大成若缺，其用不弊。大盈若沖，其用不窮。大直若屈，大巧若拙，大辯若訥。躁勝寒靜勝熱。清靜為天下正。
My rendition of chapter 45 of Tao Te Ching:
Those who have great success look inadequate
Therefore they can continue to contribute (without creating jealousy)
Those who are full look empty
Therefore their creativity will never be exhausted.
A righteous man looks submissive,
A sage looks clumsy,
A great debater appears slow in speech.
Being overly excited is better than cold at heart
But silence is far better than being overheated.
A foundation in everyday life as well as society.
Paul’s comment: It is interesting to note that “Being overly excited is better than cold at heart”, in contrary a popular misconception of Tao as being emptiness or silence without compassion. The same can be applied to a correct conception of Taoist meditation - Cold and silent meditation without Chi is not Taoist meditation – nor Zen meditation, for that matter.
Traditional Chinese cultural is all about pragmatism and solving concrete problems rather than contemplative philosophizing. Tao is multiuse, rather than abstruse.
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