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The ancient adepts of the Tao were subtle and flexible, profound and comprehensive.
Their minds were too deep to be fathomed.
—-
Because they are unfathomable,
One can only describe them vaguely by their appearance.
—-
Hesitant like one wading a stream in winter;
Timid like one afraid of his neighbours on all sides;
Cautious and courteous like a guest;
Yielding like ice on the point of melting;
Simple like an uncarved block;
Hollow like a cave;
Confused like a muddy pool;
And yet who could quietly and gradually evolve from the muddy to the clear?
Who else could slowly but steadily move from the inert to the living?
—-
He who keeps the Tao does not want to be full.
But precisely because he is never full,
He can always remain like a hidden sprout,
And does not rush to early ripening.
—-
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Excerpted from “Tao Teh Ching” by Lao Tzu
Shambhhala Dragin Editions Trans. John C .H. Wu
ISBN 0-87773-388-0
Dreamyoga 