The 800 Values for New Era Humanity（201-300）

The world is not at fault; if fault exists, it lies within oneself.
Right and wrong are discerned by gods; merit and fault are judged by the Dao.
What you think of comes to you if your heart is sincere;
what you fear comes if your mind is unsettled.
Follow nature—harbor no improper desires.
Where there is affirmation, there is also negation—do not seek perfection.
From rivers and oceans, take only a single ladle.
The difficult things of the world must be done through the easy;
the great things of the world must be done through the small.
Sit quietly and reflect on your own faults;
in conversation, do not speak of others’ wrongs.
Better to be upright yet lacking than crooked with abundance.
A slight deviation at the beginning leads to a vast difference at the end.
Humans cannot overcome Heaven—only respond to it;
cannot reject it—only follow it.
In nature all things are born as they are.
If you are grass, be grass with joy; do not long to be a peony.
Clinging to old ways cannot be sustained and only brings suffering.
Better open the mind and embrace the new.
A whisper among people sounds like thunder in Heaven;
a guilty heart in the dark is seen clearly by the eyes of gods.
Giving a person a fish is not as good as teaching them to fish;
relief through goods is not as good as relief through work.
Only unconventional thinking can open a bright path for humanity,
bringing peace to the world and happiness to the people.
Who is freer—a king or a beggar?
The one who truly understands himself.
A person’s value is proportional to the number of beings they serve;
the more they serve, the greater their value.
When the root is upright, even what appears crooked is upright;
when the root is crooked, even what appears upright is crooked.
At the highest level, writing shows no clever tricks;
at the highest level, character is simply natural.
Before the founder, follow the person rather than the rule;
before later generations of leaders, follow the rule rather than the person.
Do not try to change others—that only brings suffering.
If you cannot endure it, change yourself.
Excessive attachment brings great cost; great hoarding brings heavy loss.
Without noble thinking, humans are no different from animals.
If your surroundings are too oppressive, leave.
Escape is often the best response to a hostile environment.
Ask yourself: are you striving merely to survive, or striving to live?
If it is only for survival, it is hardly worthwhile.
Beware lest the devil enter your heart.
Even an outstanding individual may be eliminated if they are not in harmony with the whole.
The exceptional must remain vigilant.
Do not place your hopes in people; people change.
“Trust yourself” is the view of the ignorant.
Secret rumors rarely bring good news; mysterious messages are rarely reliable.
Beware: on the soil of freedom, weeds grow wildly.
Remember—do not cross the proper bounds.
Habit, knowledge, and history are the three great obstacles to innovation.
Rigid thinking is the greatest obstacle to the progress of human civilization.
Beware of being crushed by reality.
When a person is joyful, the spirit is at its best and the inner world most beautiful.
Only by awakening truth, kindness, beauty, love, faith, and sincerity in the human heart can a warm and harmonious world be created.
The broadest ocean receives the most rivers;
the most open mind gives birth to the greatest ideas.
Look more at others’ strengths and less at their shortcomings;
reflect more on your own faults and less on your own merits.
Reality reflects consciousness.
Instead of complaining about reality, transform yourself.
As one’s consciousness is, so one’s life becomes;
as one’s life becomes, so one’s reality unfolds.
All human conflicts arise from the struggle for energy.
Even quarrels between spouses are essentially struggles for energy.
The more love one releases, the more abundant one’s energy becomes;
the more one withholds it, the poorer one’s energy becomes.
The faster something grows, the shorter its life.
Do not seek quick success or shortcuts.
Details reveal character.
To know a person, watch not only what they say, but what they do.
The first impression is often the most truthful;
if the first feeling is bad, it rarely improves later.
What seems real may not be real;
what seems unreal may be the real.
The more managers a group has, the more complicated its affairs become,
and the greater the pressure on those on the front line.
The more one possesses, the more worries one carries;
what is excessive can become fatal.
Some books, people, and environments can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary;
some thoughts and words can quickly elevate a person’s realm.
A single opportunity, encounter, or conversation can completely change the course of a LIFE.
Knowledge is what one gains without personal reflection and insight;
wisdom is the ability to solve problems.
Everything has its limit.
Once the limit is exceeded, it transforms into something else.
Therefore one must hold to the proper degree.
When mountains have spirit, vegetation flourishes;
when waters have spirit, fish abound;
when Heaven has spirit, wind and rain come in season;
when Earth has spirit, all things prosper;
when humans have spirit, their charm becomes boundless.
Without sound procedures and systems, even the best intentions will come to nothing.
Therefore building proper systems is essential; moral preaching alone is not enough.
Stay away from idle people who have nothing to do.
They bring gossip rather than constructive ideas.
Beauty lies in symmetry and proportion;
beauty also lies in simplicity and purity.
Every craft has depths greater than the sea;
therefore one should honor the spirit of craftsmanship.
The more one is praised, the more one must remain clear-headed and humble;
the higher one rises, the more one should return to humility and caution.
Otherwise misfortune will not be far away.
Only when the lowest people live with dignity can a nation possess dignity.
Helping others is helping oneself;
harming others is harming oneself;
deceiving others is deceiving oneself.
Those who do not understand this are spiritually blind.
The energy of food depends on the state of mind of the eater;
gratitude is the key to receiving its fullest nourishment.
If you wish to walk the noble path, remain forever humble.
The Dao may appear dim;
advancing along the Dao may seem like retreating.
Long focus on one thing allows one to see what others cannot see.
The same goal pursued through different means leads to different results.
The more you give, the more you gain; what is truly given will return in time.
What isn’t worth doing should never be done.
Hold the Values of Lifechanyuan above personal affection, and you will not be deceived by emotion.
Fate brings people together, and fate leads them apart—do not suffer over its ebb and flow.
Say yes when it is yes; say no when it is no. Never say yes when it is no, nor say no when it is yes.
Honesty between people comes at the lowest cost.
A plain person, a quiet life; a peaceful heart, a gentle pace. Everything begins with the ordinary—truth is found in the plain and simple.
No matter the reason or method, to damage, seize, steal, swindle, or misappropriate another’s property is a crime.
Labor and creation are the wellspring of joy; true happiness lies in the selfless work of creation.
In everything, follow the principle of least resistance.
Those who remain pure are not trampled upon. The cleaner a place is, the less people litter; the dirtier it is, the more they do.
As long as you cling to attachments and biases, you remain like rotten wood that cannot be shaped. The greatest barriers are your own rigid views, and suffering and fear arise from these fixed perceptions.
Without passion and enthusiasm, one cannot taste the joys of life.
Those who excel in every detail will ultimately receive rich rewards, while those who are lazy and careless with details will never rise above the ordinary.
Those who understand how to play use their awareness to create more enjoyable games, while those who do not are led astray by illusions.
Those who do not know how to play are merely eating machines, working tools, moving objects, or walking corpses.
Everything is but a dream, and only our feelings are real.
Community life is the best environment for practicing the Dao.
True feelings must be exchanged for true feelings; never treat them like dirt.
If we do not look back, we will not “hear” the clamor of the mundane world.
Playful affectionate interaction benefits body and mind, fosters harmony, and enhances the quality of LIFE.
Do not forsake the noble path merely to satisfy fleeting desires.
Excessive punishment is detrimental to social harmony and stability.
Open your heart, and joy will enter.
A life that does not serve the Greatest Creator, nature, or other lives holds little value.
Those who spread gossip are themselves entangled in it; those who relish gossip are prone to mischief.
If you are misunderstood, the fault lies with you.
Those who pry into and spread others’ private matters are far from kind.
Reduce idle tasks, empty words, and wasted motion—set your gems into the crown where they belong.
Dwelling on the past is nothing short of a slow suicide.
Passivity conceals the risk of being eliminated.
The mortal world is an endless web, like layer after layer in the Silk Cave; if you do not strive to escape, you will end up as a spider spirit yourself.
Those who evoke pity inevitably harbor some detestable qualities.
For a man, becoming the object of others’ pity is a disgrace.
Do not stop until the goal is reached.
To live as a human is to give your all. Life is a dream; all is empty and fleeting—experience it fully, without regret.
Sinking into decadence is like tearing down your own fortress—it is a slow invitation to death.
Between two points, the straight path is often the longest, and the curved path the shortest. Do not fear detours or twists; they may be the shortest way forward.
From time to time, pause and ask yourself: “Am I on the wrong path?”