Its name-what passes not away.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that true essence and existence endure beyond temporal changes.
Laozi's saying reminds us that while physical forms and situations may change or fade away, the essential nature or 'name' of something is eternal. This reflects a fundamental idea in Taoist philosophy that emphasizes the importance of understanding the underlying truths of existence beyond mere appearances and transient experiences.
In practice
During a graduation speech to inspire students about the enduring nature of 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.
So much of the language that surrounds us - from things like economics, management theory, and the algorithms built into computer systems - appears to be objective and neutral. But in fact, it is loaded with powerful, and very debatable, political assumptions about how society should work and what human beings are really like.
Anything you cannot relinquish when it has outlived its usefulness possesses you, and in this materialistic age a great many of us are possessed by our possessions.
I believe in mysticism, with an interior goal, _x000D_ and you are your own temple _x000D_ and your own priest.
Yes, even I am dishonest. Not in many ways, but in some. Forty-one, I think it is.
The life most of us live are lives we are forced to live by immediate needs, influences, and pressures.
Metaphysics abstracts the mind from the senses, and the poetic faculty must submerge the whole mind in the senses. Metaphysics soars up to universals, and the poetic faculty must plunge deep into particulars.
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