If you would assist leaders of people by way of the Tao, you will oppose the use of armed force to overpower the world. Those who use weapons will be harmed by them. Where troops have camped only thorn bushes grow. Bad harvests follow in the wake of a great army. The skillful person strikes [...]
Whoever wishes to take over the world will not succeed. The world is a sacred vessel and nothing should be done to it. Whoever tries to tamper with it will mar it. Whoever tries to grab it will lose it. Hence, there is a time to go ahead and a tirne to stay behind. There [...]
Develop the strength of a man, but live as gently as a woman. Become a brook and receive all things under heaven. If you are such a brook then Virtue will constantly flow into you and you will become a simple child again. Know thew pure but live the life of the sullied. Become a [...]
A skillful traveler leaves no track. A skillful speaker makes no slip. A skillful reckoner needs no counting rod. A skillfully made door requires no bolts, yet it cannot be opened. A skillful binding has no cords or knots, yet it cannot be untied. Therefore, the True Person is skillful in assisting people, and abandons [...]
When solid must be the root of the light. The still must be the master of thc restless. Therefore, wise people when traveling all day do not lose sight of their baggage cart. Although there are beautiful scenes to see, they remain quietly in their own place. Should a lord of ten thousand chariots appear [...]
Something formless yet complete, existing before heaven and earth. Silent and limitless, it stands alone and does not change. Reaching everywhere, it does not tire. Perhaps it is the Mother of all things under heaven. I do not know its name so I call it “Tao.” When I have to describe it I call it [...]
