Stabilize awareness
And the world will arise
Safe, serene, and at peace.

Music, fancy food, and entertainment
Make wayfarers briefly pause
While the Tao
Seems flat and insipid,
Without substance or flavor.
It looks like nothing much,
It sounds like nothing much,
We look but don’t see it,
We listen but don’t hear it.

Something that contains everything,
Quiet and still, pure and deep;
Here before heaven and earth,
Alone and unchanging
Like a mother bringing up her children
Formless, it completes all things.

Not knowing its real name,
We call it the Way.
Not knowing how to describe it,
We call it sacred.
Sacred means always and never changing.
Always changing means indefinable.
Not defining means returning to this.

So the Way is sacred -
Heaven, Earth, and Humankind - all sacred.
Humankind imitates Earth,
Earth imitates Heaven,
Heaven imitates the Way,
And the Way follows what is
As the mother of all things.

Smart people learn from their mistakes. Smarter people learn from other people’s mistakes. The smartest people learn from smart people’s mistakes. And the smartest people are the smartest people because they have learned from the most mistakes. Instead of letting jealousy and competitiveness exclude; invite and recruit those more intelligent, skillful, and wise. If not in service, at least as friends they can protect from the dangers of ignorance, untangle complicated difficulties, distill the wisdom of the best books, and—with little effort on your part—confer the fame of an oracle. As many sages speak through your mouth as were consulted beforehand.

Skill without wisdom and good intentions poisons results, creates unnatural monsters, corrupts with more subtlety, and only ruins with more ability. Knowledge without good sense only makes failure more harmful.

Self-satisfaction only leads to contempt. Unlike genuine confidence, conceit always looks for applause, for constant approval, for a flattering “Bravo!” after every word. Always only listening to themselves, the arrogant and vain speak with an echo only hearing themselves, ignoring those around them. Infatuated with themselves, they try to monopolize all the credit but only increase their debt. They may fool the foolish but only receive disdain from the wise.

Seductive details easily capture our attention and distract us from what's important. Most people endlessly rehash unimportant trivialities, see the trees but not the forest, the leaves but not the roots, and then have no time for the important priorities. Instead, focus on the cause instead of getting side-tracked by the symptoms. Immediately go to the heart of the issue instead of getting confused by the surface appearance. Distinguish clearly between issues best left alone and ones important to prioritize.

Scams, con-artists, and unscrupulous promoters of everything from religion to politics to cosmetics constantly entice us to believe in lies. This struggle pits wisdom against goal-oriented strategy. The strategic approach relies on deception, hides its intentions, and waits for an opportunistic moment to ambush and strike. The way of integrity and wisdom sees through this corrupt intent by not falling victim to these deceptions, by maintaining an open-minded skepticism, a hesitancy to believe without proof, an inscrutability that waits for the second or even the third level of confirmation. When lies are exposed, the liar dissembles by using truth, cheating by not cheating, using candor to promote fraud. But the watchful insight of wisdom sees the shadows concealed by light, reads the real intent under the deceptions. Like an arrow from the Greek national divinity, Apollo, penetrating insight cuts through self-deception and lies, discovers the hidden truths.

Saying "no" risks good will, friendships, and all kinds of relationships. Learning how to do this in a skillful way therefore determines—to a large extent—our success in life. "Yes" and "no" are short words quickly spoken, but, because of their deep and profound consequences, require serious and thoughtful consideration. The arrogant and power-intoxicated tend to maintain "no" as a first response and, as a consequence, lose good will even when they later approve. Instead of creating resentment, a wisdom-inspired "no" can invoke more appreciation than a cursory "yes". It substitutes politeness, charm, and fine words for acquiescent action. Not capricious or abrupt but gilded with positives, this kind of "no" usually evolves slowly and incrementally over time. Never "final", it always leaves room for hope and change.

Respect from the wise and even from the foolish arises from a deep, authentic presence, a true communication from a genuine heart. It easily wins over esteem and recognition as it reveals itself in everything we do—in our words, actions, even in the way we walk and move. It cannot be faked with pompous, arrogant talk or pretentious, phony imitation. Only an honest and true expression of a selfless and skillful compassion attains this level of honor.

Recognize the masculine
But turn back to the feminine
And become the world’s riverbed
Always true and unswerving,
Becoming a new born child again.

Recognize the light
But turn back to the dark
And become a pattern to the world,
True and unerring power
Going back again to boundlessness.

Recognize the glory
But turn back to the modest
And become the world’s guide
To boundless energy and power
Going back again to the natural,
An uncarved block of wood,
Primal simplicity.

A block of wood can be made into tools
But tools cannot be made into a block of wood
The wise can easily be made into leaders
But leaders not so easily made wise.
The greatest carver does the least cutting.

Putting all our cards on the table face up diminishes our achievements, welcomes frivolous criticism, and makes us more vulnerable to failure. When we clearly describe a new venture too early, it attracts criticism and competition and—if it fails—can become doubly disastrous. Instead, mix a little mystery into everything you say and do, hold decisions in suspense for a time, and don't explain things too clearly. By holding decisions in check without declaring conclusions too soon, you create anticipation, cultivate admiration, wonder, and respect. "Cautious silence is the sacred sanctuary of worldly wisdom."

Politicians preach conformity and a preference for being with the status quo over being right. They say people see solitary wisdom as a kind of folly, that it's better to be deluded with the crowd rather than clear-seeing alone, that we have to live with other people and they are mainly ignorant, that ignorance comprises the greatest wisdom, or at least the pretense of it. The truly wise prefer the opposite: better sane with the rest of the sane, wise with the rest of the wise than insane alone, a fool by ourselves.

Perceptions create the illusion
Of a solid world
And can blind, deafen, & dull
Non-duality and Egolessness.
Chasing fame, fortune, pleasure & power
Only drives us crazy
While the race for riches
Just creates more crime.

So the wise understand
The sense, not just the words
Choosing reality over illusion;
This over that.

People say that the Tao is great
But not practical, even useless.
Because it’s great it’s improbable, not practical or useful.
What’s probable is conventional and petty.
If it were useful,
It would never have become great.
Because it’s great, it seems like folly.
When truths become solid,
They transform into clichés.

Only 3 qualities are worth treasuring and following closely:
Compassion, moderation, and humility.
From compassion comes bravery,
From moderation comes generosity,
From humility comes authentic leadership.

But bravery without compassion,
Generosity without self-restraint,
Leadership without humility
All lead to disaster.

Compassion wins every battle
And outlasts every attack.
What goodness creates,
Compassion protects.

Passion and variety spice up, deepen, and enrich life. Cultivated skills, taste, and intellect create a microcosm of nature herself that brings delight, passion, and success. By recognizing opportunities, solutions, and practicability; one person can accomplish as much as many. And this person's enthusiasm, inspiration, and appreciation spreads and influences many others giving them an accessible energy and a more vivid sense of meaningfulness.

Our friends, associates, and our whole environment influence us in subtle and mainly unconscious ways. This also influences how others think about us when they see us with these people and situations. When on the way to a higher status—when climbing a social, political, or corporate pyramid—associate with those of more prominence and prestige. The respect they elicit will blend into our own reputation. This process works in reverse, however, when we have already arrived at the higher position: associating with more skillful and more respected people will detract from our own standing. As the sun rises, it becomes harder and harder to see the moon.

Only little known people have little known defects. Everyone has shortcomings, faults, and failings—they comprise our individuality. Only the foolish and craven focus on spreading criticism as a way of trying to build themselves up, of diverting attention away from their own misdeeds, or of making themselves feel better about their own flaws. Their libel, slander, and truthfulness form the sewers of slander and corrupt their own reputations while they degrade society. To gossip, spotlight, and catalog defects creates a contaminated life and a personality without heart.

One of the greatest lessons in life revolves around learning to refuse negative influences and external demands, to cut through sidetracks, to disengage from unimportant activities that steal precious time, and to disinvolve ourselves from people and affairs that don't directly concern us. This preserves goodwill, esteem, and the freedom to always choose the best course of action. The cultivation of this discipline also gives us insight and skill in preventing others from inappropriate involvement in our own affairs, inhibits the taking advantage of friendships, avoids the great failing of excess which always creates a vice, and promotes the important quality of moderation that keeps us in the good graces of others without having to abandon ourselves.

One of the great arts of managing people involves keeping expectations alive without letting them devolve into disappointment. With too little expectation, people lose inspiration and get lazy. With too much, they become disillusioned and get lazy for that reason. By finding a middle ground between these two extremes, leaders keep motivation high, discouragement low. Instead of contributing too much, too soon; spread out the acknowledgment of accomplishments and rewards in small increments over a longer period of time. For every success, keep a vision of further success clear.

Often the most well thought-out plans fail, the most inner-vetted decisions turn out badly. But they do extremely well compared to ventures undertaken with doubt and uncertainty. Better to forgo projects when doubts stay high, when the path forward unclear, when judgment wavers. If you have deep doubts about success, rivals and others who watch you will quickly turn the fear of failure into a conclusion. Therefore never start a new venture when reason and intuition don't confirm the choice.