The Dao, due to its all-encompassing and formless nature, cannot be grasped through the perception of concrete forms. We learn to cultivate the Dao by emulating the sages. The sages’ treasures for realizing the Dao are compassion, frugality, and humility (‘daring not to put oneself ahead of the world’).
All the world says that, while my Dao is great, it yet appears to be inferior (to other systems of teaching).
Now it is just its greatness that makes it seem to be inferior. If it were like any other (system), for long would its smallness have been known!
But I have three precious things which I prize and hold fast. The first is gentleness; the second is economy; and the third is shrinking from taking precedence of others.
With that gentleness I can be bold; with that economy I can be liberal; shrinking from taking precedence of others, I can become a vessel of the highest honour. Now-a-days they give up gentleness and are all for being bold; economy, and are all for being liberal; the hindmost place, and seek only to be foremost; – (of all which the end is) death.
Gentleness is sure to be victorious even in battle, and firmly to maintain its ground. Heaven will save its possessor, by his (very) gentleness protecting him.
Three treasures
Compassion or Mercy aligns with the Buddhist ideal of boundless loving-kindness or the Confucian virtue of benevolence.
Frugality mirrors the Buddhist principle of dependent origination or emptiness, which transcends duality—neither empty nor substantial, yet both empty and substantial.
Humility signifies modesty, non-contention, non-possession, non-control, and non-dominance.
These Three Treasures are fundamentally rooted in emptiness —the emptiness of self and the emptiness of phenomena (dharma).
Cause and effect
The sage’s courage arises from compassion; their boundless achievements stem from frugality; and their ability to lead emerges from humility.
Yet ordinary people invert cause and effect. They blindly chase outcomes without examining their roots; they focus on external appearances while neglecting inner truth.
Every human heart contains both good and evil. If one indulges desires and harmful habits, they inevitably violate compassion, frugality, and humility. Such actions, defying the laws of the Tao, lead to foreseeable consequences.
The power of Mercy
A compassionate person remains unassailable—no force or person can conquer them. Cultivating compassion is the ultimate protection for humanity.
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