Day 87 · Taoism · November 5, 2026

Let the water clear.

In Legge's 1891 translation, the parentheses mark words he supplied, so even making the water clear has had a little help getting into English. The water is going to clear by itself if you leave it alone. By breakfast, you've reopened a decision twice, say the one about the car, and the same reasons have changed places without making anything clearer. Nothing new has arrived; you've just picked it up again. Leave that decision closed until noon, and give it one look then.

Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear.

Tao Te Ching, ch. 15 (trans. James Legge)

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The pot pours once a day.

Monday arrives in the morning. One teaching, under a minute, free.

Poured. Monday morning.

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