Do you think you can make the world a better place? I do not think you can. It is already perfect.

. . . These are notions of the mind, which is like a knife, always chipping away at the Tao, trying to render it graspable and manageable. But that which is beyond form is ungraspable, and that which is beyond knowing is unmanageable. There is, however, this consolation: She who lets go of the knife will find the Tao at her fingertips.

Learn from the people. Plan with the people. Begin with what they have. Build on what they know.

The more prohibitions you have, the less virtuous people will be. The more weapons you have, the less secure people will be. The more subsidies you have, the less self reliant people will be.

If Heaven were not clear it might rend. If Earth were not firm it might crumble.

The separate parts make no carriage.

The Great Vessel takes long to complete.