tzu teaches us to be natural. It allows us to go with the flow of nature and actively engage with things we do, making what we do effective yet effortless. Tao Te Ching Verse 8 Learn from water. It is soft yet strong. Water is yielding. It accepts whatever comes and…
Never say die Once upon a time, there is a farmer who has an old mule. The mule fell into a well, which was deep and dry. Desperately the mule cries for help. Hearing its cry, the farmer rushes to the well. It’s not good at all. The well is so deep, and the mule…
One of the biggest reasons why people feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and burned out is that they are too accommodating — when faced with clamouring demand for their time and attention. The fact is you have only so much time and energy and the demands of modern life is constantly increasing. It’s very easy to get…
“How do you treat others?” Asks the Master to the new class. “Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself,” the disciples shout almost in unison. The Master, nevertheless, did not seem to resonate. Without commenting on what they say, the Master goes on to tell a story of Zhuangzi. “Once upon a…
Are you making things unnecessarily complex? The new disciple is excited when he’s seeing the Master for the first time. He jumps at the opportunity and curiously asks, “How do you practice Tao, Sir?” “When you are hungry, eat,” thoughtfully the master says, “When you are tired, sleep.” The answer is astonishingly simple to the disciple,…
Cyclical Movement and Taoist philosophy Are things in this world moving along a straight line or in a cyclical manner? Those who are used to linear thinking would see it as a straight line. After a day, it’s a night. After life, it’s death. What else can that be? It can, therefore, be puzzling when…
If you want to be a good boatman, don’t worry about controlling the boat The art of control is to give up control. In the fable of Chuang Tzu, a disciple of Confucius meets the master boatman who is known for his dexterity of boating. Curiously he asks, “How marvellous! Can anyone learn how to handle…
Your inner voice is calling, can you hear it? Ask anyone if he has spoken to his inner self, chances are you’d be greeted with a blank look on his face. It’s an irony. We’re supposed to be intimate with our self, but few of us really are. Instead of listening to what’s deep in…
Importance of Non-being How can emptiness be of any value? Emptiness can be the very purpose of an existence. When we value something, our attention is often on what we can see or touch. For example, when you see a pot, your attention is likely to be on its shape, its colours, workmanship and the material…
Tao is The Way, Not ‘Your Way’ There are many things that you can learn in Tao Te Ching, and these are three of them. First, staying detached. The first thing that you’d have to learn is to see yourself as part of the universe that you are in. You may wonder why I’m saying…
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