Tao Te Ching

Chapter 65
[Original text]

It is safe and easy to hold, and it is easy to seek when it is not a sign; it is fragile and easy to pan [1], and it is slightly easy to disperse [2].Do it for the unexisted, and rule it for the unchaos.

The tree that embraces is born at the end of the hair [3]; the nine-story platform starts from the pile of soil [4]; the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

(Those who do will lose, and those who persist will lose. It is because the sage does not do anything, so there is no defeat; there is no persistence, so there is no loss. [5])

The people's engagement is often defeated at a few percent [6].Be as cautious as the beginning, and nothing will fail.

(It is because the sage does not want what he wants, and does not value hard-to-find goods; if he does not learn, he will repeat [7] the mistakes of everyone. To supplement the nature of all things, he dare not do it. [8])

【Note】

[1] Pan: Melt, get rid of.

[2] Scatter: resolve.

[3] Momo: tiny sprouts.

[4] Tired soil: accumulated soil.

[5] Sentence "Whoever does it loses": The sentence in brackets does not fit the context. It is suspected that its location is wrong and should be moved to Chapter 29.

[6] A few percent: close to success.

[7] Complex: to reverse, extended to correct.

[8] Sentence "It is because the sage desires not to desire": These sentences in brackets are inconsistent with the above, and are repeated with the previous chapters, so they should be deleted.

【Analysis】

When the situation is stable, it is easy to grasp the opportunity; when there is no sign, it is easy to make a comprehensive plan; when the power of things is weak, it is easier to destroy; when the problem is still in a subtle stage, it is easier to solve.Contradictions are best dealt with before they arise, and chaos before they arise.

The big tree that hugs each other grows from tiny sprouts; the multi-storey towers are also built up of soil little by little; the journey of thousands of miles is also made step by step.

(Those who act arbitrarily will fail, and those who insist will fail. Therefore, if a sage does nothing, he will not fail; if he is not persistent, he will not be disappointed.)
When people do things, they often fail when they are about to succeed.If you are as cautious from beginning to end as you were at the beginning, you will not fail so easily.

(Thus, what the sages want is to have no desires. They will not value those rare treasures too much, but want to maintain that state of ignorance, so as to correct the mistakes made by the world. This will help all things return to nature, and No more interfering.)
【Explanation by Famous Artists】

Mr. He Shang:
Those who govern the body, govern the country and maintain peace are easy to hold.When there is no visible sign of lust and disaster, it is easy to find a way to stop it.Disasters and chaos have not moved in the court, lust has not been seen in sex, and it is easy to break if it is fragile.Its matter is not obvious, and it is small and easy to disperse.If you want to do something, you should stop it before it has sprouted.To govern the body and govern the country, it is necessary to close its doors when there is no chaos.

From childhood to adulthood.From Belgian.From near to far.

(Those who do things for things are abandoned for nature; those who are active for righteousness are abandoned for benevolence; those who are active for sex are abandoned for spirit. If you hold on to profit and trouble, you will hold on to the whole body. If you can't persist, you can give up and give back. Saints are not for Chinese , not for profit, not for thieves, so there is no corruption. A sage has virtue to teach the foolish, has wealth to help the poor, and has nothing to hide, so he has nothing to lose to others.)
From, for also.The people's work is often based on merits and virtues, but they are greedy for positions and good names, and they are full of extravagance and wealth and lose.The end should be the same as the beginning, and there should be no slack.

(A sage desires what others do not want. A sage desires to show off, but a sage desires light; a man desires ornamentation, but a sage desires simplicity; a man desires color, but a sage desires virtue. A sage does not dazzle for clothes, and does not despise stones for precious jade. Sages learn from others Cannot learn. People learn to be wise and deceitful, sages learn to be natural; people learn to govern the world, sages learn to govern themselves, and keep the truth. Everyone learns against them. Those who are anti-truth want to assist the natural nature of all things. The sage moves according to the rules, and dare not make anything, fearing that it will be far from the original.)
(End of this chapter)