What is well rooted cannot be pulled up. What is firmly grasped will not slip loose. It will be honoured from generation to generation.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the importance of strong foundations, whether in knowledge, beliefs, or values, indicating that what is deeply established can endure over time.
Laozi emphasizes the significance of having deep roots in our beliefs and values, suggesting that when something is well-established, it becomes resilient to challenges and cannot easily be uprooted or lost. This endurance is honored and preserved across generations, reflecting the idea that having strength in our foundations contributes to lasting legacies.
In practice
During a speech about education, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of a strong foundational knowledge.
If you understand others you are smart._x000D_ If you understand yourself you are illuminated._x000D_ If you overcome others you are powerful._x000D_ If you overcome yourself you have strength._x000D_ If you know how to be satisfied you are rich._x000D_ If you can act with vigor, you have a will._x000D_ If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting._x000D_ If you die without loss, you are eternal.
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.
In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it.
Rule your mind with serenity rather than with force and manipulation.
Nothing is improved by anger, unless it be the arch of a cat's back. A man with his back up is spoiling his figure. People look none the handsomer for being red in the face. It takes a great deal out of a man to get into a towering rage; it is almost as unhealthy as having a fit. . . . Whatever wrong I suffer, it can not do me half so much hurt as being angry about it.
We can't cross that bridge until we come to it, but I always like to lay down a pontoon ahead of time.
When you're concentrating hard, hours can fly by, and it's just you and a math problem.
I find, the older I get, the more surprised I am about how hesitant people are to say what they really want, what they really dream about, what really drives them. It's as if sometimes we're sort of embarrassed, as we get older, to be transparent about that. But you save so much time if you're transparent about what you want.
Each of us has an inner room where we can visit to be cleansed of fear-based thoughts and feelings. This room, the holy of holies, is a sanctuary of light.
In Japan we have the phrase, "Shoshin," which means "beginner's mind." Our "original mind" includes everything within itself. It is always rich and sufficient within itself. This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything. It is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.
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