MAGISTER LIU

Soft and Gentle

Prevail.

Water wends its way

Gently

Round every obstacle,

Avoids Heights,

Sinks to Depths,

Bends with curves,

Fills and pours,

Fits into Square and Circle,

Into Small and Great,

Into springs and rivers,

Smoothing the Surface of things,

Accepting all manner of Filth,

Containing gold,

Extinguishing fire,

Bringing Life

To plants and trees,

Softening and moistening

The soil,

Bringing Benefit

To the Myriad Things,

Never Contending,

Always lower,

Always beneath

All-under-Heaven,

Supremely

Soft and Gentle.

Solid Earth

Collapses

When infiltrated by Water.

Weighty Mountains

Crumble

Under a flood of Water.

Fierce Fire

Is extinguished

By Water.

Nothing Prevails

Against Water.

The Taoist is Soft and Gentle as Water, lying Beneath not Above, absorbing Filth, accepting Misfortune and Calamity. Unexpected Hardships overwhelm Others, but are overcome by the Soft and Gentle Taoist. This is the paradox, the Truth: that Soft and Gentle Prevail over Hard and Strong. The Multitude admire the Hard and Strong. But whosoever sees by the Light of the Primal Mother Understands this Truth, Knows that Water, Softest of all things, is the Exemplar of the Tao.

Lao Tzu • Tao Te Ching | The Essential Translation

Lao Tzu • Tao Te Ching | The Essential Translation