Chapter 3
Prize status and envy takes root,
Treasure possessions and theft is acute.
Show off desire, and restless hearts stir
Hide what’s alluring, let calmness occur.
The sage leads by clearing the mind and the chest,
By tempering wants and letting bones rest.
Act without striving, let actions release,
And in gentle stillness, all settles in peace.
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Chapter 4
The Tao is a vessel—empty, yet filled,
Bottomless well, from which all is distilled.
Edges are softened, the tangled undone,
The glare of the sun by the cloud is outshone.
Invisible, constant, it’s hidden from sight
I know not its source nor who gave it light.
Older than gods, and yet ever new
The ancestor’s breath that all things renew