I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience

The sage Lao Tzu, father of the Tao, once spoke words that flow like water and endure like stone: “I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.” In this gentle yet powerful teaching, he lays before us not riches of gold nor weapons of conquest, but treasures of the spirit that outlast empires. For what wealth is greater than to live with simplicity, what strength surpasses the endurance of patience, and what crown is higher than the radiance of compassion? These are the pillars of a life aligned with the Tao, the eternal way.

The first treasure is simplicity. In a world filled with endless desires and restless striving, simplicity is the art of stripping away the excess to see the heart of things. To live simply is not to live without, but to live with clarity, where the soul is not burdened by greed or noise. The wise shepherd, tending his flock in quiet valleys, lives more richly than the king surrounded by jewels yet enslaved to ambition. Simplicity allows us to see beauty in what is small, to find peace in what is near, and to walk lightly upon the earth.

The second treasure is patience. It is the strength of the river that carves mountains not through force, but through steady flow. It is the resilience of the farmer who sows in spring, tends through summer, and waits for autumn’s harvest. Without patience, even wisdom is wasted, for the impatient hand ruins what time alone can perfect. In times of trial, when the storms rage and the path seems endless, it is patience that keeps the traveler moving, step by step, until the dawn returns.

The third treasure is compassion. To hold compassion is to recognize that the joy and sorrow of others are bound to our own. The great leaders of history who endured in memory — from Ashoka, the emperor who turned from conquest to peace, to Mother Teresa, who embraced the poorest of the poor — are remembered not for their power, but for their compassion. Compassion softens the hard heart, heals divisions, and builds bridges where once there were walls. Without it, strength becomes tyranny; with it, strength becomes service.

Lao Tzu, in offering these treasures, spoke from the heart of Taoist wisdom. In his time, warlords fought for territory and power, and scholars filled scrolls with words of cunning and debate. Yet he turned away from the clamor of the courts to teach the eternal way of life itself. He saw that while armies rise and fall, and palaces crumble into dust, the spirit that holds to simplicity, patience, and compassion endures forever, as enduring as the Tao that flows unseen but unbroken.

A story of old China speaks of a farmer who found his ox lost in the hills. Instead of raging in haste, he waited and searched with patience. Instead of cursing fate, he accepted the simplicity of his path, walking lightly where others would despair. When he finally found the ox, wounded and weary, he cared for it with compassion, and the ox, once wild, became loyal for life. His neighbors marveled, asking how he had achieved such fortune, and he replied: “It was no fortune, only the treasures of the way.”

From this teaching, let us draw our lesson. Do not pursue life as though it were a battlefield to conquer, but as a garden to tend. Embrace simplicity in your possessions, so your heart is not enslaved. Embrace patience in your struggles, so you may endure without breaking. Embrace compassion in your dealings, so that your strength becomes a blessing to others. These three treasures will carry you further than ambition or power ever could, for they align you with the deeper rhythm of existence.

Thus, O children of the ages, remember the words of Lao Tzu: simplicity, patience, compassion. Keep them as jewels upon your soul. Guard them not in vaults but in your actions. For they are indeed the greatest treasures, and he who lives by them walks not only in peace but in eternal harmony with the Tao.