Confucius addressed Lao Tzu:
- Now, at your leisure, allow me to ask a question: what is the true path?
- Strictly abstain and free your heart, clear your mind to the whiteness of snow, break your knowledge. After all, the path is deep, it is difficult to express it in words. “I’ll tell you about its outline,” replied Lao Tzu. — Light-light is born from dark-dark; he who has order is born from the formless. The spiritual comes from the path, the corporeal comes from the smallest seed, and all things generate each other with the help of the corporeal form. Therefore, those with nine holes are born from the womb, and those with eight holes are born from the egg. Their appearance leaves no traces, their disappearance has no boundaries: there are no gates, no dwellings, but only the greatest space open on all four sides. The one who has comprehended this, his arms and legs become strong, his mind becomes insightful, his hearing becomes subtle, and his vision becomes sharp. He thinks effortlessly, responds to all things without limitations. The sky cannot help but be high, the earth cannot help but be wide, the sun and moon cannot help but move, all the darkness of things cannot help but bloom—isn’t this the natural path of everyone? In addition, the wise man determined that he who knows a lot is unlikely to have knowledge, and he who is eloquent is unlikely to have insight. The definition of the wise will remain: after all, if you add to it, you will not add, and if you subtract from it, you will not subtract. The deepest, it is like the ocean, the greatest, it will end, returning to the beginning. To stay outside all the darkness of things, embracing their inexhaustible capacity for movement - such is the teaching of the noble man. Along with all the darkness of things, to exhaust one’s abilities and not become exhausted—this is this path.
In the Middle Kingdoms there is a person who is not subject to either the power of heat or the power of cold, who lives between heaven and earth. He is only temporarily human and will soon return to his ancestor. If we observe it from the very beginning, from birth, we will see a gelatinous thing with a voice. Is there any difference between living long and dying prematurely? After all, we are talking about just a moment! Is it worth discussing who was ideal and who was vicious - the Highest or the Tearing One?
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru