Teeth vs. Tongue — The Hard vs. the Soft

Legend has it that when Lao Tzu (or, Lao Zi) was fifteen, he worshipped a man named Chang Cong as his teacher.

Later, the teacher became seriously ill. Lao Tzu went to visit him, but couldn’t forget to ask for more teaching. And here came a conversation between them like this:

Lao Tzu said respectfully: “Teacher, you are so ill, what else can you tell your disciple?”

Chang said, “Even if you don’t ask, I have something to tell you.”

Then Chang opened his mouth and asked Lao Tzu to look into it and asked, “Is my tongue still there?”

Lao Tzu replied: “Yes.”

Chang asked again, “Are my teeth still there?”

Lao Tzu replied: “They are all gone!”

Chang asked again: “Do you understand what I want to tell you?”

Lao Tzu said: “The tongue exists because it is soft! Isn’t it because teeth are hard that they have all fallen out?”

Chang said with satisfaction, “Hey! The world’s rules are all in it. You’ve got it, and I have nothing to teach you anymore!

“Tao Te Ching/Lao Tzu” – Chapter 43: 天下之至柔,驰骋天下之至坚.

Water is the softest and weakest while benefiting and embracing the whole world, but how can it be defeated? The sharpest knife can take lives, cut steel, but never able to cut water apart.

Stones are strong, but consistent drops of water wear holes in the stone. The tide rises and falls, the stones become the pebbles.

Steel against steel, the result has to be lose-lose. While the fast-moving wheels need to break down, we use very soft brake pads.

In daily life and #business, the #principle is the same: #Perseverance leads to #success, as it enables the practice in achieving a huge return on a very small investment; a big payoff from a small effort.

Human hearts could be our softest gifts from the universe. And those who win the hearts of the people win the world.

#chineseculture #ancientwisdom #unity #authenticity #love #hearts #kindness #businesssuccess #strategy

Static Is A Big Move

Einstein’s theory of “Relativity” has a point: the speed of light is the limit speed of the three-dimensional world. The Scale Reduction and Clock Slowness effects show that as long as anything reaches the speed of light, it slows down the time to a speed of 0. It can be assumed that things moving at the speed of light are relatively static for all surrounding objects that also move at the speed of light.

Stillness is relative.

When a bus runs on the street, we feel it is too fast to catch. But if we are on the bus, we cannot feel it’s moving at a steady speed if we do not look outside.

When a flower blooms quietly, the time of a universe of flowers is used up.

We live on the earth, although our Mother Earth rotates at a speed of four hundred and sixty-six meters per second at its equator, we cannot feel it, neither talk about the orbital speed of the earth around the sun of approximately 107,000 kilometers per hour.

All important processes of life happen slowly in a quiet status. Humans come into this world, bringing their own spirit to combine with the fertilized egg, and then returning back to the universe, it is all in the same quiet. All the processes of human growth happen slowly and silently. No one can go from one year old to twenty years old quickly and soundly…

In the long river of time, in the vast universe, individuals are humbled as dust in this time and space. What one can decide is how to use his time.

Everything in the universe is moving. Static is a quiet movement, a prolonged state of life function, a rare thing that carries infinite power.

  • Fruit, grain, flowers, plants grow statically;
  • Deep sleep heals the human body;
  • Rests relieve the human mind;

Where does Earth’s energy come from? It comes from long term static accumulation of sunlight and the slow chemical/physical effects inside the earth.

Lao Tzu said: Root is the source of life; root represents stillness. When a human calms down like a young baby, the brain is clear, and he can feel more happiness.

There are comparisons between people: 

A person with a weak liver has a big temper, is irritable, and hard to be quiet; A person with a soft gentle personality is calm with healthy liver function.

Bloody sticky people are suspicious, lack judgment, carry an uneasy mood; but a steady and calm person is decisive with smooth blood circulation…….

For people who are getting puzzled in handling complex and difficult matters, most of the time it is due to loud noise inside and being self-annoyed. But in a static state, the mind, and body are completely calm with a reflection on the inner self, and people may suddenly become cheerful.

In absolute health can people be quiet and calm; being quiet and calm, can people gain health.

Mr. Nan Huaijin said: “No matter what kind of disaster you encounter, you just need to be calm. And quietly observe it change.”

This “observe” means “观” in Chinese. It neither contains an eye “目”, nor a heart “心”, nor a mouth “口”. It means: close our eyes and mouth, do not judge by heart, but reflect and communicate to the inner consciousness, and regain the awareness.

Mr. Nan Huaijin also said: “When a person can be quiet, it is a great movement, and it is the body and energy of a person sitting there quietly for a sports meeting.”

No matter when, our best secret weapon is being calm: not leaking energy through negative emotions, but reserving it for all good outcomings.

The root cause of many diseases is the lack of “slowness” which caused the lack of energy. For example, neurasthenia, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and some others are common mental illnesses caught by people in a state of mental and psychological life that is too fast and excessively anxious.

Why do Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity… attach so much importance to “reflection” and “confession”? They are calling for looking and listening inward.

In a fast-developing hustle and bustle society, everyone has their own private journey to be completed independently by themselves step by step. Solitude is a life course that everyone must go through. About this “solitude”, there is a short story:

A boat traveling across the river and suddenly hit by a boat, a grumpy man on the ark immediately shouted to the hitting boat, a call wasn’t listened to, then another not listened to, when about to bristle, he found that the hit ship was empty. The scolding stopped, he burst into laughers!

With others, we are always in a social state; only in solitude, we are close to the natural state.

To be alone is to walk towards ourselves. When we are not forced to talk to others, we have time to talk to ourselves.

Society can reflect one’s external value, but solitude can shape one’s internal value. It is the most essential and most expensive freedom.

Enjoying solitude is a gesture. It is the attitude of walking through the complex world, not in a hurry, but quietly enjoy the season of bright flowers or wait for the purity of the snow. It is humble and gentle, standing aloof from worldly affairs, but has pride and sharpened edges and corners.

As soon as the mind turns its direction, the spirit turns, and the direction of the life train turns. When a person’s body is seriously ill, its life train has been in the wrong direction for a long time.

BUT, the mind can be turned to a new direction at any time, starting from the heart and head.

Practicing the Simplicity

A traveler asked the old master: “What do you do before you understand the Tao of the universe?”

Master: “Chop wood, carry water, and cook.”

Traveler: “What about after getting the Tao?”

Master: “Chop wood, carry water, and cook.”

Traveler: “What does it mean to understand and practice the Tao?”

Master: “Before getting the Tao, I was worried about carrying water when cutting wood and worried about cooking when carrying water. After gaining the Tao, chopping wood means chopping wood, carrying water means carrying water, and cooking means cooking. “

What can we get from this story? Many of the highest and deepest truths in life are often contained in some extremely simple ideas. Real wisdom is actually to perceive the nature and interrelationships of things.

Simplicity is truth, simplicity is cleverness, and simplicity is the power of accumulation. Simplicity is a complex of advanced forms; the more advanced the simpler the things.

The ultimate simplicity is great wisdom.

In society, community, business, and daily life, Tao is everywhere. Pure hearts manifest ultimate simplicity.

We intend to do things with many complicated thoughts, but wise people know how to simplify complex problems.

No matter how difficult or complicated, as long as complex things are simply done, simple things are repeatedly done, and repeated things are heartfeltly done with perseverance, there is nothing that cannot be done.

The simplest truth and broadly-profound wisdom are a pair of contradictions. They are two sides of one thing and can be mutually converted.

“Tao Te Ching”, Chapter 48, “为学日益为道日减”, says: in the pursuing of simplest truth and broadly profound wisdom, people need to learn from others, integrate, innovate, jump out of the frame, grasp the essentials, and eliminate those that are invalid and dispensable.

The big truth can be extremely simple but hard to practice. Instead of seeking outside, following the point of view and sayings of the crowd, it also requires us to be conscientious, spiritual, and meticulous with heart and soul; requires us to slow down constantly to listen to our inner voice, as the outer is too complicated to make people lost.

It is bound to bear in mind that the greatest people are noble because they are simple!

Stay simple, mind our choice.

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Reset to Zero⭕️

Lao Zi said: “有无相生”. There can be “being” in “nothing”, and “being” will inevitably end in “nothing.”

The end of all things is zero; zero is a new beginning. “Nothing” is such a state containing countless “being” possibilities.

Life should be “reset to zero” from time to time. All success or failure is a kind of past relative to the previous second. The past can support the future, but it cannot replace tomorrow.

“Zeroing” in time:
is a kind of consciousness that is positively facing the future;
is also to make the complex simple;
is to learn to give up and let go.

– Without old ideas being abandoned, new ideas will not be born.
– Life is like a clock. At midnight, you must “start from zero”, then you have a new cycle and glory.
– Snakes must shed their skins every year to grow.
– Crabs can only get stronger protection if they take off their original shells.
– A cup has to be emptied so it can be refilled.
– Holding hands tightly, nothing can behold; open your hands and you can hold the whole world!

Where everything starts, it will end there; where it ends, it will start anew.

Everything is a spiral upward, continuous resetting and renewal. Every breakthrough comes from the original return to zero.

Good morning, my friends!☕

#ancientwisdom#inspiration

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/helenqiuhong_ancientwisdom-inspiration-activity-6696385485285277696-gEIP

道德经Chpater 22: See the Truth

Doctors need shadowless lamps when performing surgery. When the light comes from the upper left corner, it will naturally produce a shadow in the lower right corner. But if there is a light in the upper right corner, this shadow will no longer exist. If it is a circle of lights, there will be no shadow from any angle.

In “Tao Te Ching/Lao Tzu” Chapter 22, Lao Tzu said, “不自见故明”, which is to warn us not to limit our thinking to the angle of what we see in order to see the truth. More often, we should learn to be empathetic: think from the others’ perspectives.

Everyone’s way of thinking is different, and there are different reactions to the same thing. Standing in the other’s position and thinking about the problem differently, we can more easily understand the situation and tolerate other’s behaviors.

For most of us, it is difficult and take time and mindful work to eliminate our prejudice. But, with a loving and caring heart igniting inside out, hardly we are in a shadow area.

When you discover you are able to observe things from multiple angles calmly and patiently. Congratulations! You are one step closer to be “明” – wise.

Good morning, my friends!💡❤️💡🌈💡

#authenticity#inspiration#humanity#kindness#love#ancientwisdom

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/helenqiuhong_authenticity-inspiration-humanity-activity-6666304659516346368-e1pu

道德经Chapter58: Follow the Intention, Flow!

The development of things is in the intention to transform into the opposite – “Dao De Jing” Chapter 58

We know the story that the man who lost his mare saved his life in a war, it turned out for the best. A loss may turn out to be a gain, while misfortune may be an actual blessing.

The universe grants us the capability and power to think of danger in times of safety and be vigilant in peacetime in our life every day everywhere.

When an organization is in a crisis, it is also the time this organization was pushed to PAUSE and THINK rationally of a recovery #solution on united #community collaborations, an economic rebuilding #strategy, and think of how to rise back up from the damage and destructions with hearts putting together.

COVID19 breaks our normal autopilot routines, throws us into emotional and mental battles, brings lives… but also wakens up moral-spiritual thinkers, enforces humanity rallies and spreads, guides us to talk to ourselves.

Rainbow always comes after rains and storms clean the path.

The bitter winter makes the spring buds bloom.

Those who are strong enough and dare to break through the darkness before the dawn and usher in the bright and warm tomorrow, smile.

With patience and #wisdom, we flow.🌈🌈🌈☕

#authenticity

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/helenqiuhong_solution-community-strategy-activity-6661971986526294016-qSAO

道德经Chapter12: What Makes You “Cool” What Makes You “Miserable”

“Dao De Jing/Lao Tsu” Chapter 12: Colors blind the eyes; changing sounds deafen the ears. As the designer of the universe, God’s most delicate and fair design is the shackle for human beings: anything that makes you “cool” also makes you “miserable”.

Dopamine, the neurotransmitter in the human brain, sends impulses through cells. When excited by external stimuli, a large amount of dopamine will burst out. If strong enough, the body will enter a sensory experience such as intoxication and dream likeness.

If a person is repeatedly stimulated and satisfied, in order to always get pleasure, you have to constantly increase the level of stimulation, to be more sustained, intense & deeper stimulated to continue to get pleasure.

The world is dialectical. There is a dark side to human nature, but also a bright side.

Since anything that makes you feel good will make you miserable, everything that hurts you will eventually make you successful.

The more pain things make you feel at the moment, the more value they bring. For instance, morning exercise/reading/fitness/yoga … can make your great progress, but require very strong self#motivationn and self#disciplinee.

In the end, it is up to your choice. Your mind decides.🎨🌈🎼☕

#mentalhealth

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/helenqiuhong_mentalhealth-activity-6647104685478031360-jKdn

“道德经” Chapter 58: The development of things is in the intention to transform into the opposite

It is a well-known story that the old man who lost his mare saved his life in a war, it turned out for the best. A loss may turn out to be a gain, while misfortune may be an actual blessing. The universe grants us the capability and power to think of danger in times of safety and be vigilant in peacetime.

There are live samples in our daily life.

When a child is desperate in making a nonsense project, a not age-wise artwork, or over-occupied by books or videos, or a crazy game in others’ eyes, it is, in fact, revealing their inner inspirations and their born innate skills and talents.

When an organization is in a big crisis, it is also the time this organization was pushed to PAUSE and THINK rationally, think of a crisis management #strategy with tactical #solutions, think of how to rise back up from the damage, and destructions.

The bitter winter makes the spring buds bloom.

All who can turn adversity into opportunity are those who are prepared and have a strong capacity for self-growth, who dare to break through the darkness before dawn and usher in the bright and warm tomorrow.

The beautiful rainbow comes from after storms.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/helenqiuhong_strategy-solutions-activity-6639533044258615296-bJp8/

道德经Chapter43: The softest thing in the world overcomes the hardest

“Tao Te Ching/Lao Tzu” – Chapter 43: 天下之至柔,驰骋天下之至坚。

Water is the softest and weakest while benefiting and embracing the whole world, but how can it be defeated? The sharpest knife can take lives, cut steel, but never able to cut water apart.

Stones are strong, but consistent drops of water wear holes in the stone.

The tide rises and falls, the stones become the pebbles.

Steel against steel, the result has to be lose-lose.

While the fast-moving wheels need to break down, we use very soft brake pads.

In daily life and business, the #principle is the same: #Perseverance leads to success, as it enables the practice in achieving a huge return on a very small investment; a big payoff from a small effort.

Human hearts could be our softest gifts from the universe. And those who win the hearts of the people win the world.

Stay positive. Smart your investment and win.