Signs of the Nameless Way of Balance

For the wise and sincere observer, the Nameless Way has a message at every crossroad,
announcing itself across every culture and every continent since the beginning of time.

☯ The home of every living being on Earth is the Way. The Way gives room to all living beings. Every single living being holds the way sacred. Their reverence for the Way, and their obedience to is authority, are natural and unforced. Exercise power in accordance with the Way, and people will not be violent or disruptive. If you have true knowledge, you know how to be ignorant. If you are truly strong, you have the strength to be weak.

☯ To have without possessing, to do without claiming credit, to lead without controlling ― these are the mysterious virtues of the Way. When we seek power, we lose the Way. When we lose power, we find the Way. But beware of taking pride in finding the way, for fear that you will start claiming to live by high moral standards ― and then lose the Way again. If you know when enough is enough, you know enough.

☯ Wise people hear about the Way, and try hard to follow it. Ordinary people hear about the Way, and wander on and off it. Foolish people hear about the Way, and make jokes about it. After all, if the Way were not funny, it would not be the Way. People of the Way follow the Way; they belong to the Way. Eventually by following the Way you arrive at a place of inaction; in that place nothing is done, and nothing is undone.

☯ People say that the Way's brightness looks like darkness; that advancing along the Way feels like retreating; that the Way is so soft that walking along it is hard. If you listen to the Way, it seems dull. If you taste the Way, it seems insipid. Yet you cannot get enough of it. The Way is to the world as a stream is to a valley, and a river to a sea.

☯ The Way is hidden, so it has no name. But only the Way can bring you into existence, sustain you, and fulfill you. Following the Way makes that which is, become what it should be. The Way never does anything; yet it leaves nothing undone. Through following the Way, human beings are fulfilled. If heaven deviated from the Way, it would fall apart. Through following the Way, heaven is pure.

☯ People who know the Way are observant, subtle, penetrating and wise. Their wisdom is too deep for others to fathom. To follow the Way is to be fulfilled and happy, without fulfillment. To follow the Way is to grow old, and yet constantly be young. If you follow the Way, there is nowhere for death to enter. All things that are contrary to the Way are fleeting. If you know what endures, you follow the Way, because the Way endures forever.

☯ A wise person leaves the egoistic self behind, and moves forward on the Way. A selfish ego is extraneous to human life; and by leaving it behind the wise person reaches the center of life. Why let the self go? Without letting go of the self, the soul's needs cannot be met. If my mind is modest, I shall walk on the Way. If my mind is arrogant, I shall walk in fear. The Way is long, going around many mountains; but people prefer shortcuts.

☯ Why was the Way honored in days of old? People believed that, if they sought the Way, they would find it. And they believed that if they needed shelter, the Way would provide it. Thus the Way was honored above all things under heaven. If you move by the light of the Way, your movement takes you nowhere. At the center of the wheel there is stillness. ☯

― Tao Te Ching