A man's excellence is like that of water; It benefits all things without striving; It takes to the low places shunned by men. Water is akin to Tao. . . . In all the earth nothing weaker than water, Yet in attacking the hard, nothing superior, Nothing so certain in wearing down strength: There is no way to resist it. Note then: The weak conquer the strong, The yielding outlast the aggressors.

That which offers no resistance, overcomes the hardest substances.

Free from desire, you realize the mystery.

Praise and disgrace cause fear.

They can see their neighbors. Roosters and dogs can be heard from there. Still, they will age and die without visiting one another.

The mystical techniques for achieving immortality are revealed only to those who have dissolved all ties to the gross worldly realm of duality, conflict, and dogma. As long as your shallow worldly ambitions exist, the door will not open.

The value of actions lies in their timing.