DAO

“The Way”
 DAO
has a multilayered meaning

ABSOLUTE WAY

PATH
 has a metaphysical notion

beginning and end of reality

DAO as the
Absolute Dao the “governing force” that
permeates everything that
exists and does not exist

the ”Truth”, the “all-

pervading Reality”
 Absolute Dao =“that
which moves and
orients all things”

DAO as the Way process, nature, and

movement of reality

a moving permanence,
“The Way of the
Absolute”
 the path towards the
Absolute

the path towards embodying

the Way of the Dao

DAO as the Path

the way of life a person must
take

consisting of magnanimity,
spontaneity, and
effortlessness, it is the “Law
of Morality”
 the natural order of things

more focused on the internal

than external

self-cultivation and self-

actualization
 living in accordance with
nature

becoming one with the Dao

DE VIRTUE
 DE
virtue, moral character,
inner power and
integrity.
 MANIFESTATION OF THE DAO
points to the kind of virtuous persons’
human beings must become
in living a life of Dao

D E ONE MUST CULTIVATE ONE’S DE

to arrive at knowledge of the movement
and nature of reality ,
and find the path one must follow in life

“going-straight-to-one’s-heart”

the meaning of the complex ideogram

 DE
ethical wisdom of being able to determine with
spontaneity and effortlessness what is the
natural course of human relations and human
life.
 FLOWER

the surface-level beauty

 FRUIT

the inner and deeper level of

beauty
T N X. ü
De virtue
YIN &
YANG
EARTHLY
DARK
FEMININE
PASSIVE
HEAVENLY
BRIGHT
MASCULINE
ACTIVE
 RELATIVE
TO EACH
OTHER

4
BALANCE
UNITY
HARMONY
 IN EVERY
ASPECT OF LIFE

6
 EMBRACE
BOTH SIDES
T O TRULY
ACHIEVE
HARMONY
7
 DO NOT GO
AGAINST THE
UNIVERSE’S
NATURAL FLOW
8
 COMPLICATIONS
LEAD YOU AWAY
FROM THE DAO
9
LIVE LIFE IN A
BALANCED
AND SIMPLE
WAY
 “THE WISE PERSON
IS FLEXIBLE”

11
YIN &
YANG
 “Wei” – Action
“Wu” – Something Negative

“Wei – Wu – Wei”
Action – by - non – action
 “Daoist principle of action.”
It is only by going against the Dao that one
loses one’s peace and tranquillity.
It is by misunderstanding the nature of reality
that one suffers and thrown off balance.
“The Dao on its constancy
engages in no conscious
action, yet nothing remains
undone.”
The end of action is to imitate the
natural flow of nature by not
overdoing one’s task and finding
balance among things.
 Knowing when efforts is appropriate
and when it’s wasted.

Trying harder is not always the

solution, sometimes giving more effort
is self-defeating.
“You can not find happiness,
happiness will find.”