Quotes about Taoism

But the adult is not the highest stage of development. The end of the cycle is that of the independent, clear-minded, all-seeing Child. That is the level known as wisdom. When the Tao te Ching and other wise books say things like, "Return to the beginning; become a child again" that's what they are referring to. Why do the enlightened seem filled with light and happiness like children? Why do they sometimes even look and talk like children? Because they are. The wise are Children Who Know. Their minds have been emptied of the countless minute somethings of small learning and filled with the great wisdom of the Great Nothing, the Way of the Universe.

Everything has its own place and function. That applies to people, although many don't seem to realize it, stuck as they are in the wrong job, the wrong marriage, or the wrong house. When you know and respect your Inner Nature, you know where you belong. You also know where you don't belong.

The wise are not learned; the learned are not wise.

Through working in harmony with life's circumstances, Taoist understanding changes what others may percieve as negative into something positive.

"What is, is not; what is not, is."

As you learn to leave alone the activity of unconsciously trying to be the mindbody that you think that you are - the mindbody that this "you" is currently flowing through - and you learn to move as this one that you truly are - this "you" of you; the very heart of existence - steadily, consciously and momentarily, the continuity of the ever deepening of this innermost as it keeps on entering its manifestation, through this mindbody that you find yourself flowing through, allows you to simply bubble in the sheer joy, pleasure, peace, delightfulness and stillness that this "you" of you is.

Changes
The Changes is a book
From which one may not hold aloof
Its tao is forever changing -
Alteration, movement without rest,
Flowing through the six empty places;
Rising and sinking without fixed law,
Firm and yielding transform each other.
They cannot be confined within a rule;
It is only change that is at work here.

We're all afloat in a boundless sea, and the way we cope is by massing together in groups and pretending in unison that the situation is other than it is.  We reinforce the illusion for each other.  That's what a society really is, a little band of humanity huddled together against the specter of a pitch black sea.  Everyone is treading water to keep their heads above the surface even though they have no reason to believe that the life they're preserving is better than the alternative they're avoiding.  It's just that one is known and one is not.  Fear of the unknown is what keeps everyone busily treading water.  All fear is fear of the unknown.  If someone in such a group of water-treaders betrays the group lie by speaking the truth of their situation, that person is called a heretic, and society reserves its most awful punishments for heretics.  If someone decides to stop struggling and just sink or float away, every possible effort is made to stop him, not for the benefit of the individual, but for the benefit of the group.  To deny at all costs the truth of the situation.

"Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever."
"And he has Brain."
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has Brain."
"I suppose," said Pooh, "that that's why he never understands anything."

ONE

Leadership that can be fully explained is never True Leadership.

An element of mystery must remain.

Methods of Leading People that can be completely understood

are not the eternal Way of Leading People.

"Wordless" is the beginning & end of True Leadership.

Leadership begins with words.

The door to endless mystery.

When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block: Life is Fun.

Through working in harmony with life's circumstances, Taoist understanding changes what others may percieve as negative into something positive.

Turning back is how the way moves;
Weakness is the means the way employs.
The myriad creatures in the world are born from
Something, and Something from Nothing.

Tao Te Ching - II. 40

Understanding the Dao is like trying to cage the wind.

How can we fret and stew sub specie aeternitatis - under the calm gaze of ancient Tao? The salt of the sea is in our blood; the calcium of the rocks is in our bones; the genes of ten thousand generations of stalwart progenitors are in our cells. The sun shines and we smile. The winds rage and we bend before them. The blossoms open and we rejoice. Earth is our long home.

The Tao is supreme goodness. It has no form and is limitless. It is formless because there is no visible trace of its existence. The Tao is that energy that has existed from the beginning when there was neither structure nor differentiation. It is the source of life in heaven and on earth. It creates and all things.

If you are sincere in seeking this knowledge, you must look for a teacher and humbly ask your teacher to show you the opening of the Mysterious Gate. From then on, if your actions follow the Tao, you will progress. If your actions stray from the Tao, your progress will be halted.

When the mortal mind is dead, the mind of Tao can live. . . . When the mind of Tao lives, no thoughts can arise. When no thoughts arise, one returns to Earlier Heaven.

The Jade Pure, the Most Pure, and the High Pure Realms represent three levels of enlightenment. To rise to the Jade Pure Realm is to attain wu-chi, the highest form of enlightenment. This is complete union with the Tao. To enter the Realm of the Great Pure is to exist in a state in which subject and object are differentiated but are integral parts of the Tao. It is a lesser form of enlightenment. To attain the Realm of the High Pure is to exist in harmony with nature and humanity, to live according to the laws of nature, and to embody the highest virtues of humanity. This is the lowest form of enlightenment.

The Tao that is coded in words is dead. The teachings of the Tao are so precious and important that they cannot be revealed in the written word.

. . . knowledge emerges in (humans). Opposed to knowledge is the spirit. The spirit is formless and is incomprehensible to mundane thoughts. . . . Knowledge is active, mischievous, and intelligent. It changes constantly. Spirit, on the other hand, is the master of humankind. Its origin is in wu-chi. . . . It is never born and it never dies. The spirit tends toward purity and stillness. Knowledge tends toward action and disturbs the mind so that it cannot be still. . . . Recognize the difference between the human mind and the mind of Tao. Do not mistake the human mind for the mind of Tao, and knowledge for the spirit.

Riches, fame, and fortune are as ephemeral as lightning, The passion of sexual love and childish piety will vanish like flames. Do not crave and be the master of your own life, Cultivate the Tao and there will be gods to help your karma. Do not lose your original nature and the dust of the earthly realm will vanish, The sky will reveal the circular bright moon.

The Tao is near and people seek it far away.

Climbing Lushan The mountain looms firmly over the Great River. I climb four hundred bends to its green lush peak. With cool eyes I stare at the rim of mankind and the sea beyond. Hot wind blows rain in the sky and down to the river. Clouds over the nine tributaries and the floating yellow crane, where waves ripple toward the Three Wu. White mist flies up. Who knows where Tao, the ancient poet, has gone? Is he farming in the Land of the Peach Blossoms? July 1, 1959

The Way of Tao is this: It strives not, but conquers; It speaks not, but all is made clear; It summons not, but its house is crowded; It contrives not, but the design is perfect.

Though (the Tao) is uncreated itself, it creates all things. Because it has no substance, it can enter into where there is no space. Exercising by returning to itself, winning victories by remaining gentle and yielding, it is softer than anything, and therefore overcomes everything hard.

The Tao gives birth to One. One gives birth to yin and yang. Yin and yang give birth to all things. . . . The complete whole is the complete whole. So also is any part the complete whole. . . . But forget about understanding and harmonizing and making all things one. The universe is already a harmonious oneness; just realize it.

Look, it cannot be seen -- it is beyond form. Listen, it cannot be heard -- it is beyond sound. Grasp, it cannot be held -- it is intangible. These three are indefinable; Therefore they are joined in one. From above it is not bright; From below it is not dark; An unbroken thread beyond description. It returns to nothingness. The form of the formless, The image of the imageless, It is called indefinable and beyond imagination. Stand before it and there is no beginning. Follow it and there is no end. Stay with the ancient Tao, Move with the present. Knowing the ancient beginning is the essence of Tao.

The world is full of half-enlightened masters. Overly clever, too "sensitive" to live in the real world, they surround themselves with selfish pleasures and bestow their grandiose teachings upon the unwary. Prematurely publicizing themselves, intent upon reaching some spiritual climax, they constantly sacrifice the truth and deviate from the Tao. What they really offer the world is their own confusion. The true master understands that enlightenment is not the end, but the means. Realizing that virtue is her goal, she accepts the long and often arduous cultivation that is necessary to attain it. She doesn't scheme to become a leader, but quietly shoulders whatever responsibilities fall to her. Unattached to her accomplishments, taking credit for nothing at all, she guides the whole world by guiding the individuals who come to her. She shares her divine energy with her students, encouraging them, creating trials to strengthen them, scolding them to awaken them, directing the streams of their lives toward the infinite ocean of the Tao.

My own words are not the medicine, but a prescription; not the destination, but a map to help you reach it. When you get there, quiet your mind and close your mouth. Don't analyze the Tao. Strive instead to live it: silently, undividedly, with your whole harmonious being.