Tao Te Ching Water Quotes

Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear?

Trying to understand is like straining through muddy water. Have the patience to wait! Be still and allow the mud to settle.

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.

The highest excellence is like (that of) water.

Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)?

The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to. It is content with the low places that people disdain. Thus it is like the Tao. In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present. When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.

Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear. Who can secure the condition of rest? Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise.

There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet for attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing that can take precedence of it;—for there is nothing (so effectual) for which it can be changed.

Obscure as muddied water. But, with stillness, muddy waters clear. Can you also act while remaining still?

Nothing under heaven is as yielding as water. And yet in attacking the hard, the unyielding, nothing can surpass it. Nothing can take its place. The weak overcomes the strong, the soft surpasses the hard. In all the world, there’s no one who doesn’t know this, but no one can master the practice.

Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive. It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.

To clarify muddy waters, you must hold them still and let things settle. To glimpse the secret of the Tao, you must keep still and quiet your mind.

The gentle outlast the strong The obscure outlast the obvious Hence, a fish that ventures from deep water is soon snagged by a net A country that reveals its strength is soon conquered by an enemy

GOODNESS True goodness is like water; it nurtures everything and harms nothing. Like water, it ever seeks the lowest place, the place that all others avoid. This is the way of the Tao. For a dwelling it chooses the quiet meadow; for a heart the circling eddy. In generosity it is kind; in speech it is sincere; in power it is order; in action it is gentle; in movement it is rhythm. Because it is always peaceable, it soothes and refreshes.

WE ARE A RIVER Our life has not been an ascent up one side of a mountain and down the other. We did not reach a peak, only to decline and die. We have been as drops of water, born in the ocean and sprinkled on the earth in a gentle rain. We became a spring, and then a stream, and finally a river flowing deeper and stronger, nourishing all it touches as it nears its home once again. Don’t accept the modern myths of aging. You are not declining. You are not fading away into uselessness. You are a sage, a river at its deepest and most nourishing. Sit by a riverbank sometime and watch attentively as the river tells you of your life.

Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear. Who can secure the condition of rest? Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise. They who preserve this method of the Tao do not wish to be full (of themselves).

It's best to be like water, nurturing the ten thousand things without competing, flowing into places people scorn, very like the Tao. Make the earth a dwelling place. Cultivate the heart and mind. Practice benevolence. Stand by your word. Govern with equity. Serve skillfully. Act in a timely way, without contentiousness, free of blame.

If you continue filling a pail after it is full, the water will be wasted. If you continue grinding an axe after it is sharp, the edge will wear away. Who can protect a house full of gold and jewels? Excessive fortune brings about its own misfortune. To win true merit—to earn a good reputation— you must be prudent. This is the way of the Tao.

How does one make muddy water clear? Be still, and the water will clear in time. How does one become still? Let everything happen, and stillness appears.

Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear?

To clarify muddy waters, you must hold them still and let things settle. To glimpse the secret of the Tao, you must keep still and quiet your mind.

True goodness is like water; it nurtures everything and harms nothing.

Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?

The highest virtue is like water. Since water helps the myriad creatures, And settles, without contention, Where no one wishes to live, It is near to the Way.

Nothing in the world is soft and weak as water. But when attacking the hard and strong Nothing can conquer so easily. Weak overcomes strong, Soft overcomes hard. Everyone knows this, No one attains it.

The ancient Masters were profound and subtle. Their wisdom was unfathomable. There is no way to describe it; all we can describe is their appearance. They were careful as someone crossing an iced-over stream. Alert as a warrior in enemy territory. Courteous as a guest. Fluid as melting ice. Shapable as a block of wood. Receptive as a valley. Clear as a glass of water. Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself? The Master doesn’t seek fulfillment.. Not seeking, not expecting, she is present, and can welcome all things.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 78 Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it. The soft overcomes the hard; the gentle overcomes the rigid. Everyone knows this is true, but few can put it into practice. Therefore the Master remains serene in the midst of sorrow. Evil cannot enter his heart. Because he has given up helping, he is people’s greatest help. True words seem paradoxical. (translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)

The supreme goodness is like water. It benefits all things without contention. In dwelling, it stays grounded. In being, it flows to depths. In expression, it is honest. In confrontation, it stays gentle. In governance, it does not control. In action, it aligns to timing. It is content with its nature, and therefore cannot be faulted.

9 PRUDENCE If you continue filling a pail after it is full, the water will be wasted. If you continue grinding an axe after it is sharp, the edge will wear away. Who can protect a house full of gold and jewels? Excessive fortune brings about its own misfortune. To win true merit—to earn a good reputation— you must be prudent. This is the way of the Tao.

Nothing is gentler than water, yet nothing can withstand its force. Likewise, nothing compares to the Tao. By it the weak defeat the strong; and the flexible conquer the rigid. Every one knows this is true, but how few put it into practice!  Monks and priests are often the worst sinners. Police officers and lawmakers are often the worst criminals. Truth is often paradoxical.

Oh wondrous,' murmured Lin Chung. 'Oh, water, mistress of earth, valley spirit, eternal feminine!' 'Taoism again?' Phryne leaned close to hear what he was whispering. 'From the "Tao Te Ching." The old Master should have seen this. All made by water, the female, cold, moon principle.' 'Yin,' said Phryne. 'This is the womb of the earth.' 'Indeed.' He took her hand. 'Completely foreign to all male, hot, sun creatures.' 'Like you?' 'Like me. Yang can only admire and tremble.' 'Come along.' She led him into the centre of the huge space. 'We don't want to get lost in the earthmother's insides.

The wise leader is like water. Consider water: water cleanses and refreshes all creatures without distinction and without judgment; water freely and fearlessly goes deep beneath the surface of things; water is fluid and responsive; water follows the law freely. Consider the leader: the leader works in any setting without complaint, with any person or issue that comes on the floor; the leader acts so that all will benefit and serves well regardless of the rate of pay; the leader speaks simply and honestly and intervenes in order to shed light and create harmony. From watching the movements of water, the leader has learned that in action, timing is everything. Like water, the leader is yielding. Because the leader does not push, the group does not resent or resist.

Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching, wrote, “He who knows he has enough is rich.” Enough—it’s a slippery concept. What’s enough for one is too little for the next guy and too much for another. Most of us would agree we have enough food, enough water, enough clothing, and enough shelter to meet our basic needs. And anyone reading this book probably feels that they have enough things. So why do we still feel the urge to buy, and own, more? Let’s investigate this word “enough” a little more closely. Dictionary.com defines it as “adequate for the want or need; sufficient for the purpose or to satisfy desire.” Ah, there’s the problem: even though we’ve satisfied our needs, there’s still the matter of our wants and desires.

The supreme goodness is like water, nourishing all of creation without trying to compete with it… nothing is softer or more flexible, yet nothing can resist it.

The Divine Feminine Tao Invites Us to Act The Lao-Tzu’s Tao Te Ching portrays the Tao as “mother,” “virgin,” and “womb.” She is the “immortal void” who endlessly “returns to source” to renew life again and again. Quoting from my own translation of Poem 6 (Anderson, in press), the Tao is The immortal void Called the dark womb, the dark womb’s gate From her Creation takes root An unbroken gossamer That prevails without effort. From her “dark womb,” all life flows. To align with the Tao as mother, virgin, and womb is to discover her path to peace and wellbeing with ourselves, each other, the earth, and the natural world. At a time in history when human greed and aggression are out of control and threatening life as we know it, her message to us is also a warning. The great message of the Tao Te Ching is the ordinariness of peace and wellbeing that arises from spontaneous action that seeks no gain for the self. This is to enact the path of wei wu wei, meaning to act without acting or do without doing. Wei wu wei does not mean doing nothing, not thinking, not traveling, not initiating projects, not cooking dinner, not planting a garden in the spring, and so on. To the contrary. For in leaving self-gain aside, our actions arise naturally and spontaneously to meet concrete situations and events without plotting or maneuvering in advance or expecting to be liked, appreciated, or rewarded for what we do. Aligning with the Tao is to seek what is lowest and most needy like a mother might act naturally and spontaneously on behalf of a child in danger. Quoting from my translation of Poem 8 (Anderson, in press): The highest good is like water Bringing goodness to all things without struggle In seeking low places spurned by others The Tao resembles water. In so doing, we attend to what matters most—not tomorrow but right now. Per the situation, our actions may be swift or slow, but they will in time resolve obstacles at their source in the same way that water carves out canyons and moves mountains. What matters most will vary for each of us. This is wei wu wei in action. Over time, enacting this feminine path to peace will impact all our relations with others, including animals and other species, each other, our families and communities, the conduct of governments, relationships between nations and peoples, and with planet Earth. The wisdoms of the Divine Feminine Tao may be applied to our personal initiatives and our response to personal and modern crises, including meeting the challenges of the current coronavirus pandemic. Wei wu wei invites us to act spontaneously and naturally like water, determining its own course and leaving self-gain aside.

The supreme goodness is like water. It benefits all things without contention. In dwelling, it stays grounded. In being, it flows to depths. In expression, it is honest. In confrontation, it stays gentle. In governance, it does not control. It is content with its nature and therefore, cannot be faulted.

Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself? LAO-TZU, Tao-te-Ching

Tao Te Ching China Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin Le Guin’s translation of Lao Tzu preserves the original’s crystalline clarity – we meet the language in motion, flowing, elemental, like laughter passing between friends, or water moving over land.

Water gives itself to everything without protest. Like water, we do not engage in petty squabbles, because our only wish is to be of service.

The original Chinese characters bu ren are often mistranslated as “ruthless” or “without compassion.” This produces statements at odds with reality, because real-life sages are compassionate individuals—hardly ruthless. The true meaning of bu ren is that the Tao does not play favorites. The rain waters weeds and orchids equally; the sun shines on everyone with the same brightness and warmth despite variations in individual merits. The sage, in emulating the Tao, also regards everyone in the same egalitarian light—none higher and none lower.

Water administers to everything equally. It slakes the thirst of the kind person just as it does the unkind person. Thus, we also do not pick and choose the recipients of the benefits we provide.

Whether it takes the form of rain or snow, water follows the timing of natural events. We are the same way. We live each day following its natural flow, and take appropriate actions at the appropriate times.

But in order to benefit fully from this time between stories, it’s necessary to let go not just of action, but of attachment to outcome. The Tao Te Ching asks: “Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water becomes clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?”15 Knowing when to gather together our resources and go all-out to change a situation seems easier somehow than recognizing instead when to sit quietly and surrender to its momentum. But the best of all strategies is simply to stay present, because the only certain way through uncertainty is through it.

Water is the most fitting metaphor for the Tao. Water always flows to the lowest place, not because it is forced to do so, but because it follows its own nature. We also place ourselves lower, not because we contrive to do so, but because it is our nature to be humble. A deep pool of water is much more than its surface. Likewise, there is more to a Tao cultivator than meets the eye. The more people get to know us, the more they will discover.

Water is versatile. It conforms to the shape of any container. Following this, we also cultivate flexibility and adaptability. Because the world is continually changing, we make constant adjustments to handle new challenges.

The Tao Te Ching asks: “Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water becomes clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?

The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to. -Tao Te Ching_