The concepts, in the words
the sources use

Short pieces on the ideas people look up — wu wei, the dichotomy of control, what the Tao Te Ching means by water. Every quotation on these pages is pulled from the chapter it comes from, with the translator and the year named, and links back to the full text.

Nothing here is paraphrased from memory. The passages are the passages.

• What does wu wei mean?

  What Does Wu Wei Mean? Non-Action in the Tao Te Ching

  Wu wei is usually translated as non-action, which makes it sound like idleness. Read in the Tao Te Ching itself, it describes something narrower: action with the self-regard taken out.

  10 passages · Tao Te Ching, The Encheiridion

• What is the Stoic dichotomy of control?

  The Stoic Dichotomy of Control, in Epictetus's Own Words

  The most quoted idea in Stoicism is the first thing Epictetus says. His list is shorter and harder than the paraphrase that replaced it.

  6 passages · The Encheiridion, Meditations

• What does water symbolise in Taoism?

  Water in the Tao Te Ching: What the Image Actually Argues

  Water is the most quoted image in the Tao Te Ching and the most flattened. The book uses it three times, and the three passages make different arguments.

  10 passages · Tao Te Ching

• What is the difference between Stoicism and Taoism?

  Stoicism and Taoism: The Difference, Read Side by Side

  Both traditions tell you to stop fighting what you cannot change. They disagree about what to do with the effort that frees up.

  7 passages · The Encheiridion, Tao Te Ching, Meditations, Zhuangzi

• What is Te in the Tao Te Ching?

  What Is Te in the Tao Te Ching? The Word Legge Refused to Call Virtue

  Te is usually translated as virtue or power. James Legge translated it as the attributes of the Tao, and chapter 38 shows why that choice changes the argument.

  4 passages · Tao Te Ching

• What does Zhuangzi's useless tree mean?

  Zhuangzi's Useless Tree: The Story Is an Argument, Not a Parable

  The useless tree is usually retold as a standalone fable about hidden worth. In Zhuangzi it is the last move in an argument, and the thing being called useless is Zhuangzi's own philosophy.

  6 passages · Zhuangzi

• What does the uncarved block mean in Taoism?

  The Uncarved Block in Taoism: What Legge Actually Calls It

  The uncarved block is usually explained as purity or potential. James Legge calls it the unwrought material, and the line that follows makes it an argument about the cost of being useful.

  5 passages · Tao Te Ching