“Water is fluid, soft & yielding but water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield ... what is soft is strong.”

“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.”

“To prepare for the mountains develop mind, body, will and spirit as strong as a sword, soft as a pillow and fluid as water.”

“What is harder than rock? What is softer than water? Yet hard rocks are hollowed out by soft water?”

“And when the sun goes down and the mood comes upon me, I'll watch the play of the colors on the water, yield to the fleetly dissolving images, and turn into pure feeling, all soft and nice.... ”

“Тhe gentle overcomes the rigid.The slow overcomes the fast.The weak overcomes the strong."…"Everyone knows that the yielding overcomes the stiff,and the soft overcomes the hard.Yet no one applies this knowledge.”