Tao Te Ching 19
Forget about knowledge and wisdom, and people will be a hundred times better off.
Throw away charity and righteousness, and people will return to brotherly love.
Throw away profit and greed, and there won't be any thieves.
These three are superficial and aren't enough to keep us at the center of the circle, so we must also:
Embrace simplicity.
Put others first.
Desire little.
Lao Tzu
Tao Te Ching 18
When the great Tao is abandoned, charity and righteousness appear.
When intellectualism arises, hypocrisy is close behind.
When there is strife in the family unit, people talk about 'brotherly love'.
When the country falls into chaos, politicians talk about 'patriotism'.
Lao Tzu
Tao Te Ching 17
The best leaders are those the people hardly know exist.
The next best is a leader who is loved and praised.
Next comes the one who is feared.
The worst one is the leader who is despised.
If you don't trust the people, they will become untrustworthy.
The best leaders value their words, and use them sparingly.
When she has accomplished her task, the people say, 'Amazing: we did it, all by ourselves!'.
Lao Tzu
Tao Te Ching 16
If you can empty your mind of all thoughts your heart will embrace the tranquility of peace.
Watch the workings of all of creation, but contemplate their return to the source.
All creatures in the universe return to the point where they began.
Returning to the source is tranquility because we submit to Heaven's mandate.
Returning to Heaven's mandate is called being constant.
Knowing the constant is called 'enlightenment'.
Not knowing the constant is the source of evil deeds because we have no roots.
By knowing the constant we can accept things as they are.
By accepting things as they are, we become impartial.
By being impartial, we become one with Heaven.
By being one with Heaven, we become one with Tao.
Being one with Tao, we are no longer concerned about losing our life because we know the Tao is constant and we are one with the Tao.
Lao Tzu
Tao Te Ching 15
The sages of old were profound and knew the ways of subtlety and discernment.
Their wisdom is beyond our comprehension.
Because their knowledge was far superior I can only give a poor description.
They were careful as someone crossing a frozen stream in winter.
Alert as if surrounded on all sides by the enemy.
Courteous as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Whole as an uncarved block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Turbid as muddied water.
Who can be still until their mud settles and the water is cleared by itself?
Can you remain tranquil until right action occurs by itself?
The Master doesn't seek fulfillment.
For only those who are not full are able to be used which brings the feeling of completeness.
Lao Tzu
Tao Te Ching 14
Look for it, and it can't be seen.
Listen for it, and it can't be heard.
Grasp for it, and it can't be taught.
These three cannot be further described, so we treat them as The One.
Its highest is not bright.
Its depths are not dark.
Unending, unnameable, it returns to nothingness.
Formless forms, and imageless images, subtle, beyond all understanding.
Approach it and you will not see a beginning; follow it and there will be no end.
When we grasp the Tao of the ancient ones, we can use it to direct our life today.
To know the ancient origin of Tao: this is the beginning of wisdom.
Lao Tzu
