Tao Te Ching – by Lao Tzu

The Tao Te Ching is packed with wisdom from 500BC China. It’s been passed on through the ages and applies to all aspects of life.

• ‘Those who know don’t talk, those who talk don’t know’
• ‘He who stands on tiptoe doesn’t stand firm, he who rushes ahead cannot go far’
• ‘Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill’
• ‘The ancient masters didn’t try to educate the people but kindly taught them to not know’

There’s lessons packed within each paragraph and it’s a bit of a mindblower that takes some time to stop, think and reflect.

‘The Book of The Way’

Tao Te Ching Summary

2,500 years of wisdom packed into 81 short power-packets of knowledge. More than a few of these passages made us stop, put the book down, and reflect on life. The book contains ideas around striving, leadership, listening, being open, achievement, hubris, humility, and more. 

This text was written before 500BS in China. A quick google says that this book presents the paradigm for non-action, which is the most effective form of action. Admittedly, we still don’t totally understand what this means. This is another one of those books that you could read every year and each time you would uncover something different – the ideas are rather abstract, and each time you read the book you’re reading it as a different person in a different place in life at a different time, so you’ll be interpreting different meanings every single time. 

Here are some of our favourite passages and interpretations.

#9

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.

Our interpretation: don’t try too hard. Some times trying too hard can actually lead you to perform worse. Sharpen your knife until it’s sharp, then start chopping things. Don’t keep sharpening – this in itself can be a form of procrastination. In some instances, this could be like reading books – reading books and learning new things is great, but at some point you need to get out into the real world and starting putting these ideas into practice, rather just reading more and more books to get more and more knowledge that will go unused.

Another big theme is about letting go of the opinions of others. Don’t do things just to try to please people. Don’t worry too much about what other people think. This is a core lesson of a lot of the books we’ve read, and a lot of the different styles too (philosophy, spirituality, business and innovation, and more). 

#56

Those who know don’t talk. Those who talk don’t know.

Close your mouth, block off your senses, blunt your sharpness, untie your knots, soften your glare, settle your dust. This is the primal identity.

Be like the Tao. It can’t be approached or withdrawn from, benefited or harmed, honored or brought into disgrace. It gives itself up continually. That is why it endures.

The first line of this is simple but profound. The loudest voice isn’t necessarily right, and the person sitting quietly in the corner might be thinking deeply rather than spouting off bullshit without any substance. 

Talking comes from our own desire to be right, to be seen to be right, and to influence or persuade or convince others to our way of thinking. Rather than forcing our opinions onto others, we should instead begin to listen more attentively and operate from the place of ‘primal union’ by letting go of our own need to be right.

Robert Greene talks about this in his book The 48 Laws of Power (see book #XX). Law 4: Always say less than necessary. “The human tongue is a beast few can master. It strains constantly to break out of its cage, and if it is not tamed, it will run wild and cause you grief power Power cannot accrue to those who squander their treasure of words”. Only the weak will blabber without thinking. Only those without power will crave the attention they hope to get by speaking. But we should all strive to live in the place of ‘silent knowing’, the place deep within ourselves that could never accurately be communicated with words.

#65

The ancient Masters didn’t try to educate the people, but kindly taught them to not-know. When they think that they know the answers, people are difficult to guide. When they know that they don’t know, people can find their own way.

If you want to learn how to govern, avoid being clever or rich.  The simplest pattern is the clearest. Content with an ordinary life, you can show all people the way back to their own true nature

You can’t possibly learn anything new if you think you already know it. You’re closed off – your ears and your mind dismiss this information and you don’t take it in. To borrow an analogy from another school of thought, your cup is already full so you can’t possibly fit anything more in there. There is so much happening in the world around you that you couldn’t possibly know it all. It is better to come from a place of humility and openness. It is better to assume that you don’t know everything – only then do you have a chance to actually learn something. The more you think you know, the less you can be taught by the world.