Life is going forth; death is returning home.

Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.

Harmony is called the eternal. Knowing the eternal is called clarity.

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.

Prepare for the difficult while it is still easy. Deal with the big while it is still small. Difficult undertakings have always started with what easy. Great undertakings always started with what is small. Therefore the sage never strives for the great,And thereby the great is achieved.

All things in the world come from being. And being comes from non-being.

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