Sunday, June 01, 2008
To Be Respectful and Artless
The wise people of old who
Took goodness as their way
Possessed marvelously
Subtle powers of penetration;
They were so deep that
None could plumb their mind,
And, on this account, if forced
To describe them we can only
Say that they moved cautiously
Like people fording a river;
The wise people of old who
Took goodness as their way
Were retiring as though shy
Their conduct to all was
Respectful as though to
Honored guests;
They could adapt themselves
Like ice melting before a fire;
They were artless As blocks of uncarved wood.
Lao tzu
Took goodness as their way
Possessed marvelously
Subtle powers of penetration;
They were so deep that
None could plumb their mind,
And, on this account, if forced
To describe them we can only
Say that they moved cautiously
Like people fording a river;
The wise people of old who
Took goodness as their way
Were retiring as though shy
Their conduct to all was
Respectful as though to
Honored guests;
They could adapt themselves
Like ice melting before a fire;
They were artless As blocks of uncarved wood.
Lao tzu
Labels: humility wisdom
