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The three jewels or the three treasures as they are also called are the basic virtues of Taoism. They first appeared in chapter 67 of the Tai Te Ching and are considered Laozi’s most beautiful teachings.

Every one says my Tao is greatly like folly. Just because it is great, it looks like folly. Great ways do not look like the ordinary anyhow. If it did not look like folly, it could have turned small and petty long ago! Then it would have been small. As for things that do not look foolish to common men, there can be no question about their smallness.

Ihave three treasures. Guard and keep them:
The first is a deep, deep concern; call it mystic pity, if you like.
The second is never too much, which may mean frugality.
And the third is refusal to be ahead, foremost or first, for I hardly dare to be ahead. – Arthur Waley, Ling Yutang & Wing tsit Chan

The first treasure is ci which means compassion, tenderness, love, mercy, benevolence and is also used in Chinese to mean mother.

The second treasure is called jian which literally means frugality, restraint, moderation, economy. It is believed that this practice is connected and stands for the fact that nature does not waste anything. It means simple desires when applied to life.

The third treasure is bugan wei tianxia xian which means to not be the first or ahead in the world. This is interpreted as being the Taoist way of avoiding premature death. Being ahead of the world means making oneself susceptible to the world’s destructive forces. This fear of death arises out of a love for life and is at the centre of Taoist wisdom.

Thus these three treasures are the central tenets of Taoism and are followed closely by quite a number of people.