Wisdom from Chinese Literary and Buddhist Classics
365 Days for Travelers
11/26: THE HIGHEST EXCELLENCE IS LIKE WATER
Laozi (604 BCE - 531 BCE, Spring and Autumn Period)English translation: James Legge
The highest excellence is like that of water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving to the contrary, the low place which all men dislike. Hence its way is near to that of the Tao. The excellence of a residence is in the suitability of the place; that of the mind is in abysmal stillness; that of associations is in their being with the virtuous; that of words is in their trustworthiness; that of government is in its securing good order; that of the conduct of affairs is in its ability; and that of the initiation of any movement is in its timeliness. And when one with the highest excellence does not wrangle about his low position, no one finds fault with him.
── from Tao Te Ching
What's New?
NOVEMBER
Humble Table, Wise Fare
INSPIRATION
Recorded by Leann Moore
A moment of loving-kindness:
all things are good;
a moment of anger:
a thousand situations turn evil.
Dharma Instruments
Venerable Master Hsing Yun grants voices to the objects of daily monastic life to tell their stories in this collection of first-person narratives.
Sutras Chanting
The Medicine Buddha SutraMedicine Buddha, the Buddha of healing in Chinese Buddhism, is believed to cure all suffering (both physical and mental) of sentient beings. The Medicine Buddha Sutra is commonly chanted and recited in Buddhist monasteries, and the Medicine Buddha’s twelve great vows are widely praised.
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