ALL Tao phrases held here in are as translated from the original Tao by Lao-Tzu. These are not of my own writing with the exception of the last line in some cases (To find out which ones ar added look for the "in short," before the sentence). And now for your daily Tao:

The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.

Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.

Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.

In short no catagories, no wants, sleep alot.

Hmm...

that is pretty cool....

This deserves to be in the Storytellers section.

It is not an original of mine. It is the original Tao. Everyday I will post another one so that anyone who wishes to seek wisdom won't have to look far.And for today's Tao:

When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.

Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.

Therefore the Master
acts without doing anything
and teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn't possess,
acts but doesn't expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts forever.

In short all things balance because they co-exist.
Stop trying to control your destiny and just exsit.

Mercurygriffin wrote:

Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn't possess,
acts but doesn't expect.
.

I like that ....thanks...

If you overesteem great men,
people become powerless.
If you overvalue possessions,
people begin to steal.

The Master leads
by emptying people's minds
and filling their cores,
by weakening their ambition
and toughening their resolve.
He helps people lose everything
they know, everything they desire,
and creates confusion
in those who think that they know.

Practice not-doing,
and everything will fall into place.

The Tao is like a well:
used but never used up.
It is like the eternal void:
filled with infinite possibilities.

It is hidden but always present.
I don't know who gave birth to it.
It is older than God.

they need to make a forum that is just for you mercury ... and it will be called the tao of the day.
these are really cool. may i ask where you are getting them?

I am olny a messenger of Tao, I do not want my own forum (moderator maybe), The Tao can be found everywhere.

The Tao doesn't take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.

The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.

Hold on to the center.

I like them...ok, so you can find them anywhere...like...?

Excuse my dense-ness.

The Tao te Ching by Lao Tzu

You can find it at any bookstore along with many books on Taoism. Look in Eastern Philosophy...or, you could even google Taoism. Amazing how that works.

And I would recommend you site the source when you post things written by others...it's just the respectful thing to do..

Buttercup wrote:The Tao te Ching by Lao Tzu

You can find it at any bookstore along with many books on Taoism. Look in Eastern Philosophy...or, you could even google Taoism. Amazing how that works.

And I would recommend you site the source when you post things written by others...it's just the respectful thing to do..

Lol. I'm such a dork...I didn't even think of runnig a search for it.
Ok. Now I feel dumb.

i agree with buttercup. taoism (pronounced dow-ism) is an ancient
form of other eastern religions. is is closely compared to
confucianism (you know, confucius) and buddhism.

http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phal ... nrelg.html

littlepockit wrote:taoism (pronounced dow-ism)

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Goddamn, people. Say it right.

To clarify I did not write the tao, it was lao-tzu. I can't misspronounce it if I am typing it and I am sorry for the oversight of not puting a link , but one would think anyone who wants more info could and would reasearch on their own instead of making a point to to say that I didn't put a link. In fact, I personaly delivered the link to someone who asked for it. But for those of you who want to shortcut me here is the link. I will still post them daily though.

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9 ... -v3.html#1

The Tao is called the Great Mother:
empty yet inexhaustible,
it gives birth to infinite worlds.

It is always present within you.
You can use it any way you want.

Mercurygriffin wrote:To clarify I did not write the tao, it was lao-tzu. I can't misspronounce it if I am typing it and I am sorry for the oversight of not puting a link , but one would think anyone who wants more info could and would reasearch on their own instead of making a point to to say that I didn't put a link. In fact, I personaly delivered the link to someone who asked for it. But for those of you who want to shortcut me here is the link. I will still post them daily though. .

I do still think it's a cool idea to post them. Taoist philosophy was probably the first thing that enamored me with the concept of true paradox, and the possibility of finding the precise definition of oneself - and through oneself, reality, and / or vice versa - within said paradox.

That's not to say that I'm Taoist. I'm not.

I'm simply insane.

Mercurygriffin wrote:To clarify I did not write the tao, it was lao-tzu. I can't misspronounce it if I am typing it and I am sorry for the oversight of not puting a link , but one would think anyone who wants more info could and would reasearch on their own instead of making a point to to say that I didn't put a link. In fact, I personaly delivered the link to someone who asked for it. But for those of you who want to shortcut me here is the link. I will still post them daily though.

.

No one accused you of misprounouncing it or cares if you put a link or not. People know how to use google. Or should at least.

However, we do ask that you give credit where credit is due. Thats all.

Now...chill out and be all taoist n' shit.

I believe it's old enough to be in the public domain these days...

DarkVader wrote:I believe it's old enough to be in the public domain these days...

I don't know what the laws are for that, but I know that if I wrote a term paper and used Lao Tzu's words as my own...UT would be hella pissed off.

It's not so much about legality as respect for literature and artwork. That, and not being fake and pretending someone else's words are yours (I'm not saying this is the case but some people do such things).

I's 'bout respect yo.