Above it there is no light, Below it there is no darkness. Endlessness beyond description. It returns to non-existence.

Fleeing from our fear, we make our lives more and more of an imprisonment.

The body is vulnerable. The more important it is to us, the more vulnerable we will be.

balancing something with nothing. Emptiness is a blessing, without which it would all be too much. We need to remind ourselves of this simple fact. Music soothes the soul, but not if we listen to it constantly. Colors delight our eyes, but more so when they are handled with some restrain. Dance invigorates, but excess fatigues us. Everything should

Beauty is a function, and indeed there is a lot of necessary emptiness in the arts. Music is played on the silence between the tones, as well as on the tones. Great novels intrigue us with what is not spelled out. Paintings fascinate us by what they omit. Dance enchants by moments of stillness.

The greatest virtue of such a respectful attitude is its gentleness, its refusal to use the power at hand. This is in accordance with Tao, the Way, which acts in the same discreet manner. No virtue is greater than to be like Tao.

Parents, too, must understand not to use force on the children in their care. Gentle guidance should be enough, preferably so that they are unaware of being guided. Children as well as adults need to feel that they have their future in their own hands. Only then are they able to listen to advice wholeheartedly, and follow them without frustration

Power tempts us to express it, and this ambition hardens us. When we are eager to show our strength, our muscles stiffen and our movements get clumsy. Our behavior becomes rude, and we easily damage our surroundings as well as ourselves. The flow of ch’i through one’s body may be weak like rain or strong like a waterfall, but our attitude should

Since we all spend most of our days at work, it’s very important to us that we feel fulfilled by it. Sadly, there are so many professions nowadays, where people are regarded as little more than machines, expected to produce the simplest things in high quantities, as if that’s all they can. Lao Tzu would not approve. We need to be able, and to feel