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

The sage wears clothes of coarse cloth but carries jewels in his bosom; He knows himself but does not display himself; He loves himself but does not hold himself in high esteem.

Letting the mind control the vital breath is called force.

When a country is in harmony with the Tao, the factories make trucks and tractors. When a country goes counter to the Tao, warheads are stockpiled outside the cities. There is no greater illusion than fear, no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself, no greater misfortune than having an enemy. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe.

Approach your own inner life with a loving quality that accepts who you are without trying to change who you are.

What is a good man? A teacher of a bad man. What is a bad man? A good man's charge?

The world's beginning is its mother. To have found the mother is also to know the children. Although you know the children, cling to the mother. Until your last day you will not be harmed.