He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. He that is empty shall be filled. He that is worn out shall be renewed. He who has little shall succeed. He who has much shall go astray.

What Heaven detests, who knows why? Even the sage considers it difficult.

Things exalted then decay. This is going against the Way. What goes against the Way meets an early end.

Do not imagine that an integral being has the ambition of enlightening the unaware or raising worldly people to the divine realm. To her, there is no self and other, and hence no one to be raised; no heaven and hell, and hence no destination.

Cautious, like crossing a river in the winter.

The living are soft and yielding; the dead are rigid and stiff. Living plants are flexible and tender; the dead are brittle and dry.

Because he (the Sage) opposes no one, no one in the world can oppose him.