Taoist Philosophy

[Marblehead]

When people are born,

They are supple and soft;

When they die,

They end up stretched out firm and rigid.

 

When the Ten Thousand Things

And grasses and trees are alive,

They are supple and pliant;

When they are dead,

They are withered and dried out.

 

Therefore we say that the firm and rigid

Are companions of death,

 

While the supple, the soft, and the flexible

Are companions of life.

 

If a soldier is rigid,

He will not win;

If a tree is rigid,

It will come to its end;

When an army is headstrong,

It will lose in battle.

 

Rigidity occupies the inferior position;

Suppleness, softness, and flexibility

Occupy the superior position.

 

The big and strong belong underneath,

The gentle and weak belong at the top,

As with trunk and twig.

 

 

The Need To Win

 

When an archer is shooting for nothing he has all his skill. If he shoots for a brass buckle he becomes nervous. If he shoots for a prize of gold he goes blind or sees two targets; he is out of his mind. His skill has not changed but the prize divides him. He cares. He thinks more of winning than of shooting; and the need to win drains him of power.

[~jK~]

The poetry is beautiful -

 

Herein lay the ugly defining:

 

All is contained within the ancient Chinese character for Tao:

as compared to the modern one: 道 <= the left area is a drawing of a foot, the center is an eye, the upper is a path, the few ticks, along the top, are signs of things happaning along the Way.

It is the picture of Change, captured in an instant.

 

Compared to the ancient character for change in movement pointing to 'Changes within timing' defined through the drawing:

The word/sounds of Ba-Gua mean in Chinese literaly: '8 Language' or Language of Eight:

 

As such - Tao is largely about harmony within timing.

Edited March 25, 2010 by ~jK~

[Marblehead]

Thanks for that ~jk~.

 

I don't get involved in the symbolism on my own so whenever I see some of it it is usually unique and interesting to me.

 

Ah! Harmony. Surely one of my fovorite words. I don't use 'balance' very often.

 

Peace & Love!

[Trogdorf]

[SingaporeGuyHere]

interesting stuff

[Marblehead]