Towards 2012

@Ryoanji Temple

Originally uploaded by elise hori.

Tao Te Ching, roughly translatable as “The Book of the Way and its Virtue”, is a Chinese classic text. According to tradition, it was written around 600 BC by the Taoist sage Lao Tzu (”Old Master”), a record-keeper at the Zhou Dynasty court.

Many Chinese people have used the Tao Te Ching as a source of inspiration. Its influence has also spread widely outside East Asia, aided by hundreds of translations into Western languages.

“Knowing others is wisdom;
Knowing the self is enlightenment.
Mastering others requires force;
Mastering the self requires strength;
He who knows he has enough is rich.
Perseverance is a sign of will power.
He who stays where he is endures.
To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.”

(Knowledge; chap.33)