| Ah Heng's Daoism Page |
| Chapter Sixty Four What is tranquil is easy to manage, what has not happened is easy to plan. But what is brittle is easy to break, what is minute is easy to scatter. When it has not happened, one must first act on it, when it has not become chaotic, one must first manage it. The tree which is larger than a man's embrace, begins its growth from a tiny shoot; the nine-storey pagoda standing so tall, begins its construction from a heap of earth; the journey that stretches over a thousand miles, begins from the first step of the foot. The one who tries to 'do it' will be doomed to failure, the one who tries to 'grab it' will lose it eventually. Therefore the Enlightened adopts Wu Wei and meets no defeats, he grabs nothing so does not lose anything. To deal with the masses' affairs, aiming to be successful will meet with horrendous failures. Be careful of all things as if it is the beginning, then there will be no failures in the future. Therefore the Enlightened acts upon the 'inbetween existences', and does not treasure valuable rarities; learns all things and yet forgets them, repeats the acts of others who have gone through them. This is to leave the Myriad Things in its natural manifestations, does not dare intervene for fear of violating its natural course. |
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