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March 25, 2009

A Story About Mangoes

Two men went into a garden. The worldly-wise man no sooner entered the gate than he began to count the number of the mango-trees, how many mangoes each tree bore, and what might be the approximate price of the whole orchard. The other went to the owner, made his acquaintance, and quietly going under a mango-tree began to pluck the fruit and eat it with the owner's consent. Now who is the wiser of the two?

Eat mangoes, it will satisfy your hunger. What is the good of counting the leaves and making vain calculations? The vain man of intellect is uselessly busy in finding out the 'why and wherefore' of the Tao, while the humble man of wisdom makes acquaintance with the Tao and enjoys serenity in this world.
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New to Taoism? Taoism Founded by Lao-Tzu (604-531 BCE) and recorded in the ‘Tao Te Ching’, Taoism is a collection of teachings for living in harmony with nature, other people and within yourself. The Tao (simply translated, ‘The way’ or ‘path’) is considered to be a transcendent force and the source of all creation.