Do not strive for the shine of jade, but clatter like stone.
They can see their neighbors. Roosters and dogs can be heard from there. Still, they will age and die without visiting one another.
Supreme good is like water. Water greatly benefits all things, without conflict. It flows through places that people loathe. Thereby it is close to the Way.
Other people are joyous, like on the feast of the ox, like on the way up to the terrace in the spring. I alone am inert, giving no sign, like a newborn baby who has not learned to smile.
I am wearied, as if I lacked a home to go to.
Other people have more than they need, I alone seem wanting.
Only I am clumsy, like drifting on the waves of the sea, without direction.
The highest benevolence acts without purpose.
The sage honors his part of the settlement, but does not exact his due from others.
Lessen selfishness and restrain desires.
Without desire there is stillness, and the world settles by itself.
The sage desires no desire, does not value rare treasures, learns without learning, recovers what people have left behind.
Keeping plenty of gold and jade in the palace makes no one able to defend it.
Displaying riches and titles with pride brings about one’s downfall.
Searching for precious goods leads astray.
Abandon cleverness, discard profit, and thieves and robbers will disappear.
Gain or loss, what is worse?
Greed is costly. Assembled fortunes are lost.
When the palace is magnificent, the fields are filled with weeds, and the granaries are empty.
Some have lavish garments, carry sharp swords, and feast on food and drink. They possess more than they can spend. This is called the vanity of robbers. It is certainly not the Way.