The Tao does nothing And so nothing is left undone In understanding this The world will flourish In harmony with nature Nature does not...

What is shrunken was first stretched out What is weak was first strong What is dropped was first raised up What is withdrawn was first...

If you offer music and food Strangers will keep you company If you offer the Tao All peoples will keep you safe, in health, in peace The...

The Tao flows in and subsides Creating and destroying Having created everything It calls none of it its own It feeds and clothes them all...

One is clever when one understands others One is enlightened when one understands oneself He who conquers others is powerful He who...

The Tao has no shape Thus none can control it If a ruler could control the Tao All things would follow in harmony with his desire Sweet...

Armies are tools of violence They cause men to hate and to fear The sage will not join them His purpose is creation Their purpose is...

Powerful men are advised not to use violence For violence has a habit of turning on itself Thorns and weeds grow where armies tread Lean...

The perfect traveler leaves no trail The perfect speaker leaves no questions unanswered The perfect accountant leaves no work incomplete...

There is something beneath everything There is something above all It is silent, depthless It is by itself, alone It is the mother of all...