This is a classic store of Chinese, Daoist wisdom. The tenets come down to three words: “Stop being rigid.” Essentially, give way to whatever emerges, and stop trying so hard to do anything. Only then will you have peace of mind.

Psychological rigidity is the one thing that basically every therapy tries to combat, and you can see so much of the origin of modern practices here. It’s something I need to really listen to and integrate into my life.

Edit, 13 December 2024: I completed the Ursula Le Guin version, and it’s excellent. I don’t agree with all of her commentary throughout the text, but I find it much more readable and contemporary to our day than the version I read in June.