Wu Wei

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 3

“Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves; not to show them what is likely…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 13

“Favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared; honour and great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions (of the same kind). What is meant by speaking thus of favour and disgrace? Disgrace is being in a low position (after the…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 18

“When the Great Tao (Way or Method) ceased to be observed, benevolence and righteousness came into vogue. (Then) appeared wisdom and shrewdness, and there ensued great hypocrisy. When harmony no longer prevailed throughout the six kinships,…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 25

“There was something undefined and complete, coming into existence before Heaven and Earth. How still it was and formless, standing alone, and undergoing no change, reaching everywhere and in no danger (of being exhausted)! It may be regarde…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 31

“Now arms, however beautiful, are instruments of evil omen, hateful, it may be said, to all creatures. Therefore they who have the Tao do not like to employ them. The superior man ordinarily considers the left hand the most honourable place,…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 36

“When one is about to take an inspiration, he is sure to make a (previous) expiration; when he is going to weaken another, he will first strengthen him; when he is going to overthrow another, he will first have raised him up; when he is goin…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 42

“The Tao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three; Three produced All things. All things leave behind them the Obscurity (out of which they have come), and go forward to embrace the Brightness (into which they have emerged), while…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 44

“Or fame or life, Which do you hold more dear? Or life or wealth, To which would you adhere? Keep life and lose those other things; Keep them and lose your life:--which brings Sorrow and pain more near? Thus we may see, Who cleaves to fame R…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 48

“He who devotes himself to learning (seeks) from day to day to increase (his knowledge); he who devotes himself to the Tao (seeks) from day to day to diminish (his doing). He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing no…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 53

“If I were suddenly to become known, and (put into a position to) conduct (a government) according to the Great Tao, what I should be most afraid of would be a boastful display. The great Tao (or way) is very level and easy; but people love…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 54

“What (Tao's) skilful planter plants Can never be uptorn; What his skilful arms enfold, From him can ne'er be borne. Sons shall bring in lengthening line, Sacrifices to his shrine. Tao when nursed within one's self, His vigour will make true…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 64

“That which is at rest is easily kept hold of; before a thing has given indications of its presence, it is easy to take measures against it; that which is brittle is easily broken; that which is very small is easily dispersed. Action should…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 70

“My words are very easy to know, and very easy to practise; but there is no one in the world who is able to know and able to practise them. There is an originating and all-comprehending (principle) in my words, and an authoritative law for t…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 79

“When a reconciliation is effected (between two parties) after a great animosity, there is sure to be a grudge remaining (in the mind of the one who was wrong). And how can this be beneficial (to the other)? Therefore (to guard against this)…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 123 (part 5)

“You, Sir, have a large tree and are troubled because it is of no use;--why do you not plant it in a tract where there is nothing else, or in a wide and barren wild? p. 175 [paragraph continues] There you might saunter idly by its side, or…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 3)

“For one who has not this determined mind, to have his affirmations and negations is like the case described in the saying, 'He went to Yüeh to-day, and arrived at it yesterday 2 .' It would be making what was not a fact to be a fact. But e…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 5)

“A third class held that there was such recognition, but there had not begun to be any expression of different opinions about it. p. 186 It was through the definite expression of different opinions about it that there ensued injury to (the…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 10)

“Of the sounds of Man very little is said, but they form the subject of the next paragraph. Nothing is said in answer to the disciple's inquiry about the notes of Heaven. It is intimated, however, that there is no necessity to introduce an…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 11)

“185:3 The ordinary reading here is fäng ( ) 'a boundary' or 'distinctive limit.' Lin Hsî-hung adopts the reading , 'a response,' and I have followed him. 186:1 Kâo Wän and Shih Kwang were both musicians of the state of Zin. Shih, which ap…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 1)

“p. 203 BOOK IV. PART I. SECTION IV. Zän Kien Shih, or 'Man in the World, Associated with other Men 1 .' 1. Yen Hui 2 went to see Kung-nî 3 , and asked leave to take his departure. 'Where are you going to?' asked the Master. 'I will g…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 2)

“In this way you will be adding fire to fire, and water to water, increasing, as we may express it, the evils (which you deplore). To these signs of deferring to him at the first there will be no end. You will be in danger, seeing he does…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 10)

“214:2 Not meaning the king of Khû; but the Tâo, whose will was to be found in his nature and the conditions of his lot. 215:1 A member of the Yen family of Lû. We shall meet with him again in Books XIX, XXVIII, and XXXII. 215:2 A ministe…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 2)

“Hence he who tries to share his joys with others is not a sagely man; he who manifests affection is not benevolent; he who observes times and seasons (to regulate his conduct) is not a man of wisdom; he to whom profit and injury are not the…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 12)

“All things begin from nothing and end in nothing. Their birth and their death are only the creations of our thought, the going and coming of the primary ether. When we have penetrated to the non-reality of life and death, what remains of…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 1

“The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name. (Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a n…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 2

“All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what ugliness is; they all know the skill of the skilful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what the want of skill is. So it is that existe…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 4

“The Tao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in our employment of it we must be on our guard against all fulness. How deep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the Honoured Ancestor of all things! We should blunt our sharp points, and…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 5

“Heaven and earth do not act from (the impulse of) any wish to be benevolent; they deal with all things as the dogs of grass are dealt with. The sages do not act from (any wish to be) benevolent; they deal with the people as the dogs of gras…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 6

“The valley spirit dies not, aye the same; The female mystery thus do we name. Its gate, from which at first they issued forth, Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth. Long and unbroken does its power remain, Used gently, and wi…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 7

“Heaven is long-enduring and earth continues long. The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves. This is how they are able to continue and endure. Therefore the…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 8

“The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike. Hence (its way) is near to (that of…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 9

“It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness. When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor canno…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 10

“When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one embrace, they can be kept from separating. When one gives undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) b…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 12

“Colour's five hues from th' eyes their sight will take; Music's five notes the ears as deaf can make; The flavours five deprive the mouth of taste; The chariot course, and the wild hunting waste Make mad the mind; and objects rare and stran…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 15

“The skilful masters (of the Tao) in old times, with a subtle and exquisite penetration, comprehended its mysteries, and were deep (also) so as to elude men's knowledge. As they were thus beyond men's knowledge, I will make an effort to desc…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 16

“The (state of) vacancy should be brought to the utmost degree, and that of stillness guarded with unwearying vigour. All things alike go through their processes of activity, and (then) we see them return (to their original state). When thin…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 17

“In the highest antiquity, (the people) did not know that there were (their rulers). In the next age they loved them and praised them. In the next they feared them; in the next they despised them. Thus it was that when faith (in the Tao) was…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 19

“If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be better for the people a hundredfold. If we could renounce our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again become filial and kindly. If we could reno…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 20

“When we renounce learning we have no troubles. The (ready) 'yes,' and (flattering) 'yea;'-- Small is the difference they display. But mark their issues, good and ill;-- What space the gulf between shall fill? What all men fear is indeed to…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 22

“The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray. Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing (of humility), and…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 23

“Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day. To whom is it that these (two) things are owing? To Heaven and E…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 24

“He who stands on his tiptoes does not stand firm; he who stretches his legs does not walk (easily). (So), he who displays himself does not shine; he who asserts his own views is not distinguished; he who vaunts himself does not find his mer…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 26

“Gravity is the root of lightness; stillness, the ruler of movement. Therefore a wise prince, marching the whole day, does not go far from his baggage waggons. Although he may have brilliant prospects to look at, he quietly remains (in his p…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 27

“The skilful traveller leaves no traces of his wheels or footsteps; the skilful speaker says nothing that can be found fault with or blamed; the skilful reckoner uses no tallies; the skilful closer needs no bolts or bars, while to open what…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 28

“Who knows his manhood's strength, Yet still his female feebleness maintains; As to one channel flow the many drains, All come to him, yea, all beneath the sky. Thus he the constant excellence retains; The simple child again, free from all s…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 29

“If any one should wish to get the kingdom for himself, and to effect this by what he does, I see that he will not succeed. The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing. He who would so win it destroys it; he who wou…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 30

“He who would assist a lord of men in harmony with the Tao will not assert his mastery in the kingdom by force of arms. Such a course is sure to meet with its proper return. Wherever a host is stationed, briars and thorns spring up. In the s…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 32

“The Tao, considered as unchanging, has no name. Though in its primordial simplicity it may be small, the whole world dares not deal with (one embodying) it as a minister. If a feudal prince or the king could guard and hold it, all would spo…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 34

“All-pervading is the Great Tao! It may be found on the left hand and on the right. All things depend on it for their production, which it gives to them, not one refusing obedience to it. When its work is accomplished, it does not claim the…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 37

“The Tao in its regular course does nothing (for the sake of doing it), and so there is nothing which it does not do. If princes and kings were able to maintain it, all things would of themselves be transformed by them. If this transformatio…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 38

“(Those who) possessed in highest degree the attributes (of the Tao) did not (seek) to show them, and therefore they possessed them (in fullest measure). (Those who) possessed in a lower degree those attributes (sought how) not to lose them,…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 39

“The things which from of old have got the One (the Tao) are-- Heaven which by it is bright and pure; Earth rendered thereby firm and sure; Spirits with powers by it supplied; Valleys kept full throughout their void All creatures which throu…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 40

“The movement of the Tao By contraries proceeds; And weakness marks the course Of Tao's mighty deeds. All things under heaven sprang from It as existing (and named); that existence sprang from It as non-existent (and not named).…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 41

“Scholars of the highest class, when they hear about the Tao, earnestly carry it into practice. Scholars of the middle class, when they have heard about it, seem now to keep it and now to lose it. Scholars of the lowest class, when they have…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 43

“The softest thing in the world dashes against and overcomes the hardest; that which has no (substantial) existence enters where there is no crevice. I know hereby what advantage belongs to doing nothing (with a purpose). There are few in th…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 45

“Who thinks his great achievements poor Shall find his vigour long endure. Of greatest fulness, deemed a void, Exhaustion ne'er shall stem the tide. Do thou what's straight still crooked deem; Thy greatest art still stupid seem, And eloquenc…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 46

“When the Tao prevails in the world, they send back their swift horses to (draw) the dung-carts. When the Tao is disregarded in the world, the war-horses breed in the border lands. There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition; no cala…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 47

“Without going outside his door, one understands (all that takes place) under the sky; without looking out from his window, one sees the Tao of Heaven. The farther that one goes out (from himself), the less he knows. Therefore the sages got…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 49

“The sage has no invariable mind of his own; he makes the mind of the people his mind. To those who are good (to me), I am good; and to those who are not good (to me), I am also good;--and thus (all) get to be good. To those who are sincere…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 50

“Men come forth and live; they enter (again) and die. Of every ten three are ministers of life (to themselves); and three are ministers of death. There are also three in every ten whose aim is to live, but whose movements tend to the land (o…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 51

“All things are produced by the Tao, and nourished by its outflowing operation. They receive their forms according to the nature of each, and are completed according to the circumstances of their condition. Therefore all things without excep…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 52

“(The Tao) which originated all under the sky is to be considered as the mother of them all. When the mother is found, we know what her children should be. When one knows that he is his mother's child, and proceeds to guard (the qualities of…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 55

“He who has in himself abundantly the attributes (of the Tao) is like an infant. Poisonous insects will not sting him; fierce beasts will not seize him; birds of prey will not strike him. (The infant's) bones are weak and its sinews soft, bu…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 56

“He who knows (the Tao) does not (care to) speak (about it); he who is (ever ready to) speak about it does not know it. He (who knows it) will keep his mouth shut and close the portals (of his nostrils). He will blunt his sharp points and un…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 57

“A state may be ruled by (measures of) correction; weapons of war may be used with crafty dexterity; (but) the kingdom is made one's own (only) by freedom from action and purpose. How do I know that it is so? By these facts:--In the kingdom…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 58

“The government that seems the most unwise, Oft goodness to the people best supplies; That which is meddling, touching everything, Will work but ill, and disappointment bring. Misery!--happiness is to be found by its side! Happiness!--misery…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 59

“For regulating the human (in our constitution) and rendering the (proper) service to the heavenly, there is nothing like moderation. It is only by this moderation that there is effected an early return (to man's normal state). That early re…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 60

“Governing a great state is like cooking small fish. Let the kingdom be governed according to the Tao, and the manes of the departed will not manifest their spiritual energy. It is not that those manes have not that spiritual energy, but it…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 61

“What makes a great state is its being (like) a low-lying, down- flowing (stream);--it becomes the centre to which tend (all the small states) under heaven. (To illustrate from) the case of all females:--the female always overcomes the male…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 63

“(It is the way of the Tao) to act without (thinking of) acting; to conduct affairs without (feeling the) trouble of them; to taste without discerning any flavour; to consider what is small as great, and a few as many; and to recompense inju…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 65

“The ancients who showed their skill in practising the Tao did so, not to enlighten the people, but rather to make them simple and ignorant. The difficulty in governing the people arises from their having much knowledge. He who (tries to) go…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 66

“That whereby the rivers and seas are able to receive the homage and tribute of all the valley streams, is their skill in being lower than they;--it is thus that they are the kings of them all. So it is that the sage (ruler), wishing to be a…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 67

“All the world says that, while my Tao is great, it yet appears to be inferior (to other systems of teaching). Now it is just its greatness that makes it seem to be inferior. If it were like any other (system), for long would its smallness h…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 68

“He who in (Tao's) wars has skill Assumes no martial port; He who fights with most good will To rage makes no resort. He who vanquishes yet still Keeps from his foes apart; He whose hests men most fulfil Yet humbly plies his art. Thus we say…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 69

“A master of the art of war has said, 'I do not dare to be the host (to commence the war); I prefer to be the guest (to act on the defensive). I do not dare to advance an inch; I prefer to retire a foot.' This is called marshalling the ranks…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 72

“When the people do not fear what they ought to fear, that which is their great dread will come on them. Let them not thoughtlessly indulge themselves in their ordinary life; let them not act as if weary of what that life depends on. It is b…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 73

“He whose boldness appears in his daring (to do wrong, in defiance of the laws) is put to death; he whose boldness appears in his not daring (to do so) lives on. Of these two cases the one appears to be advantageous, and the other to be inju…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 74

“The people do not fear death; to what purpose is it to (try to) frighten them with death? If the people were always in awe of death, and I could always seize those who do wrong, and put them to death, who would dare to do wrong? There is al…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 75

“The people suffer from famine because of the multitude of taxes consumed by their superiors. It is through this that they suffer famine. The people are difficult to govern because of the (excessive) agency of their superiors (in governing t…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 76

“Man at his birth is supple and weak; at his death, firm and strong. (So it is with) all things. Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and brittle; at their death, dry and withered. Thus it is that firmness and strength are the c…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 77

“May not the Way (or Tao) of Heaven be compared to the (method of) bending a bow? The (part of the bow) which was high is brought low, and what was low is raised up. (So Heaven) diminishes where there is superabundance, and supplements where…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 78

“There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet for attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing that can take precedence of it;--for there is nothing (so effectual) for which it can be changed. Every one…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 80

“In a little state with a small population, I would so order it, that, though there were individuals with the abilities of ten or a hundred men, there should be no employment of them; I would make the people, while looking on death as a grie…”

◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 81

“Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere. Those who are skilled (in the Tao) do not dispute (about it); the disputatious are not skilled in it. Those who know (the Tao) are not extensively learned; the extensively learned do n…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 123 (part 1)

“p. 164 THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-DZE. BOOK I. PART I. SECTION I. Hsiâo-yâo Yû, or 'Enjoyment in Untroubled Ease 1 .' 1. In the Northern Ocean there is a fish, the name of which is Khwän 2 ,--I do not know how many lî in size. It changes…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 123 (part 2)

“In the south of Khû 2 , there is the (tree) called Ming-ling 3 , whose spring is 500 years, and its autumn the same; in high antiquity there was that called Tâ-khun 4 , p. 167 whose spring was 8000 years, and its autumn the same. And Phän…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 123 (part 4)

“Yâo ruled the people of the kingdom, and maintained a perfect government within the four seas. Having gone to see the four (Perfect) Ones 3 on the distant hill of Kû-shih, when (he returned to his capital) on the south of the Fän water 4 ,…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 1)

“p. 176 BOOK II. PART I. SECTION II. Khî Wû Lun, or 'The Adjustment of Controversies 1 .' 1. Nan-kwo Sze-khî 2 was seated, leaning forward on his stool. He was looking up to heaven and breathed gently, seeming to be in a trance, and to…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 4)

“By means of a finger (of my own) to illustrate that the finger (of another) is not a finger is not so good a plan as to illustrate that it is not so by means of what is (acknowledged to be) not a finger; and by means of (what I call) a hors…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 7)

“How do you know that when I say "I know it," I really (am showing that) I do not know it, and that when I say "I do not know it," I really am showing that I do know it 1 .' And let me ask you some questions:--'If a man sleep in a damp place…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 8)

“You see the egg, and (immediately) look out for the cock (that is to be hatched from it); you see the bow, and (immediately) look out for the dove (that is to be brought down by it) being roasted. I will try to explain the thing to you in…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 9)

“The harmonising of them is to be found in the invisible operation of Heaven, and by following this on into the unlimited past. It is by this method that we can complete our years (without our minds being disturbed) 1 . 'What is meant by h…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 125 (part 1)

“p. 198 BOOK III. PART I. SECTION III. Yang Shang Kû, or 'Nourishing the Lord of Life 1 .' 1. There is a limit to our life, but to knowledge there is no limit. With what is limited to pursue after what is unlimited is a perilous thing;…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 125 (part 2)

“or from Man?' Then he added 2 , 'It must be from Heaven, and not from Man. Heaven's making of this man caused him to have but one foot. In the person of man, each foot has its marrow. By this I know that his peculiarity is from Heaven, a…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 3)

“Doing what other men do, they would have no occasion to blame me. This p. 208 is what is called being a fellow-worker with other men. 'Fully declaring my sentiments and substantiating them by appealing to antiquity, I shall be a co-worke…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 5)

“They know that there is no alternative to their acting as they do, and rest in it as what is appointed; and this is the highest achievement of virtue. He who is in the position of a minister or of a son has indeed to do what he cannot but…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 7)

“People came to see it in crowds as in a market place, but the mechanic did not look round at it, but held on his way without stopping. One of his workmen, however, looked long and admiringly at it, and then ran on to his master, and said t…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 8)

“'This, indeed,' said he, 'is a tree good for nothing, and it is thus that it has attained to such a size. Ah! and spirit-like men acknowledge this worthlessness (and its result) 3 .' In Sung there is the district of King-shih 4 , in which…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 127 (part 1)

“p. 223 BOOK V. PART I. SECTION V. Teh Khung Fû, or 'The Seal of Virtue Complete 1 .' 1. In Lû 2 there was a Wang Thâi 3 who had lost both his feet 4 ; while his disciples who followed and went about with him were as numerous as those o…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 127 (part 2)

“'As a verification of the (power of) the original endowment, when it has been preserved, take the result of fearlessness,-how the heroic spirit of a single brave soldier has been thrown into an army of nine hosts 4 . If a man only seeking…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 127 (part 3)

“228 (virtue) which is internal, and not an adjunct of the body, and yet you are continually directing your attention to my external body;--are you not wrong in this?' Dze-khân felt uneasy, altered his manner and looks, and said, 'You need n…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 127 (part 4)

“for many months, when I was drawn to the man; and before he had been with me a full year, I had confidence in him. The state being without a chief minister, I (was minded) to commit the government to him. He responded to my proposal sorro…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 127 (part 5)

“Though the realisation of this be not manifested in the person, things cannot separate themselves (from its influence).' Some days afterwards duke Âi told this conversation to Min-dze 3 , saying, 'Formerly it seemed to me the work of the so…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 5)

“Dze-sze 1 , Dze-yü 1 , Dze-1î 1 , and Dze-lâi 1 , these four men, were talking together, when some one said, 'Who can suppose the head to be made from nothing, the spine from life, and the rump-bone from death? Who knows how death and birt…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 6)

“There is the great Mass (of nature);--I find the support of my body in it; my life is spent in toil on it; my old age seeks ease on it; at death I find rest on it:--what has made my life a good will make my death also a good. 'Here now is…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 9)

“257 [paragraph continues] 'I have lost all thought of ceremonies and music.' 'Very well, but that is not enough., A third day, Hui again saw (the Master), and said, 'I am making progress.' 'What do you mean?' 'I sit and forget everything 1…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 13)

“See what I have said on II, par. 9. 255:1 This also is obscure; but Confucius is again made to praise the Tâoistic system. 255:2 Î- r is said by Lî Î to have been 'a worthy scholar;' but Î- r is an old name for the swallow, and there is…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 129 (part 3)

“When they went out, the man said, 'It is a fortunate thing for your master that he met with me. He will get better; he has all the signs of living! I saw the balance (of the springs of life) that had been stopped (inclining in his favour)…”

◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 129 (part 4)

“It conducts nothing and anticipates nothing; it responds to (what is before it), but does not retain it. Thus he is able to deal successfully with all things, and injures none. 7. The Ruler 3 of the Southern Ocean was Shû 4 , the p. 267…”

◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XXII (part 10)

“But it does not bear fruit presently; and, though it blossoms, they fall off; also many a cold wind, frost and snow, puff upon it, before it comes to any growth and bearing of fruit. Boehme's books are full of wonderment before these myste…”

◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XXII (part 14)

“How many arguments, how many religious struggles, how much of violence toward the thoughts of others would be rendered unnecessary and impossible if men would only understand that nobody possesses truth, but all are seeking for it, each in…”

◆Transcendental Magic II: The Ritual (Éliphas Lévi) | 1. Preparationsc

““But how act?” Rise daily at the same hour, and that early; bathe at a spring before daybreak, and in all seasons; never wear soiled clothes: wash them yourself at need; practise voluntary privations, that you may be better able to bear tho…”

◇Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XXII (part 15)

“If it had this likeness, long ago would its smallness have been known. The sage attends to the inner and not to the outer; he puts away the objective and holds to the subjective. The sage occupies himself with inaction, and conveys instru…”

◆Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation) | IIIb

“The earth cannot flee from heaven: whether it flee up or down, the heaven rains its influence upon it, and stamps its impress upon it, and makes it fruitful, whether it be willing or not. Thus doth God with men: whoever thinketh to escape…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 1 (part 4)

“Let them, therefore, again go out with their will from their wilful ignorance or malignity and enter again into the will of God." ( Menschwerdung , 3, 5.) All this goes to show that it is useless and vain to seek for divine wisdom, meaning…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 13 (part 13)

“Nevertheless he has nothing (objectively), because that which is before Him is nothing in His comprehension, for it does not comprehend Him. Likewise will this be the state of a person according to his submitted will if he entirely surrend…”

◆Vajrakkhedika (Diamond Cutter) | Section 1k

“Therefore the Tathâgata preaches: "A gift should not be given by a Bodhisattva[1] who believes in anything, it should not be given by one who believes in form, sound, smell, taste, or anything that can be touched." 'And again, O Subhûti, a…”