Translation: Tao Te King: Chapter 65 – Simple virtue

Chapter 65 – The simple virtue

 Illustration from Chinese book of alchemy
Scanned from “The Secret of the Golden Flower” by Richard Wilhelm and uploaded by Redheylin. PD-life-plus-70

The ancient ones who put the Tao into use, did not use it to make the people posh, but to make them simple and natural.

The difficulty of governing is due to too much statecraft.

He who tries to rule the kingdom with statecraft is only a menace to it, but whom rules without it is a blessing.

Knowing these two things is the real statecraft and following these is called the virtue of simplicity.

Deep and wide is this virtue of simplicity, and even if it is opposite to other means, it can bring about perfect order.


Own translation from 1925 Finnish translation by Pekka Ervast (ISBN 951-8995-01-X) with kind permission of Ruusu-Ristin Kirjallisuusseura ry.

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