Tao Te Ching

To withdraw

Into Retirement

In the wake of

Accomplishment and Success,

To Let Go,

Averts Calamity

This is the Tao of Heaven-and-Nature. This is the Cycle of the Tao. When Grandeur (the auspicious Eleventh Hexagram of the I Ching,) reaches its Limit of Transformation, when all of its Lines Change, when every one of its three Yang Lines Changes to Yin, and every one of its three Yin Lines Changes to Yang, then Obstruction (the inauspicious Twelfth Hexagram,) is Born. And vice versa. The one cannot exist without the other. This is the alternation and evolution of Change, the Cycle of Yin and Yang

The Taoist Returns

To the Root,

Witnesses the Outer Radiance

At its height,

The Full and the Sharp,

Wealth and Prosperity,

Then Retreats within

To Self-Cultivation,

Frees Self

From Desire,

Contemplates

The Inner Marvel,

Nourishes

The Embryo Pearl,

Safe from Calamity

That which is Filled to the Brim will spill. That which is overly sharpened will break. Such extremes bring their own downfall. Eschew them. No one can hold on to Wealth for ever

The sun declines

From its zenith,

The moon waxes

Only to wane,

Flowers bloom

Only to fade,

The greatest joy

Turns to sorrow

Whosoever Achieves Fame and fails to Withdraw, whosoever does not Let Go, but remains stuck in the place of Honor and Glory, will surely meet with Harm. The Taoist follows the Cycle of the Tao, of Heaven-and-Nature

Letting Go is better

Than Filling to the Brim.

A blade overly sharpened

Does not last long.

Halls stuffed with gold and jade

None can preserve.

Wealth, Rank, Pride,

All bring Calamity.

The Tao of Heaven-and-Nature

Is to Accomplish

And to Withdraw

You ask me why I dwell in the green mountains.

I smile and make no reply.

My heart is free of care.

The peach-tree blooms,

The waters Flow

Into the unknown.

I dwell in a Realm

That is not of Men

Li Bo finds Calm in the mountains

Even ordinary people realize the importance of the Taoist principle of “water-like” behavior, i.e., not striving to get on top or to the fore. This lyrical, almost ecstatic acceptance of the Universal Laws of Nature has inspired some of the most moving passages in Taoist literature