The supreme rulers are hardly known by their subjects. The lesser are loved and praised. The even lesser are feared. The least are despised.
Be empty. Be still. Just watch everything come and go. This is the way of Nature.
Take [preventive] action before things happen. Establish order before disorder has begun.
When the worst student hears about the Way, he laughs out loud. If he did not laugh, it would be unworthy of being the Way.
Nature's way is simple and easy, but men prefer the intricate and artificial.
The real is empty and the empty real