76
A man is born gentle and weak.
At his death he is hard and stiff.
Green plants are tender and filled with sap.
At their death they are withered and dry.
Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death.
The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.
Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome.
How are we inflexible in life? We think we know what will make us happy, and we expect life to give us just this, or we expect ourselves to be able to produce it rather than being open to the beauty of what life brings to our table. We expect our culture or the people around us to provide for us in certain ways. We might want all of the answers now. We resist the importance of patience. At the core of inflexibility is expectation and desire.
77
The Tao of heaven is like the bending of a bow.
The high is lowered, and the low is raised.
If the string is too long, it is shortened;
If there is not enough, it is made longer.
The Tao of heaven is to take from those who have too much and give to those who do not have enough.
Man's way is different.
He takes from those who do not have enough and give to those who already have too much.
What man has more than enough and gives it to the world?
Only the man of Tao.
Therefore the sage works without recognition.
He achieves what has to be done without dwelling on it.
He does not try to show his knowledge.
Everything is ultimately balanced under the Tao, in the universe, in the world, in each nation, in each family, in each individual. If we do not choose to give of our abundance, the Tao will take it from us. Whatever we truly need, the Tao will provide. Therefore, we should not feel a sense of ownership or pride. All comes from the Tao, and everything ultimately is fair and balanced.
78
Under heaven nothing is more soft and yielding than water.
Yet for attacking the solid and strong, nothing is better;
It has no equal.
The weak can overcome the strong;
The supple can overcome the stiff.
Under heaven everyone knows this,
Yet no one puts it into practice.
Therefore the sage says:
He who takes upon himself the humiliation of the people is fit to rule them.
He who takes upon himself the country's disasters deserves to be king of the universe.
The truth often sounds paradoxical.
Even the leader of a nation will be soft and unyielding. He or she won't blame the people for their weaknesses, their shortcomings, their tragedies. The good leader will make these burdens his or her own. This is the spirit of the valley. By putting him or herself below the people, the good leader can lift the people and by default bring honor to him or herself.
79
After a bitter quarrel, some resentment must remain.
What can one do about it?
Therefore the sage keeps his half of the bargain
But does not exact his due.
A man of Virtue performs his part,
But a man without Virtue requires others to fulfill their obligations.
The Tao of heaven is impartial.
It stays with good men all the time.
The true sage always fulfills his or her obligations but does not keep track of the obligations of others. This is true virtue. This is the spirit of yin. The true sage does what is needed and then lets go of all expectations. So long as we are only concerned with whether or not we have fulfilled our part of the bargain, the Tao will be with us always.
80
A small country has fewer people.
Though there are machines that can work ten to a hundred times faster than man, they are not needed.
The people take death seriously and do not travel far.
Though they have boats and carriages, no one uses them.
Though they have armor and weapons, no one displays them.
Men return to the knotting of rope in place of writing.
Their food is plain and good, their clothes fine but simple, their homes secure;
They are happy in their ways.
Though they live within sight of their neighbors,
And crowing cocks and barking dogs are heard across the way,
Yet they leave each other in peace while they grow old and die.
81
Truthful words are not beautiful.
Beautiful words are not truthful.
Good men do not argue.
Those who argue are not good.
Those who know are not learned.
The learned do not know.
The sage never tries to store things up.
The more he does for others, the more he has.
The more he gives to others, the greater his abundance.
The Tao of heaven is pointed but does no harm.
The Tao of the sage is work without effort.