The gentlest thing in the world
overcomes the hardest thing in the world.
That which has no substance
enters where there is no space.
This shows the value of non-action.
. . .
Translation of the Tao Te Ching by Stephen Mitchell
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My spiritual power can overcome the most brutal of circumstances, if I let it—get in touch with it—observe it happening.
ReplyDeleteRalph Allen Dale translation:
"That which is most tender can overcome that which is most rigid. That which has substance can penetrate that which has least space. Acting without deliberate action,and teaching without uttering a word."
Star translation:
"Stillness benefits more than action. Silence benefits more than words."
A call to non-action happens within Self and reflects outward into the world. It is observed first through perception, knowing. It is what Biden said about Obama: “There is something about this guy.”
Tao 43 says that few of us understand the teacher who uses no words and embodies non-action. I think that it does spread. More and more of us do get it—it spreads like water over granite and it is digging in.
C.H. Wu. . .”Few things under heaven are as instructive as the lessons of Silence.”
Leaders like Obama lead through conveyed silence that seeps into the core of human existence. He carries a presence of non-violence, non-resistance, non-hate, non-as-it-was. He says, “I will show you how.”