Jason Fried @jasonfried.bsky.social · Dec 27 A passage from the Tao that’s frequently worth revisiting.
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I worked on that translation when I was a young editor. Fun to see it circulating still. Stephen Mitchell did a beautiful job rendering Lao Tzu’s words in contemporary English.
To the “brim”?
Excellent passage.
So true. I have done that most important thing in my life, now I am stepping back. I'm not stopping, I am just now living life according to my terms.
Doing it right usually requires search for balance
Wise words. 💙💙
Very true
Check out whatismyiq.net for calculating your IQ :)
Yes. It’s akin to the Taoist teaching that if you don’t fill your house with gold you never need worry about thieves.
All it's missing is a background photograph of a beach at sunset and it work nicely in the employee cafeteria with the other personal motivation platitudes.
the Stephen Mitchell translation, lives by my desk.
This is such a beautiful lyrical translation of the Tao. I re-read it at least once a year.
As a longtime seeker of serenity, this rings true. Pass it on.
Wise words.
📌
I will step back when I take my final breath.
I love this!
Personally, I'm always a fan of "if you refuse to trust someone, they become untrustworthy" because in my line of work I find myself often having to trust the work of people I detest but I choose to believe that even a garbage person can torque a bolt to spec
Thank you!
All I'm saying is if this so-called 'Tao' person reckons sharpening a blade makes it blunt, what else are they lying to us about?
Truth
I think President Musk could use this.
That's something I got to work on.
Good to have going into 2025
📌
Trivia factoid: Stephen Mitchell, translator of that version of the Tao, is married to Byron Katie (woman) who is the least “attached” person I’ve ever met (in the sense of she’s actually living the Tao)
Healing from a #subarachnoidhemorrhage has been a roller coaster and this spoke healing to my soul today, thank you for sharing.
Amen
This is nice. Thank you.
oh, not that kinda blunt…
Thank you
What is the relationship between Confucianism and Taoism? How do these two perspectives feel towards each other? Only asking since I don’t understand that view. But I do understand the text. And it speaks to me.
Good piece.
Thank you! This is in line with (Tao) with my 2025 project (aka new year resolution)
👉👉👉👉👉𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡👉👉👉👉👉𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔞𝔱𝔥 𝔦𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔴𝔞𝔶𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡 !
Great passage!
This is beautiful. Thank you 😊
Stephen Mitchell's translation is truly one of the best
Thank you. First reading. I will save this and refer to it often.
Thanks
Wish boomers could read
Christ, that sounds like a grim existence
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those who seek after pleasure and safety will receive neither nor clarity of truth
Thank You!
Quite nice. Thank you for sharing.
Dao De Jing?
I would like a carve-out for 2nd and 3rd (etc) helpings of soups and/or stews here, @jasonfried.bsky.social. But, yes, other than that, this is all very good. Agree.
Work without attachment to results is so difficult to wrap my head around but it is the path
I’ve read it numerous times.
👍
This has been on my mind today!
My team are tired of me quoting those last lines. ;) I love the Mitchell translation.
Let go of all the materials things you don't need or use. It's liberating.
🔖
Self independent is the lesson and it is the most important in life.
Yes, and the best way is for CEOs to give all their money to the poor.
I believe I have that very same translation by Stephen Mitchell, The last sentence has always meant much to me. Also “in dwelling, live close to the ground, in thinking, keep to the simple.”
Yes
It is.
😍
Absolutely
Am I an annoying contrarian if I say they over explained it and that the first two lines get the point across? Probably.
You must remember, a bowl is most useful when it is empty
Thanks for sharing!
One of my favorite books, one of the dozen, from a formerly 1500 volume library, that I carried overseas in retirement.
It is a quote from an ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, used by Mao Tse-tung in his Little Red Book. "No man has received from nature the right to command his fellow human beings. Laws must be based upon natural rights and be made for all and not for one." Denis Diderot.
That's lovely.
serenity now! ♥️💙♥️💙♥️💙
This hits harder than I expected.
My favorite
Thank you very timely
I far prefer this translation
I do like that one and this one in the Le Guin version is visible
I want to put this on my wall as a poster.
📌
Yes.
Stephen Mitchell translation is the tops.
🎯
Great book. A must read for everyone.
Good advice!
😍 Be careful about what you depend on.
Note that he didn't complete the sentence like: Do your work, then step back and FUCK YOURSELF IN THE FACE!
Thankyou
I love it thank you
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Amen
Oddly true.
Nice one thanks Sir @jasonfried.bsky.social. Loved your Basecamp software c 2011-2015. Keep up the great work on publishing your really long essays! P.S. reminds me of this quote from Tim Ferriss…
Beautiful and true.
Laozi was one of sound mind.....
Love this passage. May I add, we need to live where our heart lives.
thank you for this excellent public service announcement
Good to have you here on Bluesky @jasonfried.bsky.social !!
Taoism got good sheet. Luv it
These sort of texts have been with us "forever". What good did that do us? ..we're still on a dying, war torn, famine fucked, pestilence ridden, racist nazifestival, planet. <fapfap>
Nice
Zen koan: A man seeks advice, so he visits a sage. Sage: Tea? Man: Yes, and begins to explain his visit and his problem S: pours tea M: talks S: continues pouring tea until the cup overflows M: Why spill the tea? S: There must be room in a cup for tea, and a man must be quiet to hear.
Beautiful, thanks for posting it.
Yeah.... This really wasn't made for those of us with ADHD 😂
Who is the author? I want to share this
The beauty of the Tao. Still have my great uncles book of the Tao by Lao Tzu . A beloved and cherished book he gave me.
Another book which shall be banned, if it isn’t already. 🤬
My favorite.
I like that! Thank you!
taoist and zen thought ftw 🏆
Powerful -- I'm glad to have read this tonight.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
ꨄ︎
The hardest part is stepping back. We primates clench. We grasp. We hold. We clutch. Even when it hurts us. Even when it can kill us. Relaxing the grip, letting go, its hard, but once you do, you'll see. You're fine. You're okay.
Beautiful, but you know ppl on the internet, have to screenshot that rotate it crop it so it sits on the page before we can delete it and get on with our day... You know you're doingvthat to ppl right! (Haven't EVEN had my coffee yet...)
Absolutely correct.
People know locality is a two way street right?
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👏👏👏
I love the tao te ching and this passage is one of my very favorite.
Thank you for this 💙
beautiful - thank you.
Very thoughtful
And in the Tao today, the ten thousand things remain nameless. I'm Frank Stacio.
Thank you for sharing
Yes! My two versions of the traditional phrase: Be still and breathe God in. Be still and accept wellbeing. Sometimes just a couple of exhales of the bothersome thoughts (sh**) is enough to let go and go on.
Such great wisdom in the Tao. I always have one close by and visit it often.
Just an observation, this makes no sense. 😂😂
Yes.
Thank you. A while back I read The Tao of Pooh. Seemed like a silly book when I picked it up, but for me it was quite enlightening.
This reminds me of the notion of don't put all your eggs in one basket, Don Quixote I believe.
Beautiful. I have never read this before
Trump should read this. It applies to him. Unfortunately he is incapable of understanding the content…
Excellent reminder
If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?..
I have always been drawn to this one:
Such a great passage.
Thank you...I needed that today.♥️
Learning that back step
😻
So poetic and calming
From Stephen Mitchell’s translation. a.co/d/1als1dJ
A good reminder. How's it going for you?
The first of these was like a motto of Sir John Cheke, tutor to Elizabeth 1st, dash win into the cup, and it runs out at the other side, pour it in gently and you can fill to the brim.
Well said!
Best book ever written. The first chapter is the best. The Tao that can be spoken is not the Eternal Tao
Wise words.
:)
i'm so sharing this with my husband tehe
I forget to do as this teaches this all the time. Thanks for the reminder
I get that. But I crave security. It’s all I desire.
Peace
Not taking my work personally has been liberating. I think of the elaborate sand mandalas that are swept away on completion. It's all just sand.
Fill your house with gold and jade, and no one can protect it.
Serenity to infinity...
A beautiful reminder to me as I ready to launch my book "The Wellness Ethic" in a month. Thank you! I needed this.
Sure beats stoning the prostitute.
My first copy of this book was destroyed by a fire in my office. The second I gave to a friend. I just gave my third copy to an employee! True, clear, simple, important words. This is my most favored chapter.
Stephen Mitchell?
🤍🤍🤍
Thanks for posting! Nice passage for a new year!
Always tip at least 20%
Which translation is this from?
…and always cook your beans low and slow, painfully slow.