Three Ways of Thought: Quotes from the Founders
Step 1: Video - Watch the video: China: From Past to Present - Traditional Religions and Beliefs
Step 2: Story - Read the allegory from Benjamin Hoff's Tao of Pooh - The Vinegar Tasters (biased towards Taoism)
Step 3: Comprehension Question - Which founder of the three ways of thought discussed above said which quote? Explain. (Answer on a separate piece of paper)
Quote #1: "Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. "
Quote #2: "A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. "
Quote #3: "A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. "
Step 4: Define Famous Quotes - Choose a quote from each founder (below) and explain what they meant when they said it in a paragraph answer. Provide an example in your own words.
Quotes from the Tao Te
Ching (Taoism)
Freed from desire, you can see the hidden mystery.
By having desire, you can only see what is visibly real.
When people see things as beautiful,
ugliness is created.
When people see things as good,
evil is created.
Therefore the Master
can act without doing anything
and teach without saying a word.
Things come her way and she does not stop them;
things leave and she lets them go.
She has without possessing,
and acts without any expectations.
When her work is done, she takes no credit.
That is why it will last forever.
The Master puts herself last;
And finds herself in the place of authority.
She detaches herself from all things;
Therefore she is united with all things.
She gives no thought to self.
She is perfectly fulfilled.
Only when there is no competition
will we all live in peace.
The sharper the knife
the easier it is to dull.
The more wealth you possess
the harder it is to protect.
Pride brings it's own trouble.
Giving birth and nourishing,
making without possessing,
expecting nothing in return.
To grow, yet not to control:
This is the mysterious virtue.
Thirty spokes are joined together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that allows the wheel to function.
We mold clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that makes the vessel useful.
We fashion wood for a house,
but it is the emptiness inside
that makes it livable.
We work with the substantial,
but the emptiness is what we use.
What does it mean that success is as dangerous as failure?
He who is superior is also someone's subordinate.
Receiving favor and loosing it both cause alarm.
That is what is meant by success is as dangerous as failure.
What does it mean that we are often our own worst enemy?
The reason I have an enemy is because I have "self".
If I no longer had a "self", I would no longer have an enemy.
Love the whole world as if it were your self;
then you will truly care for all things.
All creatures in the universe
return to the point where they began.
Returning to the source is tranquility
because we submit to Heavens mandate.
Quotes from the Analects of Confucius
(Confucianism)
With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow; I
still have joy in the midst of these things. Riches and honors acquired by
inhumanity are to me as a floating cloud.
Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.
What the superior man seeks, is in himself. What the mean man seeks, is in
others.
By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.
If you govern the people legalistically and control them by punishment, they
will avoid crime, but have no personal sense of shame. If you govern them by
means of virtue and control them with propriety, they will gain their own sense
of shame, and thus correct themselves.
Reviewing what you have learned and learning anew, you are fit to be a teacher.
People err according to their own level. It is by observing a person's mistakes
that you can know his/her goodness.
The Superior Man cares about virtue; the inferior man cares about material
things. The Superior Man seeks discipline; the inferior man seeks favors.
You might force people act according a certain principle, but you won't be able
to force them to understand it.
The Superior Man is self-confident without being arrogant. The inferior man is
arrogant and lacks self-confidence.
Quotes from Siddhartha Guatama Buddha (Buddhism)
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on
the present moment.
A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it
is real, so he escapes the suffering.
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it
at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the
victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons,
heaven or hell.
On a long journey of human life, faith is the best of companions; it is the best
refreshment on the journey; and it is the greatest property.
There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it.
We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our
thoughts, we make the world.
Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself
to it.
You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself.
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on
the present moment.
Supplemental Reading:
The Meeting of
Lao Tzu and Confucius