Ngugi
28381
662
11
Chapter 76 in the Taoist text Tao Te Ching from about the 4th century BCE
Jul 27, 2025 12:20 AM
Ngugi
28381
662
11
Chapter 76 in the Taoist text Tao Te Ching from about the 4th century BCE
iDragon3
I agree with this 100%. It is true for mental and physical rigidity.
Margrave9000
There can be no compromise on human rights.
UseYourVoice
Being flexible and able to roll with the punches is a good thing, but sometimes you have to have to be rigid and unyielding to get through certain periods in life, like refusing to give up on democracy and refusing to give in to despair.
gearsmith
nachosyndicate
1000% jiggly bits cause survival.
TicklishOwl
I don't know, I'm usually defeated by soft stool vs hard stool.
Arcanum3000
That checks out. The soft and supple is prevailing against you.
reallybigdogtrappedinamansbody
Yeah Tao would say that, damn commie ❤️
byronwilliams4010
Not sure about the 'Game Of Thrones' show, but in the books somebody had a similar observation about the three Baratheon brothers: Robert was the true steel. Renly was copper: shiny but not very strong. Stannis was iron: he was strong, but he would break before he bent.
BigDaddysMeatWagon
Ok but vegetables get floppy when they die.
MiloBloomm
I had this thought on a day after a storm that had felled many trees, "Do not be wary of those trees that bend to the wind, be wary of the ones that don't"
Tolocamp
Can't argue with the Tao Te Ching.
gearsmith
This is extra funny when you understand that arguing a point, debating ethics, or trying to define things goes against the Taoist ideal of wu wei. If you embrace the Tao, you literally can not argue with Tao Te Ching.
Tolocamp
No shit !....
gearsmith
NotABadLookingNarcissist
Someone tell that to the US congress.
CitrusyGarlic
AnOceanOfStars
Teeth are hard and they end up falling. The tongue is soft and always remains.
gearsmith
What lasts is not always what matters most. It was the teeth that fed you, not the tongue that flattered.
awesker002
Life is cold and hard but titties are warm and soft.
candar
your poetry will be forgotten by history, but not by the wind
shyriath
Sometimes the simple truths are the most meaningful.
gearsmith
Unless it's cold out, of course.
pareidoliaperson
No titties, ni life. And lately it is been terribly hard.
monkeyfly
Amen
zombiejedediah
Instant enlightenment
NepLeet
Or as a dude once told me, "The night is long and hard, and so am I."
zeusfdelta
Harbltron
The value of a cup is its emptiness; like the Tao its virtue is both eternal and elusive.
Chronomechanist
At least a certain amount of stiffness is required for life. Certainly bringing new life into the world. If nothing is getting stuff, you're gonna struggle.
kewakl
chapter 76 describing 79 years of hubris
57rescraft9
That's what I kept telling her last night, but she didn't believe me.
StrandedonEarth
Stee Jans would agree with the army part. Yield, let the enemy go charging through, then attack the flanks and rear before dealing with the head…
yrypics
Buildings and bridges are made to bend in the wind
To withstand the world that's what it takes
All that steel and stone are no match for the air, my friend
What doesn't bend breaks.
-Ani DiFranco
gearsmith
yrypics
Very true. Did you just have this handy, or did you write it in response to this discussion?
gearsmith
I wrote it in response. And in iambic pentameter :-).
PhloydPhan
The Tao that can be written is not the true Tao.
Kiotetravels
This is not the greatest Tao in the world, this is only a tribute.
JarJarDrinks
Lao Tsu said the same thing in a military context.
SinStar87
Above is Lao Tsu.
CommunCreator
He may have been thinking about Sun Tsu.
gesel
Followed advice, replaced stiff wooden bookshelves with flexible plastic, books on floor.
nefroye
Yeah - almost as if ... context matters.
gesel
Don't come at me with that nuance stuff. Nuance is a deportable offense in MAGA land.
potatoispeople
Oh right I should do my stretches
Chort26
TheHotdogInYourMothersHalIway
I got stiff just reading this.
idrinkcheapbeer
So did I! My neck, I mean, by having to tilt it. To read it toward the end.
nefroye
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oak_and_the_Reed - Aesop's fable about this.