Taoist saw the Power of Heaven as both masculine and feminine, as symbolised by the Taoist T'ai Chi - the circle divided by a curved line into light and dark, or male and female, halves. Heavenly Power at work in the natural world, however - what Lao-Tse called "The Mother of Ten Thousand Things" - has always been seen by Taoists as mostly feminine in its actions. It is gentle like flowing water. It is humble and generous, like a fertile valley, feeding all who come to it. It is hidden, subtle, and mysterious, like a landscape glimpsed through mist. It takes no sides, grants no authority. It cannot be influenced or appeased by sacrifices and rituals. In dispensing justice, as in all things, it operates with a light touch, an invisible hand. As Lao-tse put it, "Heaven's net has wide meshes, but nothing slips through." Shying away from displays of arrogance and egotism, it communicates its deepest secrets not to high government officials, pompous scholars, or wealthy landowners, but to penniless monks, little children, animals and "fools". If it can be said to be biased in any way, it is in favour of the humble, the weak, the small."

The Te of Piglet, Benjamin Hoff