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"Wanting to win the world and acting upon it - To me this is not going to work. The world is a sacred vessel, It cannot be acted upon, It cannot be held on to. Those who act upon it will fail, Those who hold on to it will lose. That is why the sage practices Non-doing And therefore does not fail; He does not hold, And therefore does not lose. For some prefer to go on their own, others prefer to follow; Some breathe gently, some blow hard; Some are strong, some fragile; Some self-increment, some self-destruct. That is why the sage refuses to be excessive, Or extravagant, Or extreme."
Author
Lao TzuAll Translations
English
"Wanting to win the world and acting upon it - To me this is not going to work. The world is a sacred vessel, It cannot be acted upon, It cannot be held on to. Those who act upon it will fail, Those who hold on to it will lose. That is why the sage practices Non-doing And therefore does not fail; He does not hold, And therefore does not lose. For some prefer to go on their own, others prefer to follow; Some breathe gently, some blow hard; Some are strong, some fragile; Some self-increment, some self-destruct. That is why the sage refuses to be excessive, Or extravagant, Or extreme."