Colorful and Classic--Tao Te Ching

Author: Laozi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth; the named was the mother of the ten thousand things. Thus, always remain with the nameless to observe its subtlety; always remain with the named to observe its manifestations. These two are the same yet different, and are called mysterious. The mysterious is ever mysterious, the gate to all subtleties. All under heaven know beauty as beauty, thus there is ugliness. Being and non-being give birth to each other; difficulty and ease complement each other; long and short define each other; high and low fill each other; tones harmonize with each other; before and after follow each other—this is the eternal way. Therefore, the sage engages in the affairs of non-action, practices the teaching of non-verbal words, gives birth to all things yet does not claim them, nourishes them yet does not rely on them, accomplishes much yet does not take credit for it. Only by not taking credit is it that he remains undiminished.