Daodejing Chapter 45: calm and still

Richard Brown
1 min readJul 17, 2023

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Great perfection
Seems incomplete,
But its usefulness
Never fades.
Great fullness
Seems empty,
But it is never
Exhausted.
Great straightness
Seems curved.
Great skill
Seems clumsy.
Great eloquence
Sounds like stammering.
Movement overcomes cold.
Calm overcomes heat.
Clarity and calm
Bring order to
All-under-heaven.

「大成若缺,其用不弊;大盈若沖,其用不窮;大直若屈,大巧若拙,大辯若訥 ;躁勝寒,靜勝熱,清靜為天下正。」

Appearances can be deceptive. Do not allow your own prejudices or preconceptions to cloud your judgment. Examples of human perfection are so rare that you are unlikely to be able to recognize them without scrutinizing them extremely closely.

Be sure to make the right response to any situation. Keep moving to stay warm in the cold; remain still to stay cool in the heat. By maintaining your cool and calm you can keep your head while others lose theirs and take the appropriate action at exactly the right time.

Note
I took this image at Longhu (Dragon Tiger) Mountain, a famous Daoist site about ten miles south of Yingtan in Jiangxi Province. A great place to visit!

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Richard Brown
Richard Brown

Written by Richard Brown

I live in Taiwan and am interested in exploring what ancient Chinese philosophy can tell us about technology and the rise of modern China.

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