Let people return to making knots on ropes, instead of writing.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that practical skills and tangible knowledge are more valuable than written words.
In this quote, Laozi emphasizes the importance of hands-on skills and practical knowledge, such as making knots on ropes, over the complexities of written language. He suggests that direct experience and the wisdom gained through tangible actions can be more fulfilling and meaningful than merely relying on written communication, which can sometimes lead to confusion or superficial understanding.
In practice
In a workshop focused on traditional crafts, this quote can inspire participants to value hands-on learning.
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.
My long struggles as a soldier of the Chinese Revolution have forced me to realize the necessity of facing hard facts. There will be neither peace, nor hope, nor future for any of us unless we honestly aim at political, social and economic justice for all peoples of the world, great and small.
My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person of Christ. Christ teaches that God is love.
For black people, everything we do has to be ratified and endorsed by a power structure that is white. And that reinforces a kind of racial hierarchy where whiteness is the privileged position to be in, and ethnicity is problematic.
Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society.
Violence is a disease, a disease that corrupts all who use it regardless of the cause.
I know there is a God because in Rwanda I shook hands with the devil. I have seen him, I have smelled him and I have touched him. I know the devil exists and therefore I know there is a God.
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