Tao Te Ching

Chapter 77
[Original text]

People are weak in life[1] and strong in death[2]; plants and trees are soft and brittle in life but withered in death.Therefore, the strong will die, and the weak will live.

Therefore, if the army is strong, it will be invincible, and if the wood is strong, it will be together.The strong place goes down, the weak place goes up.

【Note】

[1] Weakness: Describes a person who is alive and has a soft body.

[2] Strong: Describes a person who dies and whose body is stiff.

【Analysis】

When people are alive, their bodies are soft, but after death they are stiff; plants and trees are very weak when they grow, but they become dry after death.Therefore, strong things belong to the category of death, and weak things belong to the category of life.

Therefore, an army that is too strong will perish, and a tree that grows too tall will be under great pressure.The strong side is often at a disadvantage, while the weak side often has an unobvious advantage.

Strongness tends toward death, and weakness toward life.This dialectical thought comes from Lao Tzu's observation and perception of nature and society.Weakness means having initiative and flexibility. When you know that you are invincible, you give in to protect yourself; but if you are strong, you will not retreat, and if you do not retreat, you will be easily damaged, and even die in severe cases.Returning to being a human being: strive to be strong in everything, never bow your head, and are often easily hurt; be humble and forbearing in everything, seemingly weak and humble, but in fact conform to the concept of "Tao", and it is also the reason for long-term survival.

【Explanation by Famous Artists】

Mr. He Shang:
Life contains kindness and spirit, so it is weak.When a person dies and his breath is exhausted, his spirit dies, so he is strong.Harmonious storage also.Go in peace.Looking at the above two things, we know that the strong will die, and the weak will live.

A strong soldier fights lightly and enjoys killing, poisonous and resentful, and the weak become one strong, so they are invincible.If the tree is strong, its branches and leaves will grow symbiotically on it.Prosperity and meritorious deeds, place big trees on the bottom, and small things on the top.The way of heaven restrains the strong and helps the weak, it is a natural effect.

(End of this chapter)