The Tao of Nodeshell Rescue
Now as I've heard it, this quote is frequently attributed by writers to
Lao Tzu's
Tao Te Ching, and often quoted as
"Learn to yield and be soft if you want to survive. Learn to bow and you will stand in your full height. To bend like a reed in the wind - that is the real strength," yet
after piling through a dozen different
translations of the work, including the one began in
E2, I still can't find it which leads me to suspect it may be a
self-propogating misquote.
1 The closest thing apparent is :
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused. (Tao Te Ching, XXII)
----- OR------
A man is born gentle and weak.
At his death he is hard and stiff.
Green plants are tender and filled with sap.
At their death they are withered and dry.
Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death.
The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.
Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome.(Tao Te Ching, LXXVI)
(
...nodeshell rescue concluded
...)
1 . Of course in
David Lynch's film adaption of
Frank Herbert's
Dune, Paul Aetrides whispers this (which is weird, since Dune seems more infused with
Islam
than
Taoism). Anyway, this is apparently where my younger brother heard it. I first heard him whisper it as he tossed me over his shoulder onto a pool table. I'd
apparently messed up one of his shots. What that has do to with
The Way, I'm not sure.
Mercy brings victory in battle and strength in defense. It is the means by
which heaven saves and guards.