The person who is at one with all things
can go anywhere without fear of
vicious animals or dangerous persons.
Why?
Because she is at one with the wild animals,
they perceive her as themselves.
Because she is at one with dangerous
persons,
they fear her.
51
The potential of Infinity manifests all things.
Manifestations are nourished by oneness,
created with matter,
affected by events.
Therefore, those who maintain peace and harmony
acknowledge Infinity and remember their
oneness,
not because it is demanded,
but because it is the essence of
all things.
Infinity manifests all things,
rears them,
nurtures them,
clothes them,
feeds them,
protects them,
and comforts them.
Infinity manifests all things without possessing
them;
shows them the way without interfering,
assists them without taking credit.
This is the nature of Infinity.
52
Infinity is the mother of all things.
Remembering Infinity, one knows
the nature of children.
Knowing the nature of the children
keeps one focused on the oneness of
Infinity.
Remembering your oneness with Infinity
and the immortality of Infinity
overcomes the fear of death.
Contemplate Infinity,
accept all things without distinctions and
judgments,
and life will be peaceful and
harmonious.
Think about reality,
distinguish and judge all things,
and life degenerates into confusion.
Seeing differences is called distinguishing.
Remaining indifferent manifests peace and
harmony.
Understanding the nature of oneness
focuses one on Infinity
and away from the confusion of
misfortune.
This is called abiding in the constant.
53
If I possess just a bit of insight,
I will remember my oneness with Infinity,
and I will only be concerned that I may
become confused with distinctions and
judgment.
The path of Infinity is easy and peaceful.
But the majority of people cannot
help becoming confused in the manifestations
of the Infinite.
When rulers and leaders are confused
in pomp and circumstance,
the fields are overgrown with weeds
and the granaries are empty.
When leaders and rulers
wear extravagant clothing and manipulate the
law
while attending endless banquets
and accumulating wealth for
the sake of wealth,
they are confused and behave like
bandits and thieves.
This is not the path of peace and harmony.
54
The essence of Infinity can be ignored but never
uprooted.
If it is acknowledged, it cannot be lost
and it will manifest peace and harmony
from parents to children forever.
Acknowledge it in yourself
and peace and harmony will become real.
Acknowledge it in your family
and peace and harmony will grow.
Acknowledge it in your town
and peace and harmony will influence your
teachers.
Acknowledge it in your nation
and peace and harmony will displace war.
Acknowledge it in the universe
and peace and harmony will be everywhere.
Therefore,
see others as yourself,
see other families as your family,
see other towns as your town,
see other nations as your nation,
see the universe as a manifestation
of the Infinite.
How do I know this is the way things are?
Because I am at one with Infinity.
55
A person who flows in peace and harmony
is like a newborn baby.
Poisonous insects and reptiles do not sting or
bite it.
Wild animals do not stalk it.
Raptors do not attack it.
Its bones are soft and it muscles are weak
yet its grip is secure.
It is not aware of male and female
yet its genitals are aroused.
Its oneness is perfect.
It screams all day without becoming hoarse.
This is the perfection of harmony.
Knowing harmony is acknowledging
the oneness of Infinity.
Knowing the oneness of Infinity is the
experience of peace.
Manipulating one's life force results in confusion.
Controlling the breath interrupts the harmony of
the body.
Increasing the natural pace of life creates
exhaustion
and is therefore not the path of harmony.
Anything that remains out of harmony is short
lived.
56
Those who know have no need to speak.
Those who speak are searching for peace and
harmony.
Do not speak.
Ignore your senses.
Blunt your sharpness.
Unravel your knots.
Dim your light.
Become one with all things.
This is the primal essence.
Those who flow in the peace and harmony of Infinity
make no distinctions.
They are therefore indifferent to friend and foe,
to good and bad, to honor and infamy.
This is the natural state of human beings.
57
Govern a nation with fairness.
In war do the unexpected.
Lead the nation by becoming one with it.
Why do I say this?
Because:
The more rules and regulations,
the more oppressed the citizens.
The more energy used to develop weapons,
the more tension in the land.
The more clever and manipulative the leaders
become,
the more agitated and unpredictable
the population.
The more religious morals and restrictions,
the more depression and self-hatred
manifests.
Therefore,
when the ruler is at one with the population
she says:
I take no action and the citizens
govern themselves.
I flow in peace and harmony
and the people follow in my footsteps.
I refuse to manipulate and control
and the population becomes predictable.
I ignore religion
and tolerance replaces judgment.
58
When the country is ruled with indifference,
the people flow in peace and harmony.
When the country is ruled with purpose,
the people become tense and circumvent the
law.
When distinctions are made,
good fortune is the harbinger of disaster
and adversity is the foundation of
prosperity.
The only known is change and the limits of
change are unpredictable.
Because everything changes, nothing seems real.
The reliable becomes questionable
and the questionable becomes familiar.
The confusion created by distinctions
is ever present.
Therefore the sage is:
upright but not judgmental,
to the point but not arrogant,
straightforward but not offensive,
is a light but not blinding.
59
In leading people and manifesting Infinity,
there is nothing as essential as
indifference.
Refusing to distinguish the self is the crucial
requirement
of indifference.
Indifference is the product of maintaining one's
focus
on the oneness of all things.
If you are at one with Infinity and the potential
of all things,
then you have no limitations.
If one has no limitations,
she is qualified to rule the world.
If she is at one with the world,
and consequently indifferent,
she will endure.
This is the manifestation of deep roots and a firm
foundation,
a oneness with Infinity,
immortality and perfect vision.
60
Ruling a country is like cooking a small fish.
If you forget your oneness with the fish,
you become confused in what you are
doing.
See the world as one with Infinity
and evil will be impotent.
Not that evil does not exist,
but because it is not distinguished
people harmonize with it.
If all of humanity is in harmony with the
oneness of Infinity,
not only will evil not confuse the people,
the sage himself will not confuse the people.
They will not confuse each other
and the oneness in each will harmonize
both.
61
The great nation is like the ocean,
at one with Infinity,
it receives all waters in peace and harmony.
The female integrates the male
by residing in peace and harmony.
Therefore, if the great nation does not
distinguish
the small nation as separate from itself,
it will integrate the smaller nation
into its oneness.
If a small nation does not distinguish itself as
different from
from the great nation,
it will incorporate the peace and
harmony
of the great nation.
A great nation conquers by being a reservoir of
peace and harmony.
A small nation conquers by becoming one with the
great nation.
The great state is a reservoir
of peace and harmony for smaller states.
Small states seek the peace and harmony
of the great state.
Both get what they want; oneness.
It is natural for the great nation to
be receptive to the smaller nation.
62
Infinity is the potential of all things;
the source of all manifestations.
It is the treasure of peaceful people
and the hiding place of the bad.
Flattery can purchase advancement.
Good deeds can obtain admiration.
If a man is bad,
do not distinguish his badness.
See his oneness with humanity.
Therefore, when the king is crowned
and the state officials are sworn in,
do not send them gifts of jade dishes
or a team of four horses.
Instead flow in peace and harmony
and remind them of their oneness
with humanity.
Why does everyone flow in peace and harmony
when they acknowledge the oneness of
Infinity?
Because their needs are met
and their mistakes are not distinguished.
This is the gift of Infinity.
63
Practice flowing in peace and harmony.
Work without laboring.
Savor the tasteless.
Enlarge the small.
Multiply the few.
Mitigate bitterness with kindness.
Accomplish difficult endeavors by a series
of easy tasks.
Accomplish great deeds by persisting
in mundane acts.
When one flows in peace and harmony and
perceives the oneness in all things:
difficulties are easily overcome and
great accomplishments are
seen as a compilation of a lifetime
of insignificant days.
The sage never tries to achieve greatness.
She flows in peace and harmony and
at the end of her days comprehends her
legacy.
Cursory promises are generally unreliable.
Neglecting basics fosters difficulties.
The sage considers the potential difficulty in all
things
and circumvents them by flowing in peace and
harmony.
64
Peace and harmony are easy to perpetuate.
Situations are easy to deal with before
they manifest.
The brittle is easily cracked.
The small is easy to broadcast.
Flow in peace and harmony and problems do
not manifest.
Focus on the oneness of all things
and avoid confusion.
The greatest tree manifests from an
unremarkable shoot.
A multilevel building begins with
the laying of a single brick.
A journey of a thousand miles begins
with a single step.
He who attempts to control his life becomes
confused.
Attempt to grasp a thing and it disappears.
The sage flows in peace and harmony
and so is not confused.
She attaches herself to nothing and
consequently her vision remains clear.
Confused people usually quit just short of
success.
Therefore, see experiences as
the oneness of life from beginning to end
and it will be impossible to fail.
The sage is indifferent to desire:
she does not accumulate possessions,
she is unemotional regarding ideas,
she focuses people on their oneness,
she, by example, illuminates
the path to peace and harmony
but does not impose her will
or foist her views on
others.
65
From time immemorial the sage has not
tried to teach oneness
but has embedded peace and harmony
in the openness of a simple life.
Why is it so hard to rule?
Because people are at one with their
leaders.
Leaders who use cleverness
are confronted with more cleverness.
Cleverness only manifests confusion.
Those who flow in the peace and harmony of
oneness
lead without attempting cleverness
and are a blessing to everyone.
These too are distinctions,
cleverness and non-action.
Realizing these two are distinctions
focuses one on the oneness of Infinity
and away from confusion.
Staying centered in the oneness that permeates
Infinity
manifests peace and harmony.
66
Why are the great oceans the rulers of all rivers?
Because they occupy a lower space.
Therefore, their humility lifts them up.
If the sage is to manifest peace
she must be humble in her speech.
If she is to lead others
she must follow them in harmony.
When the sage leads,
the people do not feel enslaved.
When she stands above them,
they feel at one with her.
Because she is in harmony with others,
they support her and never
consider her a burden.
She is not confused.
Therefore, she does not contend with others
and they do not contend with her.
67
Everyone says that Infinity is great
but beyond comprehension because it is
intangible.
Since it is intangible, it seems non-existent.
However, if it were not intangible it would
have disintegrated before the world was
born.
Three things create peace and harmony.
The first is a lack of distinctions.
The second is simplicity.
The third is oneness.
With a lack of distinction, I can accept all things.
With simplicity, I do not become confused with
desire.
With oneness, I can be at peace and in harmony
with all things.
