"Being over bold and confident is deadly.
The wise use of caution will keep you alive.
One is the way to death,
and the other is the way to preserve your life.
Who can understand the workings of Heaven?
The Tao of the universe
does not compete, yet wins;
does not speak, yet responds;
does not command, yet is obeyed;
and does act, but is good at directing.
The nets of Heaven are wide,
but nothing escapes its grasp."
The wise use of caution will keep you alive.
One is the way to death,
and the other is the way to preserve your life.
Who can understand the workings of Heaven?
The Tao of the universe
does not compete, yet wins;
does not speak, yet responds;
does not command, yet is obeyed;
and does act, but is good at directing.
The nets of Heaven are wide,
but nothing escapes its grasp."
TAO TE CHING , Chapter: 73 , Translator: J. H. McDonald
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| (Do you see the 2 Go players?) |
3 comments:
Amon,
Thanks for the insightful and thought-provoking post.
It's been years since I read the Dao De Jing, but elements of it stood out to me as being relevant to Go too.
I wonder though whether it's Lao Zi's intention, our obsession or Go's strange propensity to reflect basic principles of life that explains this?
Two things in particular stand out in my memory:
1. A bucket must be empty before it can be full.
2. Knowing other is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.
The first I am constantly reminded of in journey of learning, unlearning and relearning that is Go. (And in many other ways when thinking about the most important place to play)
The second, I suppose, is fairly commonly repeated by martial artists as well as Go players. Who is the greater opponent? Your partner or yourself?
Keep up the good work!
Hey David, thanks to you for your nice comment. I would guess that it was not Lao Zi`s intention ... i think it is indeed, as you say,"Go's strange propensity to reflect basic principles of life", and i wonder wich aspect of the game is most responsible for that ... the simplicity of the basic structure or the complexity of the game as it progresses ... for me, as i was a bad chess player before i became a bad Go player :-) ...
the most interesting point, when compared to chess is, that you have different "small" battles and they all come together and are affecting each other ... permanent shifting from micro- to macrocosm.
Next time i play a game i will think of "A bucket must be empty before it can be full."
Greetings ...
Go(od)! I could hear one-handed applause here...
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