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Translation by Nina


	Dao De Jing Chapter 76 While a person is alive, he is soft and yielding; When dead, in the end they become stretched out stiff and rigid. All living things including trees and plants are flexible and fragile while alive; When dead, they become dry, withered and rotten. Therefore it is said that those who are stiff and rigid are companions of death; while those who are soft, yeilding, flexible and fragile are companions of life. A rigid weapon thus will be defeated; A rigid tree thus will break. What is rigidly large dwells below; What is soft, yeilding, flexible and fragile dwells above. Commentary: 76 ~ Being able to bend There are so many ways in life we can become rigid and unyielding. In our beliefs; with our demands; making judgments on others; deciding "It's our way or the highway." Being so rigid can only cause stress - to ourselves and others. The tension gets so severe that something eventually has to snap. Most often we find ourselves either damaged, sick or isolated. Movement and flexibility are necessary for life. Blood is constantly surging through your veins; air is constantly moving through your lungs; thoughts can easily evaporate in your mind. Any blockages can cause stagnancy and death. If you want to find the free-flowing ecstasy of the dance, your feet can't be rigidly stuck to one spot. If you want to experience the fullness of the treasures of love and happiness, your mind and heart can't be hard as stone. If you set up restrictions as to what you'll accept in life, there will always be something that will bring you down. Being flexible doesn't mean allowing yourself to be prey to whatever predator might come along. However, it might allow you to more easily flow around a precarious situation. What dwells below is in the immediate path of destruction. What dwells above has the ability to not be as severely affected by the storms. \| BY: Nina \| Guodian Laozi \| DDJ Concordance \| Comparisons \| From the DIO Forum \| BY: Bao Pu \| By: Joshua \| Who was Laozi \| \| Return Home \| Laozi's Dao De Jing \| Your Dao De Jing \| Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) \| Links \| Meditation \| Dao (Tao) is Open Forum \| Book List \| Other Stuff \|