Pretty words are not true

Wise men do not talk about the Unspeakable

One who talks about the Unspeakable is not wise

Wise men are not learned

And learned ones aren’t wise

A wise man doesn’t gather possessions

He gives what he has

And therefore he is worthy of living

He shares his wisdom with others

His wisdom is never-ending

Living according to nature never harms

The life of a wise man is unselfish and peaceful

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Chapter Eighty-One

So that there will be no need for leaders and superiors

Then people won’t fear death any longer

And won’t try to escape death

May it be that people don’t feel the need anymore,

To move themselves about in vehicles

And that they will have nothing to defend anymore

May humankind abandon their instruments and machines,

And enjoy the seeds of the fruit-bearing plants

Those were meant as our food

May they feel shamelessly proud of their natural beauty again

May they stop locking themselves away in cities and houses,

And start enjoying creation

And if some fools still lock themselves away in nations,

Civilizations, cities and houses

May the wise men keep themselves far from this,

And live happily ever after

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Chapter Eighty

Then it’s an armed peace

How can it be right?

One who is wise only takes a look at his own share in the conflict

And never blames his opponent

So one who is fair only faces his own part

While one who is not daring enough to look at oneself, blames the other

The road to self-knowledge knows no partiality

But it does benefit the sincere

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Chapter Seventy-Nine

Nothing is stronger in breaking what is hard and strong

Nothing can exceed it in doing this

Weak overcomes strong

Soft overcomes hard

Nobody knows this

And no one practices it

Therefore the sage says:

One who is the least in the world, will be the greatest in life

One who carries the sorrow of the world, is the greatest among mankind

It sounds odd, but it’s true

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Chapter Seventy-Eight

The low bow gets pushed up high

And the high tendon pulled downwards

Where there is too much, it takes away

Where there is not enough, it fills

Nature strives for harmony all the time

Decreases where there is too much

And increases where there is too little

But how opposite are the people in their behaviour

The poor get poorer while the rich tend to get richer

But one who is wise realizes that possession is burglary to community

Therefore he disposes himself of that which belongs to the community

So only one who is wise is detached

He does what others ask him to, but nothing for himself

Without taking credit for it

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Chapter Seventy-Seven

When it dies it’s stiff and strong

Everything that’s alive (take a look at grass and trees for example)

Is supple and flexible

And when they die they are shriveled and parched

Therefore hardness and inflexibility are companions of death

And suppleness and softness, companions of life

That’s why a rigid troublemaker will never win

And an inflexible tree is doomed to death

Inflexibility and power won’t get you very far

Suppleness and softness get you everywhere

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Chapter Seventy-Six