Lao Tzu for Everyone
Students, Scholars
& Seekers
Peter Gilboy, Ph.D.
Tao
the Way
Line 4 將欲奪之必古予之
Line 5 是胃微明柔弱勝強
Line 6 魚不脫於瀟
邦利器不可以視人
LESSON 36
Life's Subtle
Wisdom
Grabbing at something, forcing it, or trying to constrain it, are the hallmarks of the ordinary person. But these have the opposite effect from what he or she thinks. The sage understands this, and knows that things happen in their own way and on their own time.
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If you wish to
gather something to you,
first give it space.
If you wish to
weaken something,
first let it grow strong.
If you wish to
desert something,
first be its ally.
If you wish to
snatch something away,
first give it.
This is the
subtle wisdom of life--
that the soft and the weak
overcome the strong.
Just as fish do not
leave their deep waters,
so too the potent weapons
of the state should not
be displayed to the people.
. . . . . .