First, we must do our own personal work, then we tend the necessary work of our family, then our community, then the world.

Is not the action of nature like the stretching of a bow? The high, it pulls down; the low, it lifts up; It takes from what is in excess In order to make good of what is deficient. Who can take what they have in excess and offer it to others?

Know honor, Yet keep humility. Be the valley of the universe! Being the valley of the universe, Ever true and resourceful, Return to the state of the uncarved block.

Clay is used to make vases, but it is the emptiness they contain that makes them useful.

Weapons are ominous tools. They are not the noble ruler's tools. He only uses them when he can't avoid it.

When the great Tao is forgotten, goodness and piety appear. When the body's intelligence declines, cleverness and knowledge step forth. When there is no peace in the family, filial piety begins. When the country falls into chaos, patriotism is born.

Heavy is the root of light.