58 If a country is governed with tolerance,the people are comfortable and honest.If a country is governed with repression,the people are depressed and crafty. When the will to power is in charge,the higher the ideals, the lower the results.Try to make people happy,and you lay the groundwork for misery.Try to make people moral,and you…
57 If you want to be a great leader, you must learn to follow the Tao. Stop trying to control. Let go of fixed plans and concepts, and the world will govern itself. The more prohibitions you have, the less virtuous people will be. The more weapons you have, the less secure people will…
56 Those who know don’t talk.Those who talk don’t know. Close your mouth, block off your senses, blunt your sharpness, untie your knots, soften your glare, settle your dust. This is the primal identity. Be like the Tao. It can’t be approached or withdrawn from,benefited or harmed,honored or brought into disgrace.It gives itself…
55 He who is in harmony with the Tao is like a newborn child. Its bones are soft, its muscles are weak, but its grip is powerful. It doesn’t know about the union of male and female, yet its penis can stand erect, so intense is its vital power. It can scream its head…
53 The great Way is easy, yet people prefer the side paths. Be aware when things are out of balance. Stay centered within the Tao. When rich speculators prosper while farmers lose their land; when government officials spend money on weapons instead of cures; when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible while the…
52 In the beginning was the Tao.All things issue from it;all things return to it. To find the origin,trace back the manifestations.When you recognize the childrenand find the mother,you will be free of sorrow. If you close your mind in judgmentsand traffic with desires,your heart will be troubled.If you keep your mind from judgingand…
51 Every being in the universeis an expression of the Tao.It springs into existence,unconscious, perfect, free,takes on a physical body,lets circumstances complete it.That is why every beingspontaneously honors the Tao. The Tao gives birth to all beings,nourishes them, maintains them,cares for them, comforts them, protects them,takes them back to itself,creating without possessing,acting without expecting,guiding…
50 The Master gives himself up to whatever the moment brings. He knows that he is going to die, and he has nothing left to hold on to: no illusions in his mind, no resistances in his body. He doesn’t think about his actions; they flow from the core of his being. He holds…
49 The Master has no mind of her own. She works with the mind of the people. She is good to people who are good. She is also good to people who aren’t good. This is true goodness. She trusts people who are trustworthy. She also trusts people who aren’t trustworthy. This is true…
48 In the pursuit of knowledge,every day something is added. In the practice of the Tao,every day something is dropped.Less and less do you need to force things,until finally you arrive at non-action.When nothing is done,nothing is left undone. True mastery can be gainedby letting things go their own way.It can’t be gained by…
