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The Dao, due to its all-encompassing and formless nature, cannot be grasped through the perception of concrete forms. We learn to cultivate the Dao by emulating the sages. The sages’ treasures for realizing the Dao are compassion, frugality, and humility (‘daring not to put oneself ahead of the world’).
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Many readers misinterpret this chapter. By interpreting the text literally, they assume the Dao De Jing advocates a “policy of keeping people ignorant” to serve ruling powers and better control the populace.