Here at the frontier, the leaves fall like rain. Although my neighbors are all barbarians, and you, you are a thousand miles away, there are still two cups at my table.


Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life.

~ Wu-men ~


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The Dao De Jing #48: Inaction

The Dao De Jing is not only one of the world's great classics, it is one of the foundations of Philosophical Daoism. A free online version of the Dao De Jing may be found here.Below is verse #48, Inaction.

48. Inaction

The follower of knowledge learns as much as he can every day;
The follower of the Way forgets as much as he can every day.

By attrition he reaches a state of inaction
Wherein he does nothing, but nothing remains undone.

To conquer the world, accomplish nothing;
If you must accomplish something,
The world remains beyond conquest.

2 comments:

Grinling E Gibbons said...

The Dao di Jing was the first book of Chinese philosophy that ever read. It was the Wade Gilles translation. I was hooked. It was the finger that pointed to the moon. I have read the Dao de Jing many times in many versions. I have read parts of it in Chinese with the limited Chinese I possess. After 40 years, it still instructs me. I firmly believe that you cannot understand martial arts if you do not have at least a basic understanding of this book.

Rick Matz said...

The first version that I was exposed to was the beautiful edition by Gia Fu Feng and Jane English with the black and white photographs.

Every time I go back to that well, there is something new.