Hello! Well, we are almost done with the Tao, but I still have some maxims to cover. You know my method, so I will just go right on with it.
The first quote I want to talks about something which I am not sure if I already discussed, but if I didn't I would like to say it, because I find it very important. "Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excesses, and complacency. (29)" I like this line, because in the Analects, people who were following "the way" and knew what to do were called gentlemen, while the people in the Tao who are like that are called sages. I like how it is very direct and it says exactly what people should do.
The next line, in my opinion, is really nice, because it is true, and it can be said in many different situations. "If you rejoice in victory, then you delight in killing; / If you delight in killing, you cannot fulfill yourself. (32)" I like how it can be about sports, because if you enjoy winning, then you enjoy making others lose, and if you like that, then you "cannot fulfill yourself."
The next one is one of my favorite quotes in the whole book, because I completely agree with it. It goes like this: "Knowing others is wisdom; /Knowing the self is enlightenment. / Mastering others requires force; / Mastering the self needs strength. / He who knows he has enough is rich. / ...To die but not to perish is to be eternally present. (33)" I know it is long, but I just found it so true that I couldn't resist to put it all. I think it is true, because people believe that they are powerful when they can change other people, but they don't realize they are more powerful when they can change themselves. Also, knowing yourself is more difficult than knowing others. I also like what is says about being rich when you believe you have enough. I think that if one completely follows the Tao, they will be happy.
This one is also one of those -wow- quotes. "A truly good man does nothing, / Yet leaves nothing undone. / A foolish man is always doing, / Yet much remains to be done. (38)" I really liked this, because it is true that when someone doesn't know what they are doing, they can do and do and do but they will never really be doing anything. I notice how it is different from the Analects, because it never really says to not do anything. I still don't know how not doing anything won't leave anything undone, but I liked it anyways.
The fortieth teaching (or whatever they are), was the shortest one yet. I liked it because even if it only had 4 lines, I read it and re-read it and still couldn't figure out what it meant. I still don't know, so there is not much I can say about it. I will leave it to you in case you want to analyze it yourself. Anyways, if you understand it, comment. "Returning is the motion of the Tao. / Yielding is the way of the Tao. / The ten thousand things are born of being. / Being is born of not being. (40)"
My almost-last quote is interesting because it talks about something that should have been mentioned a long time ago, but interestingly it is the first time it is actually talked about. "The ten thousand things carry yin and embrace yang. They achieve harmony by combining these forces. (42)" The symbol of the Tao Te Ching is the yin-yang, so one would expect it to be mentioned a lot. As I said, it is the first time I read about it. Anyways, it says that it is in everything, and they are included in all things.
Now, we have reached the moment of my last line. It is one of the last lines in what I read today, but it still is really true. "...Therefore he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough. (46)" I liked this line, because it is a lot like the other quote about he who knows he has enough is rich. If one is always trying to have more, then they will never be satisfied. Instead, if you think with what you have enough, you will be happy.
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