No More Tao is Not Tao

Tao Te Ching 48-81

No, I don't get the title either.
SO SHUT UP!

Sorry about that.
I have finished the Tao Te Ching. Hm. It was shorter than I expected it to be. After all, it is the second most printed book, the first bring the Bible. A few last comments before I really finish the Tao Te Ching.

The book was nice. It really showed me what Daoism was, unlike Confucius, who left me confused. Even as I finished reading the book, it kept emphasizing balance. Even if it wouldn't be considered 'balanced', there were always at least two sentences that complimented each other, helped understand the other, and stuff like that. Look at the following quote for example.

"Truthful words are not beautiful.

Beautiful words are not truthful.

Good men do not argue.
Those who argue are not good.

Those who know are not learned.

The learned do not know." (Tao Te Ching 81)

The quote was from the last page of the book. Even until the end of the text, it had to be balance-ish, didn't it? Well, it was cool. Actually, this was one of the quotes that I liked. I quite agree with what it says here, maybe except for where it says that the learned don't know. It's so true that true words are not pretty. Reality is harsh. Yup. That, it is. I also thought that arguing too much isn't that good either, unlike my English teacher, who insists on teaching us how to argue. Well, it contradicts the book. I'm not sure if the last two lines have some kind of 'secret meaning' or something, because to me, it doesn't make sense.

Speaking of balance, look at this photo!

It's the picture of the Andromeda Galaxy, taken by NASA.
When I see pictures like this, I sometimes do think that nature is full of balance. I mean look at that! It's balance-ish. Haha, sorry. I don't have a good word to explain that. I'm just saying.

Tao Te Ching. The book of Daoism.
Very cool, short, not that bad to read.
NEVER READING IT AGAIN, thank you very much.

More Tao

Tao Te Ching 29-47

Nnnnnnggghhh. I'm bored of this book now. I guess I'm not much of a teaching reading guy. Nevertheless, the reading must go on.

This quote (quoteS, actually) caught my eye:
"Achieve results,
But never glory in them.
Achieve results,
But never boast.
Achieve results,
But never be proud.
Achieve results,
Because this is the natural way.
Achieve results,
But not through violence." (Tao Te Ching 30)

I like how it repeats. It's simple, yet it carries a lot of meaning.
This is practically saying that you shouldn't show off (I don't know what word to use) when you achieve things. I agree with this, except for a bit: where it says 'But never be proud'. I personally think we should be proud of the things we do. What did the author of this book want us to be, low self-esteemed Asians? If that was his intention, I won't become one.


"For one gains by losing
And loses by gaining." (Tao Te Ching 42)
This quote also made me think. It made me think about how gaining would be bad in the long run. The conclusion I got was that people get greedy and stuff. In the end, losing is better than gaining. But according to this quote, if you lose, you gain. When you gain, you will lose. It makes a cycle! Never mind. Stupid brain trying to work out logic.

He Who Follows the Tao

Tao Te Ching 13-28

Still reading the Tao Te Ching. Yay.

The book isn't bad. Although it's just teachings and stuff, it's not all that boring. I think it's because the text is divided up into very short sections. We go to the next part before getting bored. Something like that. I don't know. I'm just saying.

I noticed that the text kept saying something that was either obvious, or was the same thing that was stated. What do I mean? Look at the following quote:
"He who follows the Tao
Is at one with the Tao.
He who is virtuous
Experiences Virtue.
He who loses the way
Is lost." (Tao Te Ching 23)

Yeah. It's obvious someone who is virtuous experiences virtue.
This wasn't the only part of the book that said something like that. The book is full of those things. Stuff like 'He who is **** is ****'.


I found a quote that I quite agree with.
"He who does not trust enough
Will not be trusted." (Tao Te Ching 23)
That's the typical quote that you would hear from a good, noble man. I'm just saying. Anyways, I agree. I mean, who will trust you if you won't trust anyone else? You know the saying: 'You reap what you sow'. Be good to others, and they will be good to you too. Is that what the quote means? I don't know. I'm sleepy.

Yay. I'm almost already halfway through the book.
Let's hope I don't get bored of it just yet.

Teachings Forgotten?

Reading the Analects isn't as fun as I expected. There was nothing that made you go 'Oh! I love this quote!' or 'Hey! I know this quote!'.

Well, at least that was until I read book 15.
There was the quote: "Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself." (Analects 15:24)
Hey! I know that! More commonly known as the golden rule, and used one million times every day by teachers. The 'don't-do-anything-to-others-that-you-don't-want-done-to-you rule. To say the truth, I didn't know that it originally came from Confucianism. Well, I guess it is, and everyone at least knows something from it.


It was interesting how the teachings in the book are divided into two: the useful and the we-don't-need-these-teachings. What do I mean? Although some teachings are taken into consideration (like the golden rule), some are just thrown away to the floor (like respecting the elders. Maybe you do, but it's very different from what Confucian people do).

It's too bad that the Confucian teachings are not being applied much around the world. The new generations are forgetting or not applying it to their lives. Now the teachings from the book are treated like some old Asian traditional teachings, even in Asian countries. Although reading it is sort of boring, I think it shouldn't be forgotten. At least in Asia, you know?