Ancient wisdom speaks to the modern world.
The Tao Te Ching is a collection of 81 verses authored by Lao-tzu, a Chinese prophet who was also the keeper of the imperial archives in the ancient capital of Luoyang. Seeing the continual decay during a period of warring states, Lao-tzu decided to ride westward into the desert. At the Hanku Pass, a gatekeeper who knew of Lao-tzu’s reputation for being a man of wisdom begged him to record the essence of his teaching. Thus, the Tao Te Ching was born out of 5,000 Chinese characters some 25 centuries ago.
The words Tao Te Ching translate to “living and applying the Great Way.” The Tao is considered by many scholars to be the wisest book ever written. It encourages you to change your life by literally changing to way you think. By reading the verses presented here, you’ll be embarking on a path that encompasses the profound ideas that Lao-tzu intended to convey.
By absorbing these powerful new thoughts and imprinting them onto your consciousness, you will begin to see the world and all of its people in a new way. That is precisely what it has done for me. Reading the Tao and incorporating this philosophy into my life has changed me forever. Through the steady use of this relaxing Tao-centered work, you will begin to live in harmony with your own nature, feeling more at home than you ever felt before and living what is called a truly God-realized life.
The Tao offers you Divine guidance on virtually every area of human existence. It is a new way of thinking in a world that needs to recapture its ancient teachings. Work with the verses and you will come to know the truth behind the ancient Tao observation: When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
Here are ten of the Tao’s timely and timeless lines:
1. One who lives in accordance with nature moves in harmony with the present moment, always knowing the truth of just what to do.
2. By not claiming greatness, the sage delivers greatness.
3. Do not limit the view of yourself. Do not despise the conditions of your birth.
4. In dealing with others, be gentle and kind. Stand by your word.
5. Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness. All can know good as good only because there is evil.
6. The gentle outlasts the strong. The obscure outlasts the obvious.
7. Love vanquishes all attackers; it is impregnable in defense.
8. When two opponents meet, the one without an enemy will surely triumph. When armies are evenly matched, the one with compassion wins.
9. Heaven does not hurry, yet it completes everything on time.
10. Serene. Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present. This is the Tao.
SaturnsLady
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