Laozi said: The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without competing with them, and dwells in places that everyone disdains, so it is close to the Way. In choosing where to dwell, be grounded. In your heart, be deep. In your dealings, be kind. In your words, be trustworthy. In governing, be orderly. In your work, be capable. In your actions, choose the right moment. Because it does not compete, it is without blame. Confucius said: "Water has nine virtues, and so a gentleman observes it whenever he encounters it."
"Confucius was watching the water flow east. Zigong asked him, 'Why is it that a gentleman always observes great bodies of water when he sees them?' Confucius replied, 'Water nourishes all living things without acting for its own sake, and so resembles virtue. It flows downward, winding along its proper course, and so resembles righteousness. It surges onward without exhaustion, and so resembles the Way. When it is directed, it responds swiftly, like an echo, and when it plunges into a hundred-foot chasm, it is fearless, and so resembles courage. Its surface is level, and so it resembles the law. It does not seek to be measured when it is full, and so it resembles uprightness. It flows through the smallest places, reaching everywhere, and so it resembles discernment. It enters and emerges, cleansing whatever it touches, and so it resembles the power to transform for the good. Though it takes countless turns, it always flows east, and so it resembles resolve. That is why a gentleman observes great bodies of water whenever he sees them.'"
"Those who do not look at themselves are clear-sighted. Those who do not insist they are right are recognized. Those who do not boast have merit. Those who are not conceited endure. Because they do not compete, no one under Heaven can compete with them."
A successor to the Daoist tradition, devoted to the cultivation of Daoist classics and the Way of Nonaction, must find a way to survive in this world filled with slaughter. Read on to find out how.
Do you still remember the book on the Daming Lake?
It's already mid-August, where's the update?
I just want to say that I can't understand the introduction.