The Tao Te Ching
既得其母，以知其子；
既知其子，復守其母，沒身不殆。
塞其兌，閉其門，終身不勤。
開其兌，濟其事，終身不救。
見小曰明，守柔曰強。
用其光，復歸其明，無遺身殃；
是謂習常。
The world has a beginning; regard it as the Mother of the world.
Having found the Mother, we can know her children.
Knowing the children, yet holding fast to the Mother,
one faces no danger throughout life.
Block the passages, close the gates, and life will be without toil.
Open the passages, multiply your affairs, and life is beyond salvation.
Seeing the small is called Clarity.
Holding to the soft is called Strength.
Use your light to return to inner brightness, leaving no misery for the self.
This is called practicing the Eternal.
True stability comes from understanding the relationship between the source of life (the Mother) and its myriad expressions (the Children).
The "Mother" represents the Tao, the root, or the fundamental principles of existence, while the "Children" are the specific events, objects, and phenomena we encounter daily.
We often get lost in the children—chasing trends, outcomes, and fleeting emotions—while forgetting the source that sustains them.
To know the child is necessary for living in the world, but to cling only to the child causes anxiety and fragmentation.
Wisdom lies in navigating the surface level of life while remaining deeply anchored in the underlying unity.
A tree's leaves (children) flutter and change with the seasons, but they depend entirely on the unseen roots (mother) for survival.
Similarly, a musician plays many notes (children), but the beauty of the music relies on the underlying silence and rhythm (mother) that holds the melody together.
Preserving one's vitality requires consciously limiting sensory input and the endless pursuit of external stimulation.
Lao Tzu uses the metaphor of "blocking the passages" and "closing the gates" to describe the practice of turning inward.
In a world designed to fracture our attention, constantly opening ourselves to every distraction, desire, and piece of information drains our spirit.
This isn't about isolation, but about protecting our inner peace from being colonized by the noise of the world.
When we are always "out there," reacting to everything, we lose our center; when we guard our senses, we retain our power.
Think of a house in a storm; if you leave all windows open, the chaos inside becomes unmanageable, but closing them keeps the interior calm.
Consider a smartphone battery that drains rapidly when every app is running in the background versus one that conserves power for essential functions.
Real power is not found in rigid force or grand gestures, but in the ability to perceive subtle changes and remain flexible.
We often mistake loudness for knowledge and aggression for strength, yet the Tao teaches the opposite.
"Seeing the small" means noticing the seeds of events before they sprout into unmanageable problems; it is the height of awareness.
"Holding to the soft" means retaining resilience and adaptability rather than becoming brittle and hard.
By using our "light" (intellect) to illuminate the outer world but always returning to "inner brightness" (wisdom), we avoid the disasters caused by arrogance and blindness.
A massive oak tree may snap in a hurricane because it resists, while the flexible bamboo bends and survives the storm intact.
A doctor who notices the faintest symptom (seeing the small) can cure a disease easily before it becomes a life-threatening crisis.
The Problem: A modern professional feels perpetually exhausted and anxious, checking emails, social media, and news feeds from the moment they wake up until they sleep. Their mind is fragmented, unable to focus on deep work or enjoy quiet moments, leading to burnout and a sense of hollowness despite being constantly "connected."
The Taoist Solution: The Taoist solution is to "block the passages" by establishing strict boundaries around sensory input. This means creating sacred times of disconnection, such as the first hour of the morning or during meals, where the "gates" are closed to digital noise. By refusing to let the external world constantly flood the internal space, the individual reclaims their energy. They stop leaking vitality into the void and return to a state of wholeness.
The Problem: A business leader ignores minor complaints from the team and small dips in quality, focusing only on quarterly profits and major expansion goals. They believe these small issues are irrelevant noise. Suddenly, key employees resign en masse and a major client leaves, turning ignored details into a full-blown crisis that threatens the company's survival.
The Taoist Solution: The Taoist approach is "seeing the small," which is true clarity. The leader must learn to detect the subtle tremors before the earthquake hits. Instead of dismissing minor issues, they should view them as early warning signals of the underlying system's health. By addressing the "small" dissatisfaction or the "soft" cultural issues immediately with flexibility rather than rigid authority, they resolve problems while they are still manageable, preventing the "calamity" Lao Tzu warns against.
The Problem: An individual builds their entire self-worth on their career title and social status (the "children"). When they are laid off or retire, they suffer a profound collapse of identity. They feel worthless and lost because they confused their temporary role in the world with their fundamental existence, leaving them with no foundation when the external circumstances changed.
The Taoist Solution: The Taoist solution is to "know the child" (engage in the career) but "hold fast to the Mother" (root oneself in the eternal Tao). One must realize that roles, titles, and successes are merely leaves on the tree of life, not the trunk. By cultivating a connection to the inner self that exists prior to any job description—the "Mother"—one remains stable regardless of external shifts. When the job ends, the person remains whole, enduring "without danger."