Supreme good is like water. Water greatly benefits all things, without conflict. It flows through places that people loathe. Thereby it is close to the Way.
Perfect kindness acts without thinking of kindness.
Other people are occupied, I alone am unwilling, like the outcast.
See others as yourself. See families as your family. See towns as your town. See countries as your country. See worlds as your world.
Without the tao, Kindness and compassion are replaced by law and justice; Faith and trust are supplanted by ritual and ceremony.
Return animosity with virtue.
The high must make the low its base.
The Master views the parts with compassion, because he understands the whole. His constant practice is humility. He doesn't glitter like a jewel but lets himself be shaped by the Tao, as rugged and common as a stone.
Follow diligently the Way in your own heart, but make no display of it to the world.
The sage has no concern for himself, but makes the concerns of others his own.
To be brave without compassion, generous without moderation, and rule without refraining from being first in the world, are certain deaths.
Knowing honor, but clinging to disgrace, you become the valley of the world.
Weapons are the tools of violence;all decent men detest them.Weapons are the tools of fear;a decent man will avoid themexcept in the direst necessityand, if compelled, will use themonly with the utmost restraint.Peace is his highest value.If the peace has been shattered,how can he be content?His enemies are not demons,but human beings like himself.He doesn't wish them personal harm.Nor does he rejoice in victory.How could he rejoice in victoryand delight in the slaughter of men?He enters a battle gravely,with sorrow and with great compassion,as if he were attending a funeral
Other people are joyous, like on the feast of the ox, like on the way up to the terrace in the spring. I alone am inert, giving no sign, like a newborn baby who has not learned to smile.
Keep behind, and you shall be put in front; keep out, and you shall be kept in.
The highest virtue seems as low as a valley.
Knowing the bright, but clinging to the dark, you become a model to the world.
By compassion one can be brave.
Other people have more than they need, I alone seem wanting.
I am wearied, as if I lacked a home to go to.
If the sage wants to stand above people, he must speak to them from below. If he wants to lead people, he must follow them from behind.
People turn their eyes and ears to him (the sage), and the sage cares for them like his own children.
The highest benevolence acts without purpose.
The sage honors his part of the settlement, but does not exact his due from others.
I have three treasures that I cherish. The first is compassion. The second is moderation. The third is not claiming to be first in the world.
