Taoism

33

Knowing others makes you smart,
but knowing yourself makes you wise.
To rule others, you must be powerful,
but to rule yourself, you must be strong.

If you have only what you need,
you have true wealth.
If you never give up,
you will find a way.
If you stay true to yourself,
you will never be lost.
If you live your entire life,
you've really lived.

30

Listen up:
If you want to be a leader who's in touch with Tao,
never use violence to achieve your goals.
Every act of violence backfires.
An army on the move leaves a trail of tears,
and a military victory always lies in ruins.

The Masters do what needs doing
and that's all they do.
Do what you have to do without arrogance or pride.
Get the job done and don't brag about it afterwards.
Do what you have to do, not for your own benefit,
but because it needs to be done.
And don't do it the way you think it should be done,
do it the way it needs to be.

The mighty will always lose their power
and any connection they ever had to Tao.
They will not last long;
if you're not right with Tao,
you might as well be dead.



31

Weapons are terrible things.
If you want to get right with Tao, reject weapons.

The Master, knowing that all things came from Tao,
recognizes what he has in common with his enemies.
But when there is no other choice, he uses force reluctantly.
He does so with great restraint,
and never celebrates a victory;
to do so would be to rejoice in killing.
A person who would rejoice in killing
has lost touch completely with Tao.

When you win a war, you preside over a funeral.
Pay your respects to the dead.