The sages take proactive actions without any attachments or expectations of specific outcomes. They manage processes and affairs around them without trying to manipulate them. They get a sense (a taste) of the situation without becoming so involved and engrossed that they lose their objectivity, and thus impair their judgment and ability to act.
Whether tasks are great, small, many or few, the sages approach them the same way. They also treat everyone with the same degree of gentle kindness, so that even if someone attacks them out of anger or hatred, they would not fight fire with fire. Instead, they would respond with compassion, against which there is no defense.
The sages are masters at achieving large and difficult tasks. They make it look so easy. How do they do it? What is their secret?
The sages break tasks down to their constituent parts. If a task is difficult, they start with its easiest part. If a task is large, they start with its smallest component. These small and simple tasks require little time and effort, and when they are complete, the success inherent in their completion generates positive energy. Sages would then use this energy and leverage the success to catapult them toward the next smallest or easiest task. Each greater success generates greater energy, greater feeling of satisfaction, and greater ability to handle the next challenge.
This is how sages achieve great and difficult tasks with seeming ease. Their secret is simply that they never tackle such tasks head-on. To do so would be foolhardy and counterproductive.
Someone who makes promises quickly is, in all likelihood, someone who breaks the same promises regularly. Therefore, sages would be very reluctant to make overly optimistic projections in regards to a task at hand. Someone who thinks everything is easy is naive and inexperienced. Therefore sages regard all tasks as either challenging or potentially challenging. Their attitude in approach a task is always cautious and conservative. Whereas many people promise too much and deliver too little, sages promise little but deliver beyond expectations.
64
When it is peaceful, it is easy to maintain
When it shows no signs, it is easy to plan
When it is fragile, it is easy to break
When it is small, it is easy to scatter
Act on it when it has not yet begun
Treat it when it is not yet chaotic
A tree thick enough to embrace
Grows from the tiny sapling
A tower of nine levels
Starts from the dirt heap
A journey of a thousand miles
Begins beneath the feet
The one who meddles will fail
The one who grasps will lose
Therefore, sages do not meddle and thus do not fail
They do not grasp and thus do not lose
People, in handling affairs
Often come close to completion and fail
If they are as careful in the end as the beginning
Then they would have no failure
Therefore, sages desire not to desire
They do not value goods that are hard to acquire
They learn to unlearn
To redeem the fault of the people
To assist the nature of all things
Without daring to meddle
It is relatively easy to maintain the situation when everything is peaceful and quiet. When the possibility for chaos is small or nearly non-existent, it is a simple task to keep it in check.
Generally speaking, it is always easier to act on something effectively when it is small. Take care of an issue as early as possible, before it really becomes an issue. Nip a potential problem in the bud so it doesn't get the chance to grow into something serious.
This same principle extends to many aspects of life. The mightiest trees started as a small and delicate shoot, barely noticeable in the ground. The tallest building we have had to be built from the ground up. There was a time when it was nothing more than a pile of dirt brought to the site in preparation for construction to begin.
The greatest, most epic journey one can undertake still must begin where you stand. Similarly, great deeds can have a small, indeed humble, beginning. A vast accumulation of knowledge starts somewhere, with the turning of one page in a particular book. When we keep this great wisdom in mind, it becomes easier for us to overcome inertia and take that first step.
Notes
The ancient Chinese measurement of distance, li, is loosely translated as "mile." One li is about half a kilometer, and roughly a third of a mile.
Many people know the expression, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." However, most of them probably have no idea that it originally came from this chapter of the Tao Te Ching. Some are aware that it's Chinese in origin, but mistaken it attribute it to Confucius. So now you know something they do not.
Another interesting thing to note is that the popular expression is in fact a mistranslation. The original contains no character for "one" or "step." Nor does it imply the taking of that first step. What it says is that the little piece of ground beneath your feet is the starting point of even the longest journeys. That's all it says. The taking of that first step is certainly a legitimate interpretation and amplification of this passage, but it definitely does not qualify as a translation.
65
Those of ancient times who were adept at the Tao
Used it not to make people brighter
But to keep them simple
The difficulty in governing people
Is due their excessive cleverness
Therefore, using cleverness to govern the state
Is being a thief of the state
Not using cleverness to govern the state
Is being a blessing of the state
Know that these two are both standards
Always knowing these standards
Is called Mystic Virtue
Mystic Virtue is so profound, so far-reaching
It goes opposite to material things
Then it reaches great congruence
The sage kings of ancient China were masterful in applying the Tao. They did not use it to make people more clever and more knowledgeable. Instead, they used it to guide people toward simplicity.
These sages understood very well that cleverness and knowledge would bring with them greater desires, deceit, and devious tricks. This would lead to complexities and chaos, thus making things difficult not only for them, but also for the people.
They came to the conclusion long ago that using guile, manipulation, and contrivance to govern would do great harm to the country - really not so different than stealing from it like a thief. On the other hand, not using these tricks and guiding the people toward simplicity would lead to benefits for all, and would therefore be a great blessing to the country as a whole.
Both of these approaches - shrewd cunning versus straightforward plainness - are standards, and it is important to know both. The ancient masters made it a point to understand Machiavellian methods thoroughly, while embracing upright, honest simplicity in actual practice. This mindset of never losing sight of both is known as Mystic Virtue.
The power of Mystic Virtue is beyond measure. It is both profound in its implications and far-reaching in its effects. It runs counter to the tendency to pursue material things, and opposite the typical person's desire for short-term gains. We see it as achieving a state of great congruence, because Mystic Virtue follows nature and is therefore perfectly congruent with the Tao.
Notes
Your life is a sovereign state in its own right, and you are the ruler of this state. If, like many people, you run your life with a measure of clever duplicity and contrived craftiness, you will also make everything more complex and difficult to manage. A complicated life filled with tension and stress is one where the joy has been taken away - by yourself. You would then be the thief who robs your own life of happiness.
Lao Tzu advises you to cultivate Mystic Virtue instead. That is, be fully aware of all the deceptive tricks and meddlesome cunning that can manifest in your life, but at the same time hold on to P'u, the ultimate principle of simplicity and plainness. This will be a great blessing in your life, and as you continue living this way - in total congruence with the Tao - you will feel profound and far-reaching effects of Mystic Virtue in every aspect of living, resulting in a life filled with joy and peace of mind.
66
Rivers and oceans can be the kings of a hundred valleys
Because of their goodness in staying low
So they can be the kings of a hundred valleys
Thus if sages wish to be over people
They must speak humbly to them
If they wish to be in front of people
They must place themselves behind them
Thus the sages are positioned above
But the people do not feel burdened
They are positioned in front
But the people do not feel harmed
Thus the world is glad to push them forward without resentment
Because they do not contend
So the world cannot contend with them
Rivers and oceans receive everything from the streams and rivulets of a hundred valleys. It is as if they are the rulers of all these valleys, receiving their tributes and offerings into the royal treasury.
The reason that rivers and oceans have dominion over the valleys is simple: It is their nature to occupy the lowest position. All the streams and rivulets of the valleys naturally flow into them.
Tao sages emulate nature. So when they observe the above, they realize that the principle applies equally well to human beings. If they wish to have influence over other people, they must occupy the lowest position like rivers and oceans. In other words, they must possess true humility and speak humbly to everyone.
Similarly, if the sages wish to lead people and be in front of them, they must place themselves behind them out of the same sense of humility. Because the sages are self-effacing and wish only to serve the greater good, people thrust them forward into positions of leadership.
As leaders, sages utilize the Tao rather than force or domination. People serve and assist them voluntarily, without coercion or pressure. Therefore, although the position of a sage ends up being above the followers, people do not feel burdened or oppressed. Although the sage is ahead of the masses, people do not feel threatened or harmed.
This Tao leadership builds relationships and promotes harmony, so people are happy to follow the sage to the ends of the earth. They do not resent the power wielded by the sages. In fact, they push the sages forward and urge that they accept the the mantle of power.
This is a very different concept from the conventional "might makes right" paradigm, where one seizes power by force and bullies others with it. The sages are the exact opposite. They have no need to seize anything or fight against anyone. Because of this, no one fights with them. Instead, the people support Tao leadership from the heart, and of their own free will!
67
Everyone in the world calls my Tao great
As if it is beyond compare
It is only because of its greatness
That it seems beyond compare
If it can be compared
It would already be insignificant long ago
I have three treasures
I hold on to them and protect them
The first is called compassion
The second is called conservation
The third is called not daring to be ahead in the world
Compassionate, thus able to have courage
Conserving, thus able to reach widely
Not daring to be ahead in the world
Thus able to assume leadership
Now if one has courage but discards compassion
Reaches widely but discards conservation
Goes ahead but discards being behind
Then death!
If one fights with compassion, then victory
With defense, then security
Heaven shall save them
And with compassion guard them
The reason people call the Tao great is because there is nothing quite like it. The Tao is an infinite concept that has no form, shape, substance, limit or boundaries. If it were finite, then no matter how big it is, there will always be something far bigger that dwarfs it into insignificance.
Tao cultivators have three treasures that they cherish. The first is compassion - a love and kindness toward all things. The second is conservation - knowing when and how to avoid wasting one's time and energy, and direct them in a meaningful way, in accordance with one's purpose in life. The third is humility - the awareness that seeing oneself as being above or ahead of other people can only lead to failure.
By having compassion, one gains courage. True courage doesn't come from macho posturing or false bravado. Rather, it comes from love and commitment to something greater than oneself.
By having the mindset of conservation, one understands how to allocate and direct one's efforts to best effect, and therefore reach the most people and have the widest impact.
By having humility, one can connect with the Tao of leadership. Leaders who lead best do not focus on themselves. They have no wish to be the center of attention and prefer to let others shine. They direct their attention to what needs to be done, and do not need to take credit or remind others of their accomplishments.
All three treasures are important and must work together. Courage without compassion would be nothing more than brutality. To reach widely without conserving one's resources will quickly lead to exhaustion. Forgetting the lesson of humility, becoming arrogant, and letting the ego run wild are the beginning stage of self-delusion. These negative consequences can only lead to failure and doom.
Those who hold on to the three treasures can achieve extraordinary feats. Warriors who fight with compassion in their hearts achieve victory, because love gives them the strength they need. If they fight to defend loved ones or a cherished cause, they achieve security and protection.
Because they follow the Tao, Heaven itself will come to their aid, events will seem to conspire in rendering assistance at just the right time, as if they are safeguarded by divine powers. All manners of resources and allies will appear and rally to their cause, in unexpected ways that no one could foresee. Anyone who witnesses this process at work will know that, indeed, the Tao is great beyond compare.
68
The great generals are not warlike
The great warriors do not get angry
Those who are good at defeating enemies do not engage them
Those who are good at managing people lower themselves
It is called the virtue of non-contention
It is called the power of managing people
