This boxed set includes 81 cards with quotations from Lao Tzu's classic text written over 2000 years ago and a 16-page booklet explaining the background of this sacred text and commentary on the translation by Chao-Hsiu Chen. She grew up in Taiwan and has written and illustrated 27 books. One side of the card contains a quotation from the Tao Te Ching while the other side displays her distinctive art and calligraphy. These cards can be read and pondered in sequence or meditated upon one at a time. Here are two samples:
76 - Softness and Weakness
A man is soft and weak when living.
But hard and rigid when dead.
The myriad creatures and grass and plants, when living,
are soft and fragile.
When dead, they are dried and withered.
That is why the hard and the rigid are the disciples of death,
the soft and the weak the disciples of the living.
Therefore an army which is inflexible cannot win.
A plant which is hard will break.
The strong and hard will fall.
The soft and the weak will overcome.
54 - To Be Well Established
He who is well established cannot be uprooted.
He who is holding tight cannot slip away.
His descendents will never cease to honour him.
He who cultivates the moral character, his virtue will be clear.
He who cultivates his own family, his virtue will flourish.
He who cultivates the village, his virtue will endure.
He who cultivates the country, his virtue will be abundant.
He who cultivates the land, his virtue will be widespread.
Therefore look at others as your own person.
Look at other families as your own family.
Look at other villages as your own village.
Look at other countries as your own country.
Look at other lands as your own land.
How do you know it is like this under Heaven?
By means of this.
