The sage desires no desire, does not value rare treasures, learns without learning, recovers what people have left behind.

Spokes unite in the hub of a wheel.

The men who are great live with that which is substantial, they do not stay with that which is superficial; they abide with realities, they do not remain with what is showy. The one they discard, the other they hold.

Softness triumphs over hardness, feebleness over strength. What is more malleable is always superior over that which is immoveable. This is the principle of controlling things by going along with them, of mastery through adaptation.

By following this simple path, you become extraordinary, unfathomable, a being of profound cosmic subtlety. You outlive time and space by realizing the subtle truth of the universe.

Misery is what happiness rests upon. Happiness is what misery lurks beneath.

The sage's Way is to act and not to contend.