30 Poems and

quotes about
Life purpose in
Taoism
Sinan Sencer
 Do you want to improve the world?
I don't think it can be done.

The world is sacred.

It can't be improved.
If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.

There is a time for being ahead,

a time for being behind;
a time for being in motion,
a time for being at rest;
a time for being vigorous,
a time for being exhausted;
a time for being safe,
a time for being in danger.

The Master sees things as they are,

without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
and resides at the center of the circle.

Lao Tzu
"f something exists by definition it has purpose.
If you are alive, If you exist you have purpose."

FangFu

"There are many purposes a person has

depending on who you ask, there many
purposes a person has had depending on who
you ask. Everything you do is your Purpose"

Kam Yuen
 In harmony with the Tao,
the sky is clear and spacious,
the earth is solid and full,
all creature flourish together,
content with the way they are,
endlessly repeating themselves,
endlessly renewed.

When man interferes with the Tao,

the sky becomes filthy,
the earth becomes depleted,
the equilibrium crumbles,
creatures become extinct.

The Master views the parts with compassion,

because he understands the whole.
His constant practice is humility.
He doesn't glitter like a jewel
but lets himself be shaped by the Tao,
as rugged and common as stone.

Lao Tzu
 A good traveler has no fixed plans
and is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition
lead him wherever it wants.
A good scientist has freed himself of concepts
and keeps his mind open to what is.

Thus the Master is available to all people

and doesn't reject anyone.
He is ready to use all situations
and doesn't waste anything.
This is called embodying the light.

What is a good man but a bad man's teacher?

What is a bad man but a good man's job?
If you don't understand this, you will get lost,
however intelligent you are.
It is the great secret.

Lao Tzu
 Empty your mind of all thoughts.
Let your heart be at peace.
Watch the turmoil of beings,
but contemplate their return.

Each separate being in the universe

returns to the common source.
Returning to the source is serenity.

If you don't realize the source,

you stumble in confusion and sorrow.
When you realize where you come from,
you naturally become tolerant,
disinterested, amused,
kindhearted as a grandmother,
dignified as a king.
Immersed in the wonder of the Tao,
you can deal with whatever life brings you,
and when death comes, you are ready.

Lao Tzu
 Governing a large country
is like frying a small fish.
You spoil it with too much poking.

Center your country in the Tao

and evil will have no power.
Not that it isn't there,
but you'll be able to step out of its way.

Give evil nothing to oppose

and it will disappear by itself.

Lao Tzu
"We shouldnt try to be too special. We should
be natural. Natural means ordinary"

""We need purpose to do many things, and many

great things can be done with purpose, but if
you want to be really enlightened, like the
really enlightened masters. you need to be wu
wei"

(WU WEI means letting go, not intefering with

nature, being in harmony with nature, but
using your intention and sense of humanity
appropriately

Fang Fu
 "There is a saying the greatest art in the world is
like "foolishness" Ignore the bheaviour of Tseng
and Shih, Shut the mouth of yang and mo, purge
benevlence and righteousness and the true virtue
of all under heaven will display its mystic power.
When people have true clear vision, no one in the
world will be duped; if everyone has true
hearing, then no one in the world will be
distracted; if everyone has true wisdom, then no
one will be fooled. If everyone has wisdom then
no one will be debased. Those such as tseng, shih,
Yang, Mo , the musician Kuang, craftsman Chui or
Li Chu showed off their virtue on the outside. The
made the world aflame with admiration and so
confused the world: a way of proceding which
was pointless. Sir, are you the only person who
does not known about the age of perfect virtue?
In times past in the age of Yung chen, Ta ting , Po
Huang Chung Yang, Li Liu, Li Hsu, Hsien Yuan, Ho
Hsu, Tsun LU, Chu Jung, Fu Hsi and Shen Nung the
people followed their ways, knotting string and
using the nets. They enjoyed their food, they took
pleasure in their clothes, they were content in
their lifestyles, they were at ease in the homes.
Even though the states were so close that they
could hear their neighbours cats and chickens,
nevertheless people lived until a good age before
dying and never travelled beyond their borders.
At such age perfect harmony was the norm.

Zhuang Zi
 All streams flow to the sea
because it is lower than they are.
Humility gives it its power.

If you want to govern the people,

you must place yourself below them.
If you want to lead the people,
you must learn how to follow them.

The Master is above the people,

and no one feels oppressed.
She goes ahead of the people,
and no one feels manipulated.
The whole world is grateful to her.
Because she competes with no one,
no one can compete with her.

Lao Tzu
The ancient Masters were profound and subtle.
Their wisdom was unfathomable.
There is no way to describe it;
all we can describe is their appearance.

They were careful

as someone crossing an iced-over stream.
Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
Courteous as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Shapable as a block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Clear as a glass of water.

Do you have the patience to wait

till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?

The Master doesn't seek fulfillment.

Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present, and can welcome all things.

Lao Tzu
 The heavy is the root of the light.
The unmoved is the source of all movement.

Thus the Master travels all day

without leaving home.
However splendid the views,
she stays serenely in herself.

Why should the lord of the country

flit about like a fool?
If you let yourself be blown to and fro,
you lose touch with your root.
If you let restlessness move you,
you lose touch with who you are.

Lao Tzu
 Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.

Above, it isn't bright.

Below, it isn't dark.
Seamless, unnamable,
it returns to the realm of nothing.
Form that includes all forms,
image without an image,
subtle, beyond all conception.

Approach it and there is no beginning;

follow it and there is no end.
You can't know it, but you can be it,
at ease in your own life.
Just realize where you come from:
this is the essence of wisdom.

Lao Tzu
 Osho you have said that there are no goals in
life no purpose. And yet we are all here with
enlightenment as our main goal. Please speak on
this.

If you are here with enlightenment as your goal,

you cannot be here. Physically your mind may be
here, but your mind cannot be here with me. Your
mind is in the future. I am here! And a mind which
is goal orientated is bound to be in the future-
we will never meet.

Osho
 The Master keeps her mind
always at one with the Tao;
that is what gives her her radiance.

The Tao is ungraspable.

How can her mind be at one with it?
Because she doesn't cling to ideas.

The Tao is dark and unfathomable.

How can it make her radiant?
Because she lets it.

Since before time and space were,

the Tao is.
It is beyond is and is not.
How do I know this is true?
I look inside myself and see.

Lao Tzu
 Fame or integrity: which is more important?
Money or happiness: which is more valuable?
Success of failure: which is more destructive?

If you look to others for fulfillment,

you will never truly be fulfilled.
If your happiness depends on money,
you will never be happy with yourself.

Be content with what you have;

rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.

Lao Tzu
 He who stands on tiptoe
doesn't stand form.
He who rushes ahead
doesn't go far.
He who tries to shine
dims his own light.
He who defines himself
can't know who he really is.
He who has power over others
can't empower himself.
He who clings to his work
will create nothing that endures.

If you want to accord with the Tao,

just do your job, then let go.

Lao Tzu
 The Tao never does anything,
yet through it all things are done.

If powerful men and women

could venter themselves in it,
the whole world would be transformed
by itself, in its natural rhythms.
People would be content
with their simple, everyday lives,
in harmony, and free of desire.

When there is no desire,

all things are at peace.

Lao Tzu
 The ancient Masters
didn't try to educate the people,
but kindly taught them to not-know.

When they think that they know the answers,

people are difficult to guide.
When they know that they don't know,
people can find their own way.

If you want to learn how to govern,

avoid being clever or rich.
The simplest pattern is the clearest.
Content with an ordinary life,
you can show all people the way
back to their own true nature.

Lao Tzu
 The big toe being webbed with the other toes, or an
extra finger, may both be quite natural, but they do
not spring from virtue. Swellings and tumours
certainly arise from the body, but do not spring from
what is natural. there are many acts of kindness and
justice and they are often associated with the five
vital organs. but this is not the correct way
according to the tao (the way) and te (virtue). In fact,
webbed feet are simply useless pieces of extra skin, an
additional finger is useless. so to associate these with
the five vital organs is to confuse the use of kindness
and justice. it places too much emphasis on hearing
and sight. so heightened visual perception will cause
confusion in distinguishing the five colours. one will
be overwhelmed by interesting designs and dazzled by
the bright and luminous shades of of blue and yellow.
As a result it will be like Li chu the keen sighted. And
doesnt an extraordinary faculty for hearing lead to
confusion about the five notes, and excessive use of the
six tones created by metal, stone , silk and bamaboo
together with the huanh chung and ta lu popes. As a
result it will be like the music master Kuang. The result
is that if someone misuses the power of virtue and
destroys his inner self in a quest for fame and fortune,
leading everything under heaven to follow his music
in pursuit of the unobtainable- is this not so. A great
skill in debate leads to the construction of arguments
like a builder using bricks, or a netmaker working with
string. He makes his arguuments circular and his heart
delights to go into pointless nitpicking debate about
similarity and divergence.

ZHuang Zi
 Confucius pursued him and said "I thought you
were a ghost, but now i see, Sir, that you are a man. I
wish to enquire. do you have a Tao for swimming
under the water?

He said, "No, I have no Tao. I started with what I

knew, matured my innate nature and let destiny do
the rest. I go in with the currents and come out
with the flow, just going with the Tao of the water
and never being concerned. That is how I survive.
Confucius said, "What do you mean when you say,
you started with what you knew, matureed your
innate nature and let destiny do the rest?
He said "I was born on the dry land and feel
content on the land, where I know what i know. I
was nutrtured by the water, and felt safe there;
this reflects my innate nature. I am not sure why I
do this but I am certain this is destiny.

Zhuang Zi
 Wood carver ching carved a piece of wood to
form a bell support, and those who saw iy were
astonished because it looked as though ghosts or
spirits had done it. the marquis of lu saw it, and
asked "where does you art come from?

"I am just a woodcarver," Ching replied. "How could

I have "Art?"

One thing is certain though that when carve a

bell suppport. I do not allow it to exhaust my
original breath, so i take care to calm my heart.
After I have fasted for three days, i give no
thought to praise, reward, titles or income. After I
have fasted for five days, i give no thought to
glory, or blame, skill or stupidity. After I have
fasted for seven days. I am so still that i forget
whether i have four limbs and a body. by then the
duke and his court have ceased to exist as far as i
am concerned. all my energy is focused and
external concerns have gone. After that I depart
and enter the mountain forest, and explore the
heavenly innate nature of the trees; once i find
one with a perfect shape, i can see for certain the
possibility of a bell support and i set my hand to
the task; if i cannot see the possibility, i leave it to
be. By so doing, I harmonise the heavenly with
heaven, and perhaps this is why it is thought that
my carvings are done by spirits.

Zhuang ZI
 Stop thinking, and end your problems.
What difference between yes and no?
What difference between success and failure?
Must you value what others value,
avoid what others avoid?
How ridiculous!

Other people are excited,

as though they were at a parade.
I alone don't care,
I alone am expressionless,
like an infant before it can smile.

Other people have what they need;

I alone possess nothing.
I alone drift about,
like someone without a home.
I am like an idiot, my mind is so empty.

Other people are bright;

I alone am dark.
Other people are sharper;
I alone am dull.
Other people have a purpose;
I alone don't know.
I drift like a wave on the ocean,
I blow as aimless as the wind.

I am different from ordinary people.

I drink from the Great Mother's breasts.

Lao TZu
 The Tao is always at ease.
It overcomes without competing,
answers without speaking a word,
arrives without being summoned,
accomplishes without a plan.

Its net covers the whole universe.

And though its meshes are wide,
it doesn't let a thing slip through.

Lao TZU
 When you work with Wu Wei, you put the round peg in
the round hole and the square peg in the square hole.
No stress, no struggle. Egotistical Desire tries to force
the round peg into the square hole and the square peg
into the round hole. Cleverness tries to devise craftier
ways of making pegs fit where they don’t belong.
Knowledge tries to figure out why round pegs fit into
round holes, but not square holes. Wu Wei doesn’t try.
It doesn’t think about it. It just does it. And when it
does, it doesn’t appear to do much of anything. But
Things Get Done.

“It is very hard to be brave," said Piglet, sniffing

slightly, "when you're only a Very Small Animal."

Rabbit, who had begun to write very busily, looked up

and said: "It is because you are a very small animal that
you will be Useful in the adventure before us.”

When you work with Wu Wei, you have no real

accidents. Things may get a little Odd at times, but
they work out. You don’t have to try very hard to
make them work out; you just let them. [...] If you’re in
tune with The Way Things Work, then they work the
way they need to, no matter what you may think
about it at the time. Later on you can look back and
say, "Oh, now I understand. That had to happen so that
those could happen, and those had to happen in order
for this to happen…" Then you realize that even if you’d
tried to make it all turn out perfectly, you couldn’t
have done better, and if you’d really tried, you would
have made a mess of the whole thing.

The Tao of Pooh- By Benjammin Hoff

 “Drop the idea of becoming someone, because you
are already a masterpiece. You cannot be improved.
You have only to come to it, to know it, to realize
it.”
― Osho

“That is the simple secret of happiness. Whatever you

are doing, don’t let past move your mind; don’t let
future disturb you. Because the past is no more, and
the future is not yet. To live in the memories, to live
in the imagination, is to live in the non-existential.
And when you are living in the non-existential, you
are missing that which is existential. Naturally you
will be miserable, because you will miss your whole
life.”
― Osho