Without going outside his door, one understands (all that takes place) under the sky; without looking out from his window, one sees the Dao of Heaven. The farther that one goes out (from himself), the less he knows.Therefore the sages got their knowledge without travelling; gave their (right) names to things without seeing them;…
When the Dao prevails in the world, they send back their swift horses to (draw) the dung-carts. When the Dao is disregarded in the world, the war-horses breed in the border lands.There is no guilt greater than being desirable to others; no calamity greater than to be discontented with one’s lot; no fault greater…
The softest thing in the world dashes against and overcomes the hardest; that which has no (substantial) existence enters where there is no crevice. I know hereby what advantage belongs to doing nothing (with a purpose).There are few in the world who attain to the teaching without words, and the advantage arising from non-action.
The Dao, in its pure state, eludes labels of existence or void, motion or stillness, opposition or alignment. Human minds, bound by dualities, craft these distinctions. Our perceived world—a construct of senses and thought—veils reality’s true face.