The Tao Te Ching was written by a contemporary of Confucius, Lao Tsu. He was the keeper of the royal archives at Loyang in the province of Honan in the sixth century B.C. According to ancient legend, as he was riding off into the desert to die.....sick at heart at the ways of men, he was persuaded by a gatekeeper to write down his teaching for posterity. So we have the Tao.
There are 81 short thought provoking "thoughts." I don't know what else to call them. Each one is something you would want to ponder.
This is one of my favorites because I used to be very unbending and it was my way or the highway. This touched my heart and I love what it has to say.
Seventy-six
A man is born gentle and weak.
At his death he is hard and stiff.
Green plants are tender and filled with sap.
At their death they are withered and dry.
Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death.
The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.
Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome.
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