What is the best way to be? What is the best way to live?
The reading today from chapter 8 of the Tao Te Ching gives one answer to these questions.
Might it be an answer for your questions?
The best, like water, benefit all and do not compete.
They dwell in lowly spots that everyone else scorns.
Putting others before themselves,
They find themselves in the foremost place.
They come very near to the Tao.
In their dwelling, they love the earth.
In their hearts, they love what is deep,
In personal relationships, they love kindness.
In their words, they love truth.
In the world, they love peace.
In personal affairs, they love what is right.
In action, they love choosing the right time.
It is because they do not compete with others
That they are beyond the reproach of the world.
If people did not compare themselves with one another,
they would not judge one another.
True goodness is like water.
Since water benefits everything, it competes with nothing.
It even finds its way to the lowest, most filthy places, and brings benefit.
The wise person leaves self-centerdness behind, and moves forward on the Way.
Self-centerness is extraneous to human life; by leaving it behind,
the wise person reaches the True Center of life.
Why let go of self-centerdness?
Without doing this, the soul's needs cannot be met.
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