Its net covers the whole universe. And though its meshes are wide, it doesnt let a thing slip through. 74 If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you arent afraid of dying, there is nothing you cant achieve. Trying to control the future is like trying to take the master carpenters place. When you handle the master carpenters tools, chances are that youll cut yourself. 75 When taxes are too high, people go hungry. When the government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit. Act for the peoples benefit. Trust them; leave them alone. 76 Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail. 77 As it acts in the world, the Tao

The top is bent downward; the bottom is bent up. It adjusts excess and deficiency so that there is perfect balance. It takes from what is too much and gives to what isnt enough. Those who try to control, who use force to protect their power, go against the direction of the Tao. They take from those who dont have enough and give to those who have far too much. The Master can keep giving because there is no end to her wealth. She acts without expectation, succeeds without taking credit, and doesnt think that she is better than anyone else. 78 Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it. The soft overcomes the hard; the gentle overcomes the rigid. Everyone knows this is true, but few can put it into practice. Therefore the Master remains

Evil cannot enter his heart. Because he has given up helping, he is peoples greatest help. True words seem paradoxical. Failure is an opportunity. If you blame someone else, there is no end to the blame. Therefore the Master fulfills her own obligations and corrects her own mistakes. She does what she needs to do and demands nothing of others. 79 80 If a country is governed wisely, its inhabitants will be content. They enjoy the labor of their hands and dont waste time inventing labor-saving machines. Since they dearly love their homes, they arent interested in travel. There may be a few wagons and boats, but these dont go anywhere. There may be an arsenal of weapons, but nobody ever uses them. People enjoy their food, take pleasure in being with their families, spend weekends working in their gardens,

And even though the next country is so close that people can hear its roosters crowing and its dogs barking, they are content to die of old age without ever having gone to see it. 81 True words arent eloquent; eloquent words arent true. Wise men dont need to prove their point; men who need to prove their point arent wise. The Master has no possessions. The more he does for others, the happier he is. The more he gives to others, the wealthier he is. The Tao nourishes by not forcing. By not dominating, the Master leads. Notes CHAPTER 1 Describing the indescribable, teaching the unteachable, pointing the way to the Waywhat does Lao-tzu think he is doing here? It cant be done. No way. Hence Po Ch-i, poet and stand-up comedian, wrote, He who talks doesnt know, he who knows doesnt talk: that is what Lao-tzu told us,