3

Pu shang hsien
Don’t glorify heroes,
And people will not contend.
Don’t treasure rare objects,
And no one will steal.
Don’t display what people desire,
And their hearts will not be disturbed.

Therefore,
The Sage rules
By emptying hearts and filling bellies,
By weakening ambitions and strengthening bones;
Leads people Away from knowing and wanting;
Deters those who know too much From going too far;
Practices non-action And the natural order is not disrupted.

Tao Te Ching
Translated by Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo

3

Promote not the worthy, then the people will not compete.
Esteem not objects hard to obtain, then the people will not be thieves.
Display not what is desirable, then the people’s hearts will not be turbid.
For this reason,
The government of the Sage is thus:
He empties his mind, fills his belly;
Weakens his will, strengthens his bones, Ever making it such that the people have no knowing, no longing.
If you can make it so that the astute dare not act,
Then you will discover there is nothing you cannot govern.

Daodejing
Translated by Edmund Ryden

3

If you overesteem great men, people become powerless.
If you overvalue possessions, people begin to steal.

The Master leads by emptying people’s minds and filling their cores, by weakening their ambition and toughening their resolve.
He helps people lose everything they know, everything they desire, and creates confusion in those that think they know.

Tao Te Ching