**TAO TEI KING** (Tao Te Ching)
The principle is simple, humble, kind, luminous, formless, without attributes, unique, unchanging, omnipresent, undefined, immutable, and empty. It acts completely selflessly. If we imitate it, all things succeed for us. The knowledge humans have of the principle depends on their state of mind. When the mind is free from passions, it knows its mysterious essence; when it is passionate, it only perceives its effects (the world of phenomena). Everyone understands beauty, and through it, the notion of ugliness; goodness, and through it, the notion of evil. Thus, being and non-being, difficult and easy, high and low, long and short, hot and cold, dark and light, heavy and light are correlative notions, one revealing the other.
Disregarding skill would result in no one pushing themselves anymore. Valuing rare objects would cause theft to cease. The sage's politics involve emptying people’s minds and filling their bellies. Everything is resolved through the practice of non-action. No extreme can endure for long. Every peak is inevitably followed by decline. Excess calls for deficiency. Renounce all knowledge, and you will be free of worries. What is the difference between good and evil, beautiful and ugly? Being and non-being? All of this hampers the mind's freedom, which must remain unbound to unite with the Principle.
The sage is simple and natural, with few personal interests and desires. They adhere to unity. They serve without acting, teach without speaking; they allow beings to grow without interference, live without claiming them, act without exploiting them. They do not claim the outcomes of their actions, and thus, their outcomes endure. The sage gives, for the more they give, the more they have. The more they act for others, the more they can. They imitate heaven, benefiting all without opposing anyone. By clinging to nothing and letting all flow, nothing escapes their grasp.
Seeking purity and peace by withdrawing from the world is an exaggeration. These can be achieved amidst the world's turmoil through inner calm, as long as one does not grieve over the world’s impurities and follows the universal movement without desiring its cessation. Being aware of one's masculinity while remaining in the feminine’s lower state shows the preservation of primal virtue within. Knowing oneself as enlightened yet appearing ignorant demonstrates unity with the Principle. Knowing oneself worthy of glory yet staying in obscurity proves the retention of original selflessness and natural simplicity.
It is from the intangible, the void, that efficacy and results arise. One who has attained maximum emptiness is firmly rooted in the restfulness of non-being. Countless beings emerge from non-being, and I see them return, then be reborn again, and die anew. This is the alternation of life and death. Knowing others is wisdom; knowing oneself is superior wisdom. Enforcing one's will on others is strength; self-mastery is superior strength. Being content with one's destiny is true wealth; self-discipline is true character. Remaining in one’s place ensures longevity. After death, continuing to exist is true immortality, a result of conforming to nature and destiny. Conforming to the Principle means diminishing oneself daily to return to primal simplicity.
The one who speaks does not know the Principle. The one who knows the Principle does not speak. They close their mouth, control their breath, blunt their activity, release all complications; temper their light, and blend with the common. They are indifferent to gain and loss, exaltation and humiliation. In being thus, nothing in the world surpasses them. Knowing everything and believing one knows nothing—that is true wisdom. Knowing nothing and believing one knows everything—that is the common folly of mankind. The sage lets all beings follow their diverse natures: the agile and slow, the apathetic and ardent, the strong and weak, the persistent and unstable. They simply curb excesses harmful to the collective, such as power, wealth, and ambition, remembering the unnamed nature—primal simplicity.
In this primal state, without desires, all is at peace; the state governs itself. When governance is simple, the people abound in virtue. When governance is political, the people lack virtue. To cooperate with heaven in governing humanity, moderation is essential. This moderation ensures perfect efficacy, succeeding in all, even in ruling an empire. If a great state humbles itself like a basin where waters converge, everyone will come to it. It will be like the universal feminine. In its apparent passivity and inferiority, the feminine is superior to the masculine. By humbling itself, the great state wins over smaller states, which, humbling themselves, seek its protection. But great states must deign to lower themselves to the small.
In ancient times, those who conformed to the Principle did not seek to make the people intelligent but aimed to keep them simple. When people are hard to govern, it is because they know too much. Those who seek a nation's good through spreading knowledge are mistaken and ruin the country. Keeping the people in ignorance is the salvation of the country. This is the formula of mysterious action—deep, far-reaching. It is not popular, but through it, all comes peacefully to good. Everywhere and always, the soft overcomes the hard.
Non-being penetrates even where there is no crack. Thus, I conclude the efficacy of non-action. In this world, nothing is softer or weaker than water; yet no being, however strong, withstands its action for long. Ocean waves overcome the hardest cliffs; yet no one can live without water. Likewise, a newborn is soft and weak. When one becomes strong, solid, rigid, death takes hold. Strength and power signify death; weakness and flexibility signify life. Is it not clear enough that weakness surpasses strength and flexibility outdoes rigidity?
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