The sage never strives for the great, and thereby the great is achieved.

To lead, one must follow.

The men who are great live with that which is substantial, they do not stay with that which is superficial; they abide with realities, they do not remain with what is showy. The one they discard, the other they hold.

We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move. We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want. We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable. We work with being, but non-being is what we use.

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

Those who do not trust enough should not be trusted.

He who stands on tiptoe does not stand firm.