Wen Tzu - Verse 147

from Verse One Hundred Forty-Seven

The reason for the extreme subtlety of the Way cannot be taught by parents to their children, and cannot be learned by children from their parents. Therefore a way that can be articulated is not an eternal way, and names that can be designated are not constant names.

~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~

There is nothing I can teach you and nothing you can teach me. We can each learn somewhat by example, but genuinely to learn something comes from inside each of us.

I can show you how to bake a cake, but you won't really know how to do it until you bake one yourself. Your parents can tell you all about parenting, but until you have a child of your own, their instructions are nothing more than empty words with no real meaning.

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.