My words have an origin. My deeds have a sovereign. Truly, because people do not understand this, they do not understand me.
The highest tone is hard to hear.
Thirty spokes are joined in the wheel’s hub. The hole in the middle makes it useful.
Mold clay into a bowl. The empty space makes it useful.
Cut out doors and windows for the house. The holes make it useful.
Cautious, like crossing a river in the winter.
Wary, as if surrounded by strangers.
Although he travels all day, the sage never loses sight of his luggage carts.
Seal the openings, shut the doors, and until your last day you will not be exhausted. Widen the openings, interfere, and until your last day you will not be safe.
Pursue without interfering.
Taking things lightly must lead to big difficulties.
The sage’s Way is to act and not to contend.
The small is easy to scatter.
A tree as wide as a man’s embrace grows from a tiny shoot.
A climb of eight hundred feet starts where the foot stands.
Who can wait in stillness while the mud settles?
Filling all the way to the brim is not as good as halting in time.
Pounding an edge to sharpness will not make it last.
Racing through the field and hunting make the mind wild.
When leading people and serving Heaven, nothing exceeds moderation.