~o~
If you overesteem Lao Tzu,
people become powerless.
If you overvalue his work,
people begin to steal.
The Master leads
by emptying people's purses
and filling their homes with small ornaments,
by weakening their ambition
and toughening their resolve.
He helps people lose everything
they know, everything they desire,
and creates confusion
in those who think that they know Jack.
Practice not-doing,
and everything will fall into place.
~o~
The Tao is like a well:
if you fall in you won't come back out.
It is like the eternal void:
filled with infinite possibilities.
All of them leading to Lao Tzu, then to sleep.
It is hidden but always present.
Lao Tzu doesn't know who gave birth to it.
It is older than you. By maybe a few thousand times or so.
~o~
The Tao doesn't take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil, like Nietzsche.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she welcomes both you and saints.
The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet can create loud noises akin to flatulence.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.
Hold on to Lao Tzu.
