Tao is not about doing your best, but making the best of who you are Tao is about being absolutely honest with yourself. Without the honesty, you are putting your ego, own knowledge and desire in between of who you think you are and the actual you. You become what you think you are, rather than…
“Highest virtue is not virtuous and that is why it is virtuous,” says Lao Tzu. Statements like this make many people think that Lao Tzu is contradicting himself. Why is the ‘highest virtue’ virtuous when it is not virtuous. The logical conclusion should be the other way around. Before I proceed, you may want to…
Lao Tzu constantly reminds us to return. “Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace. Watch the turmoil of beings, but contemplate their return.” – Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching Chapter 16 This is a difficult but all-important question. Here I’m offering my view for your reference. While it is hard to…
Lao Tzu uses a few images to describe Tao, and one of the most popular is water. Like Tao — water is soft yet powerful. It is tender. Turn on the tap and the water splits its ways over your hands rather than hitting you hands head on. It does not discriminate. Whether you are rich…
See Tao the Mystery of the Universe Unfold What about an escape with a friend without any destination in mind? Go anyway with any friend. Don’t plan, just go! If you are an organised person, the idea itself can be abhorring. Where shall I begin, who shall I be? what will happen, will I end up…
Work hard? Not always the answer If you want to be successful in life, work hard! What else can that be? This is what we’ve been told since young. By our parents, teachers and bosses and whoever that are seriously concerned about our future. So when we hear Lao Tzu says in Tao Te Ching “Tao never strives, yet nothing…
Is Lao Tzu against having desires? One may think so when reading passages in Tao Te Ching like ‘There is no greater sin than desire, no greater curse than discontent’ But there could be a grave misunderstanding. Tao is about the universe, and each human being a small universe has basic needs to fulfil. An…
Most of us are aware that Tao Te Ching is a book about Tao. Few, however, realise that to know what Tao is, you have to know what Te is. The fact that Te, often translated as virtue, being one of the three words in the title of the book underscores its importance. It plays an indispensable…
Tao transcends any distinctions in names Taoist is a very loose term. When we talk about Taoism, the first person who would most likely come into our mind is Lao Tzu and, of course, his famously difficult text to read Tao Te Ching! Lao Tzu was, however, unlikely to know that he was a ‘Taoist’…
Chinese parable narrated by Alan Watts British-born American philosopher Alan Watts used the Chinese parable, The Story of the Chinese Farmer, to illustrate the way of life where nothing is experienced as either an advantage or a disadvantage. He argues that it is the source of enormous empowerment and liberation. The farmer does not see life in terms of gain or loss or advantage…
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