The people do not fear death; to what purpose is
Categories: PART II.Books: THE TAO AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS
The people do not fear death; to what purpose is it to (try to)
frighten them with death? If the people were always in awe of death,
and I could always seize those who do wrong, and put them to death,
who would dare to do wrong?
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The government that seems the most unwise,
Oft
The government that seems the most unwise, Oft goodness to the people best supplies; That which is meddling, touching everything, Will work but ill, and disappointment bring Misery!--happiness is to be found by its side! Happiness!--miser... The grandest forms of active force From
The grandest forms of active force From Tao come, their only source Who can of Tao the nature tell? Our sight it flies, our touch as well Eluding sight, eluding touch, The forms of things all in it crouch; Eluding touch, elud... The great state only wishes to unite men together and
The great state only wishes to unite men together and nourish them; a small state only wishes to be received by, and to serve, the other Each gets what it desires, but the great state must learn to abase itself ... The great Tao (or way) is very level and easy;
The great Tao (or way) is very level and easy; but people love the by-ways ... The highest excellence is like (that of) water The
The highest excellence is like (that of) water The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao ... The Just
A man is not just if he carries a matter by violence; no, he who distinguishes both right and wrong, who is learned and guides others, not by violence, but by the same law, being a guardian of the law and intelligent, he is called just. A man i... The Life of Buddha and Its Lessons
The thoughtful student, in scanning the religious history of the race, has one fact continually forced upon his notice, _viz_., that there is an invariable tendency to deify whomsoever shows himself superior to the weakness of our common humanity. Look... The Majesty of Calmness
Calmness is the rarest quality in human life. It is the poise of a great nature, in harmony with itself and its ideals. It is the moral atmosphere of a life self-centred, self-reliant, and self-controlled. Calmness is singleness of purpose, abso... The man who is free from credulity, but knows the
The man who is free from credulity, but knows the uncreated, who has cut all ties, removed all temptations, renounced all desires, he is the greatest of men ... The man who wears dirty raiments, who is emaciated and
The man who wears dirty raiments, who is emaciated and covered with veins, who lives alone in the forest, and meditates, him I call indeed a Brahmana ... The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if
The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying a full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring I alone seem listless and still, my desires having as yet given no indication of their presence I am like an infant which has not yet s... The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the
The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray ... The people are difficult to govern because of the (excessive) agency
The people are difficult to govern because of the (excessive) agency of their superiors (in governing them) It is through this that they are difficult to govern ... The people do not fear death; to what purpose is
The people do not fear death; to what purpose is it to (try to) frighten them with death? If the people were always in awe of death, and I could always seize those who do wrong, and put them to death, who would dare to do wrong? ... The people make light of dying because of the greatness
The people make light of dying because of the greatness of their labours in seeking for the means of living It is this which makes them think light of dying Thus it is that to leave the subject of living altogether out of view is better than to set a... The people suffer from famine because of the multitude of
The people suffer from famine because of the multitude of taxes consumed by their superiors It is through this that they suffer famine ... The perception of what is small is (the secret of
The perception of what is small is (the secret of clear- sightedness; the guarding of what is soft and tender is (the secret of) strength ... The Power of Personal Influence
The only responsibility that a man cannot evade in this life is the one he thinks of least,--his personal influence. Man's conscious influence, when he is on dress-parade, when he is posing to impress those around him,--is woefully small. But hi... The relation of the Tao to all the world is
The relation of the Tao to all the world is like that of the great rivers and seas to the streams from the valleys ... The report of that fulfilment is the regular, unchanging rule
The report of that fulfilment is the regular, unchanging rule To know that unchanging rule is to be intelligent; not to know it leads to wild movements and evil issues The knowledge of that unchanging rule produces a (grand) capacity and forbearance,... The sage does not accumulate (for himself) The more
The sage does not accumulate (for himself) The more that he expends for others, the more does he possess of his own; the more that he gives to others, the more does he have himself ... The sage has in the world an appearance of indecision,
The sage has in the world an appearance of indecision, and keeps his mind in a state of indifference to all The people all keep their eyes and ears directed to him, and he deals with them all as his children ... The sage has no invariable mind of his own; he
The sage has no invariable mind of his own; he makes the mind of the people his mind ... The sages who injure nobody, and who always control their
The sages who injure nobody, and who always control their body, they will go to the unchangeable place (Nirvana), where, if they have gone, they will suffer no more ... The scent of flowers does not travel against the wind,
The scent of flowers does not travel against the wind, nor (that of) sandal-wood, or of Tagara and Mallika flowers; but the odour of good people travels even against the wind; a good man pervades every place ... The sight of the elect (Arya) is good, to live
The sight of the elect (Arya) is good, to live with them is always happiness; if a man does not see fools, he will be truly happy ...