800 Values (201--300)

201. The world is without fault; if fault exists, it lies within ourselves.

202. Only the gods can judge right and wrong; only the Tao can weigh merit and fault.

203. What you wish comes when your heart is true; what you fear comes when your mind is unsettled.

204. Let things take their course—harbor no undue desires.

Where there is light, there is shadow—do not seek flawless perfection.

Before vast rivers and oceans, just take a single sip.

205. All difficult tasks must start with simple steps; all great achievements begin with meticulous attention to detail.

206. In solitude, reflect on your own faults; in conversation, avoid speaking ill of others. Better to be upright yet insufficient than to gain excess by crooked means.

207. A slight deviation at the beginning can result in a vast difference at the end.

208. Man cannot overcome Heaven—only follow it; cannot resist it—only yield to it.

209. In nature, all things are born as they should be—if you are grass, be glad to be grass; do not long to be a peony.

210. Clinging to old ways only leads to suffering; better to open your heart and welcome new life.

211. A whisper on earth may sound like thunder in heaven;

A hidden misdeed is seen as lightning by the eyes of gods.

212. Better to teach fishing than to give fish; better to offer work than to give alms.

213. Only extraordinary thinking opens the path to light—bringing peace to the world and joy to humankind.

214. Who is freer—a king or a beggar? The one who knows himself is truly happy.

215. A person’s worth grows with the number of people they serve—the more they serve, the greater their value.

216. When one aligns with the Tao, what seems evil is still right;

When one strays from the Tao, what seems right is still wrong.

217. At its highest, writing reveals no cleverness; at its purest, character simply follows nature.

218. With the founder, follow the person, not the rules;

With successors, follow the rules, not the person.

219. Don’t waste your energy trying to change others—it only brings suffering. If you can’t bear it, change yourself instead.

220. Where love is deep, the cost is heavy;

Where hoarding is vast, the loss is greater.

221. Without noble thoughts, man is but an animal.

222. If your surroundings are too oppressive, leave—escape is the best response to a hostile environment.

223. Ask yourself: are you struggling to survive, or striving to live? If it’s only for survival, it’s hardly worth it.

224. Beware of the devil creeping into your heart.

225. Even the most outstanding individual will be eliminated if they fail to align with the whole. The exceptional must remain vigilant.

226. Never pin your hopes on others—people change.

227. “Trust yourself” is the view of the ignorant.

228. Hushed gossip brings no good; cryptic messages hold no truth.

229. Beware: in the open fields of freedom, weeds grow wild. Take heed—never overstep the bounds.

230. Habit, knowledge, and history—the three great barriers to innovation.

231. Rigid thinking is the greatest obstacle to the progress of human civilization.

232. Be wary of being crushed by reality.

233. In a state of joy, the mind is at its best and the soul at its most beautiful.

234. Only by awakening truth, kindness, beauty, love, faith, and honesty in every heart can we create a warm and harmonious world.

235. The broadest ocean welcomes the most rivers; the most open mind gives birth to the greatest ideas.

236. Focus on others’ strengths, not their flaws; reflect on your flaws, not your virtues.

237. Reality reflects your consciousness. Don’t complain about reality—transform yourself.

238. As your consciousness is, so is your life; as your life is, so is your reality.

239. All human conflicts and contradictions stem from the fight for energy—even quarrels between spouses are, at their core, battles for energy.

240. The more love you give, the more energy flows; the more you hoard, the more depleted you become.

241. The faster something grows, the shorter its life. Don’t rush—avoid shortcuts.

242. Character lies in the details. To know someone, watch what they do, not what they say.

243. First impressions are the most telling—if it starts badly, it rarely gets better.

244. What seems real is unreal; what seems unreal is truly real.

245. The more managers in a group, the messier the affairs—and the more the front-line workers suffer exploitation and pressure.

246. The more you own, the more troubles you face. Excess can be deadly.

247. Certain books, people, and environments can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary; certain thoughts, ideas, and words can swiftly elevate one’s state of being. A single moment, an opportunity, or a conversation can completely transform the trajectory of your LIFE.

248. Knowledge is the understanding and experience gained without personal reflection and insight; wisdom is the ability to solve problems.

249. Everything has its proper balance—exceed it, and it transforms into something else. So always hold to the right measure in all things.

250. Mountains, imbued with spirit, are lush with greenery; waters, alive with spirit, teem with fish and turtles; the sky, infused with spirit, brings harmonious winds and gentle rains; the earth, brimming with spirit, nurtures all things in abundance; and people, full of spirit, radiate boundless charm.

251. Without a sound program (system), even the most beautiful aspirations and efforts will come to nothing. That’s why building a clear program is essential—moral preaching alone won’t work.

252. Stay away from the idle and aimless—they stir up drama but contribute nothing constructive.

253.Beauty lives in symmetry and proportion—and also in simplicity and genuineness.

254. Every craft holds depths greater than the sea. Therefore, we must honor the spirit of craftsmanship.

255. The more praise one receives, the more one must remain clear-headed and humble in conduct; the higher the position, the more one should reset to zero with humility and caution. Otherwise, misfortune will not be far away.

256. Only when the lowest members of society live with dignity can a nation be said to possess dignity.

257. Helping others is helping yourself; harming others is harming yourself; deceiving others is deceiving yourself. Those who do not understand this truth are ignorant and blind in spirit.

258. The energy of food is linked to the eater’s state of mind; gratitude is the key to drawing out its full power.

259. To walk nobly, remain ever humble; the Way of the Tao seems obscure; advancing in the Tao seems like retreating.

260. Sustained focus on one thing reveals what others cannot see.

261. The same goal, pursued through different means, leads to different results.

262. The more you give, the more you gain; what is truly given will return in time.

263. What isn’t worth doing should never be done.

264. Hold fast to Chanyuan values over personal ties, and emotions will not deceive you.

265. Fate brings people together, fate leads them apart—do not suffer over its ebb and flow.

266. Say yes if it is yes; say no if it is no.

Never say yes when it is no, nor say no when it is yes.

267. Honesty between people comes at the lowest cost.

268. A plain person, a quiet life; a peaceful heart, a gentle pace.

Everything begins from the ordinary—truth is found in the plain and simple.

269. No matter the reason or method, to damage, seize, steal, swindle, or misappropriate another’s property is a crime.

270. Labor and creation are the wellspring of joy; true happiness lives in the selfless work of creation.

271. Always follow the principle of least resistance in everything.

272. Those who remain pure are not trampled upon. The cleaner the place, the less people litter; the dirtier it is, the more they do.

273. As long as you cling to attachments and biases, you remain like rotten wood, impossible to shape. The greatest barriers are your own rigid views, and suffering and fear arise from these fixed perceptions.

274. Without passion and enthusiasm, you cannot hope to taste the joys of life.

275. Those who excel in every detail will ultimately receive rich rewards, while those who are lazy and careless in the details will never rise above the rest.

276. Those who understand how to play use their awareness to create more enjoyable games, while those who don't are led astray by illusions.

277. Those who don’t know how to play are simply eating machines, working tools, moving objects, or walking corpses.

278. Everything is but a dream, and only our feelings are real.

279. Community life is the best environment for cultivating the Tao.

280. True feelings must be exchanged for true feelings; never treat them like dirt.

281. If we do not turn back, we will not “hear” the clamor of the mundane world.

282. Flirtatious banter benefits body and mind, fosters harmony, and uplifts the quality of LIFE.

283. Do not forsake the path of nobility merely to fulfill fleeting desires.

284. Excessive punishment is detrimental to social harmony and stability.

285. Open your heart, and only then will joy enter.

286. A life that does not serve the Greatest Creator, nature, or other lives holds little value.

287. Those who spread gossip are themselves entangled in it; those who relish gossip are prone to mischief.

288. If you are misunderstood, the fault lies with you.

289. Those who pry into and spread others’ privacy are far from kind.

290. Reduce idle tasks, empty words, and wasted motion—set your gems into the crown where they belong.

291. Dwelling on the past is nothing short of a slow suicide.

292. Passivity conceals the risk of being eliminated.

293. The mortal world is an endless web, like layer upon layer in the Silk Cave; if you don’t fight to escape, you'll end up as a spider spirit yourself.

294. Those who evoke pity inevitably harbor some detestable qualities.

295. For a man, being the object of others’ pity and sympathy is a disgrace.

296. Do not halt your steps until the goal is reached.

297. To live as a human is to give your all. Life is a dream; all is empty and fleeting—experience it fully, without regret.

298. Sinking into decadence is like tearing down your own fortress—it is a slow invitation to death.

299. Between two points, the straight path is often the longest, and the curved one the shortest. So don’t fear detours or twists; they might be the shortest way forward.

300. Now and then, pause to reflect: "Am I on the wrong path?"