Once upon a time a man whose ax was missing suspected his neighbor's son. The boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief and spoke like a thief. But the man found his ax while digging in the valley, and the next time he saw his neighbor's son, the boy walked, looked and spoke like any other child.

A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind. Thus by nature's own decree, the soft and gentle are triumphant.

The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The unnamable is the eternally real. Naming is the origin of all particular things. Free from desire, you realize the mystery. Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations. Yet mystery and manifestations arise from the same source. This source is called darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gateway to all understanding.

Develop the strength of a man, but live as gently as a woman

The greatest virtue is to follow the Way utterly.

All things flourish, and each returns to its source.

Stop leaving and you will arrive, Stop searching and you will see, Stop running away and you will be found.