Tao Te Ching Meditation - Chapter 81: Restraint
Reading:
81.1 True words are not beautiful,
beautiful words are not true.
81.2 The good are not argumentative,
the argumentative are not good.
81.3 Knowers do not generalize,
generalists do not know.
81.4 Sages do not accumulate anything
but give everything to others,
having more the more they give.
81.5 The Way of heaven helps and does not harm.
The Way for humans is to act without contention.
Tao Teh Ching - Cleary Translation
Commentation:
I don't know the original ordering of the chapters of the TTC, or which chapters (if any) were written by Lao Tze; but i like to think of Chapter 81 as Lao Tze's parting words to us and worthy of special notice.
Restraint, modesty, doing with less, moderation, knowing that enough is enough, risking doing too little to avoid doing too much, caution, "first. do no harm" Together with mercy and humility, this is one of the Taoists three "great treasures"
Silence speaks louder than words, so the wise know that words are mostly unnecessary or intrusive. Certainly "persuasive speech" usually is harmful or ineffectual. Those who know this remain silent, and they do not look for pretty phrases to cover up their lack of real knowledge. If the facts don't convince you, maybe you should not be convinced.
Generalizations apply poorly to specific cases, and every human case is specific. Generalizations suffer from being to complicated and too inaccurate; also accurate knowledge lacks simplicity and generalizability, while simple knowledge lacks generalizability and accuracy. Knowers know this, which adds to their propensity for silence. Every thing said will be untrue at some level.
The tendency toward restraint should pass from words to other tools and possessions (Oh, this sounds like a generalization :D). But the tendency to give and love should be left unrestrained.
Prayer:
Wholly Loving: Help me keep my mouth shut. Help me choose my words with care., Remember "right speech" and remember that what comes out of my mouth is more polluting than what goes into it. Amen.
Contemplation:
81.1 True words are not beautiful,
beautiful words are not true.
81.2 The good are not argumentative,
the argumentative are not good.
81.3 Knowers do not generalize,
generalists do not know.
81.4 Sages do not accumulate anything
but give everything to others,
having more the more they give.
81.5 The Way of heaven helps and does not harm.
The Way for humans is to act without contention.
Tao Teh Ching - Cleary Translation
Commentation:
I don't know the original ordering of the chapters of the TTC, or which chapters (if any) were written by Lao Tze; but i like to think of Chapter 81 as Lao Tze's parting words to us and worthy of special notice.
Restraint, modesty, doing with less, moderation, knowing that enough is enough, risking doing too little to avoid doing too much, caution, "first. do no harm" Together with mercy and humility, this is one of the Taoists three "great treasures"
Silence speaks louder than words, so the wise know that words are mostly unnecessary or intrusive. Certainly "persuasive speech" usually is harmful or ineffectual. Those who know this remain silent, and they do not look for pretty phrases to cover up their lack of real knowledge. If the facts don't convince you, maybe you should not be convinced.
Generalizations apply poorly to specific cases, and every human case is specific. Generalizations suffer from being to complicated and too inaccurate; also accurate knowledge lacks simplicity and generalizability, while simple knowledge lacks generalizability and accuracy. Knowers know this, which adds to their propensity for silence. Every thing said will be untrue at some level.
The tendency toward restraint should pass from words to other tools and possessions (Oh, this sounds like a generalization :D). But the tendency to give and love should be left unrestrained.
Prayer:
Wholly Loving: Help me keep my mouth shut. Help me choose my words with care., Remember "right speech" and remember that what comes out of my mouth is more polluting than what goes into it. Amen.
Contemplation: