Wen-Tzu Toot and branches

"...If we truely arrive at the root, we will not be confused by the branches; If we know what is essential, we will not be swayed by doubt.

Tao De Ching Excerpt Verse 81

Tao De Ching Excerpt Verse 81:

The Sage does not take to hoarding,
he does not accumulate anything;
but gives it all to others.

The more they live for others,
The fuller is their own life.

The more they give,
The more abundance they have.
Having more, they give more.

Heaven does good to all...
The sage imitates it,
acting for the good of all...

Tao De Ching Excerpt Verse 80

Tao De Ching Excerpt Verse 80:

...Content with healthy food,
pleased with useful clothes,
Satisfied in snug homes...

Tao De Ching

Verse 78:

Nothing under heaven is softer or more yielding that water.
Yet for attacking the hard, nothing can surpass it...

Tao De Ching

Verse 77:

... The master can keep giving
because there is no end to his wealth.

He acts without expectation...

Tao De Ching

Verse 76:

A man is born gentle and weak;
at his death he is hard and stiff.

Green plants are soft and pliable in life;
dry and brittle in death.

Stiffness and unbending is the companion of death;
Flexibility and gentleness the companion of life...

A tree that cannot bend,
will crack in the wind.

The hard and the stiff will be broken;
the soft and the supple will prevail.

Tao De Ching Excerpt Verse 74

Tao De Ching Excerpt Verse 74:

If you realize that all things change,
there is nothing to hold on to.

If men are not afraid of dying,
to threaten death has no meaning.