Лучшие подкасты про Laozi (2024)

Mankind strives, explores and conflicts. These all bring destruction, according to Laozi. Follow the ways of Dao, and all shall be well, he has consistently implored us.

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EP80 Welcome to paradise 6:11

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2+ y ago6:11

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In Laozi's dream life, we would all have a nice modest house, enough food, be peaceful, delight in simple pleasures, keep to ourselves, keep our minds free from unnecessary thoughts and concerns. Everyone is living in harmony and contentment.

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EP79 Game theory 5:45

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True resolution of conflict allows both sides to win. There's no reason for there to be a winner and a loser, as this could create further conflict down the line.

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EP78 Water power 5:50

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We know that Laozi has a love affair with water. In its manner it comes close to Dao in his thinking. The secret of water's strength is its very softness and malleability. It achieves great things through yielding, persistence and patience.

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EP77 Take from the rich and give to the poor 6:43

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Laozi believes that it's important – it's the way of Dao – to adjust the inequalities in society. The rich should use some of their wealth to help the poor. In so doing they enrich the world.

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EP76 Bend in the wind 5:19

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For hard and stiff, read impervious and intransigent. For soft and weak, read yielding and vulnerable. Life is full of movement and freshness. Trees can survive the gales if they sway in the wind.

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EP75 Watch your back 5:05

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Laozi's message – If you are a king, watch your back. If you are a subject, hold the king to account.

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EP74 Here comes the chopper to chop off your head 5:34

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Here, Laozi is saying, if you push people to the limits of their tolerance, then they no longer fear death. Your so called weapon of last resort, death, no longer works. Result: chaos.

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EP73 The net of heaven spreads far and wide 5:48

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The net of Heaven spreads far and wide. In English we sometimes say ‘the long arm of the law,’ meaning punishment is inescapable.

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EP72 Beware the lord of misrule 5:02

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Laozi implores rulers to follow the ways of the Dao. Don't get too comfortable in the hot seat, he chides ... nothing is forever. You ignore the lives and livelihoods of the people at your peril.

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EP71 Into the unknown 5:22

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True wisdom is knowing that there is so much that you do not know, so much more to learn. Anyone who claims otherwise is self-defeating or misguided, or in Laozi's words, sick.

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EP70 The sage in coarse linen 5:21

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Whilst he is revered now as a great sage, there may have been few people in his day and age who actually understood enough about him to carry on the message. Like Dao however, Laozi gave his message simply and without expectation.

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EP69 There are no winners in war 5:15

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For Laozi, war and conflict is failure. To get to that point shows that both sides have moved very far away from the principal of Dao, and so there will likely be no winners.

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EP68 Fight the good fight 5:09

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On the surface it may seem as though Laozi is giving advice to warriors, but his words are just as applicable to rulers, leaders, and those in charge generally. More importantly for a good leader, Laozi suggests, is knowing how to best use the people and resources that one has.

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EP67 Examine your motives 6:23

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The key part of this verse is Laozi's focus on Compassion, Frugality and lack of Ambition – what he describes as his three treasures.

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EP66 Lead from behind 5:41

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Laozi wants to make the analogy with a sage wishing to show leadership. Not from above or in front, but below and behind… like water weaving its way through difficult terrain, through a valley.

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EP65 The perils of knowledge 6:26

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Laozi mentioned that if you overregulated the people then they would use their ingenuity to find ways to subvert your rule. So - in the spirit of Non-doing, wouldn't it be better to govern with openness, simplicity and honesty?

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EP64 A journey of a thousand miles… 6:57

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This verse contains one of the best known sayings, if not THE best known saying of Laozi, which most people in the West know as ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’

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EP63 Fools rush in 5:37

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In this verse, Laozi is warning against complacency. He would have made a pretty good project manager or life coach in the 21st century.

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EP62 Dao – the sanctuary for all things 5:38

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Let's remind ourselves that Dao is the ultimate. It is all forgiving and values everything equally – the good and the not so good. It is a sanctuary for all.

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EP61 Win-win scenarios 5:35

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In this verse, Laozi is dipping into foreign affairs. He is playing with the concept of No-Win, Zero Sum and Win-Win scenarios. This is Game Theory – millenia before it was invented.

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EP60 Cook your fish carefully 4:52

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Just as you can't be heavy handed in cooking a small fish, so too a light touch is the best way to govern a large state. Laozi invokes Dao to make the point that its natural state is non-doing, non-action.

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EP59 Everything in moderation 5:28

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This verse is about knowing how to act and when to act, also how much to act. Lead in this way, and the people will follow.

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EP58 You can lead a horse to water, but cannot make him drink 7:02

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Our philosopher has advice for anyone who would become a sage. Be sharp, but don't cut. Be pointed but don't pierce. Be outspoken, but don't offend. Lead by example, but then let your audience decide for themselves.

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EP57 The curse of desire 6:32

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In this verse our philosopher has what seems to be advice to rulers. Keep things nicely down the middle – ‘the proper norm.’

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EP56 Nothing to shout about 5:52

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Here Laozi is saying, live a simple life, and turn your back on personal gain, personal relations and social status. Be content with your progress on the journey. No need to shout about it. Nothing to see here.

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EP55 Guard your precious Qi 6:11

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Laozi warns against squandering Qi. It's almost as though he is saying that there is a limited amount in our bodies. Use it up, and you will grow old too soon and die young.

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EP54 Search for the answer within 6:38

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Laozi is saying that you don't need to look far to understand the actions of others, family, villages, states and even the way of the universe. Start by understanding yourself. Understanding starts by observing yourself.

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EP53 Ditch the bling 5:30

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Who needs all these fancy things, when you have the most wonderous thing of all – Dao.

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EP52 There is nothing new under the Sun 6:51

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There is nothing to be gained from the outside world. Do the opposite and you will be troubled by strife for all your days. Back to the essential message. Find the answer in the small… the fragile … the near at hand.

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EP51 The tree of life 5:58

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For Laozi, everything is simply in some form of process, still part of the lifecycle. See it as a vast family tree that leads all the way back from the Ten Thousand things, right back to the One.

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EP50 Don't worry, be happy 5:38

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Laozi's advice is not dissimilar to contemporary views that sometimes you make you yourself so busy that you don’t have time to enjoy yourself, to truly enjoy existence.

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EP49 Teach by example 5:21

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It's the exact same process of setting aside your own needs and desires in favour of others. And if they do wrong then you forgive them. You turn the other cheek. You are teaching by example.

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EP48 Close the book, open the mind 5:01

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For Laozi there is danger in too much knowledge. It can fill up the mind, and trap you into certain beliefs and actions.

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EP47 Travel narrows the mind 4:54

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Don't confuse your mind with things that don't matter. Seek the tranquility of inner peace and knowledge. Hence – the farther you travel, the less you know.