Sorry, I just got home today and was running around, so I didn't have time to update. Then tonight I almost got locked out and had to sleep on the street. I'm taking a leave of absence today, but I'll make up for it tomorrow.
I am truly sorry, this is meaningless below 1000 words.
Laozi: "Tao Te Ching": Chapter 1
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth; the named is the mother of all things.
Therefore, always be without desire to observe its wonder; always have desire to observe its manifestations.
These two, though of the same origin, are different in name; both are called profound.
Profound and again profound, the gate to all wonders.
Laozi: "Tao Te Ching": Chapter 2
When all in the world understand beauty as beauty, then ugliness exists.
When all understand good as good, then evil exists.
Being and non-being give birth to each other; difficult and easy complement each other; long and short define each other; high and low fill each other; sound and voice harmonize with each other; front and back follow each other. This is constant.
Therefore, the sage manages affairs by doing nothing, and practices the teaching of no words;
All things arise, and he does not initiate them; they are born, and he does not possess them; he acts, and he does not rely on them; his work is accomplished, and he does not dwell on it.
It is precisely because he does not dwell on it that it does not depart.
Laozi: "Tao Te Ching": Chapter 3
Do not exalt the worthy, so that the people will not contend.
Do not value rare goods, so that the people will not steal.
Do not display desirable things, so that the people's hearts will not be disturbed.
Therefore, in the governance of the sage,
He empties their minds and fills their bellies,
Weakens their ambitions and strengthens their bones.
He always keeps the people ignorant and without desire.
And makes the wise not dare to act.
By acting without action, nothing is left ungoverned.
Laozi: "Tao Te Ching": Chapter 4
The Tao is empty, yet its use is inexhaustible.
So deep, it seems to be the ancestor of all things; so still, it seems to endure.
I do not know whose child it is; it seems to have existed before the Emperor.
Laozi: "Tao Te Ching": Chapter 5
Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs.
The sage is not benevolent; he treats the people as straw dogs.
Between Heaven and Earth, is it not like a bellows?
Empty yet unyielding, it moves and produces more.
Many words lead to exhaustion; it is better to hold to the center.
Laozi: "Tao Te Ching": Chapter 6
The Spirit of the Valley never dies; it is called the Mysterious Female.
The Gate of the Mysterious Female is called the Root of Heaven and Earth.
It lingers as if existing, and its use is never strenuous.
Laozi: "Tao Te Ching": Chapter 7
Heaven is long, Earth is enduring.
The reason Heaven and Earth can be long and enduring is that
They do not live for themselves, and thus can live long.
Therefore, the sage puts himself last, and yet he is first; he puts himself outside, and yet he remains.
Is it not because he is selfless? Thus, he can achieve his self-interest.
Laozi: "Tao Te Ching": Chapter 8
The highest good is like water.
Water benefits all things and does not contend,
It dwells in places that others despise, thus it is close to the Tao.
Dwell in good places, have a deep heart,
Give with benevolence, speak with trustworthiness,
Govern with order, manage affairs with ability, act at the right time.
It is precisely because it does not contend that it is without fault.
Laozi: "Tao Te Ching": Chapter 9
To hold and fill it to the brim is not as good as to stop in time.
To sharpen it to a point, it cannot be preserved for long.
When gold and jade fill the hall, no one can guard them.
To be rich and noble and yet arrogant is to invite calamity upon oneself.
When achievement is complete, withdraw oneself; this is the Way of Heaven.
Laozi: "Tao Te Ching": Chapter 10
Can you carry the spirit and embrace the One without separation?
Can you concentrate your vital energy to achieve softness like an infant?
Can you cleanse your mysterious mirror without blemish?
Can you love the country and govern the people without action?
When the gates of heaven open and close, can you be like the female?
Can you be clear and understand all four directions without knowledge?
Laozi: "Tao Te Ching": Chapter 11
Thirty spokes share one hub; it is the emptiness where the axle fits that gives the chariot its use.
Clay is molded into vessels; it is the emptiness within that gives the vessel its use.
Doors and windows are cut to make a house; it is the emptiness within that gives the house its use.
Therefore, what exists is for benefit, what does not exist is for use.
Laozi: "Tao Te Ching": Chapter 12
The five colors blind the eye; the five notes deafen the ear; the five flavors dull the palate;
Galloping and hunting drive the heart wild; rare goods lead to harmful conduct.
Therefore, the sage works for the belly and not for the eye; thus, he discards the latter and chooses the former.
Laozi: "Tao Te Ching": Chapter 13
Favor and disgrace are like a shock; great calamity is valued as much as oneself.
What is meant by "favor and disgrace are like a shock"?
Favor is lowly; obtaining it is a shock, losing it is a shock; this is called "favor and disgrace are like a shock."
What is meant by "great calamity is valued as much as oneself"?
The reason I have great calamity is because I have a body;
When I have no body, what calamity can I have?
Therefore, one who values their body for the sake of the world can be entrusted with the world;
One who loves their body for the sake of the world can be committed with the world.
