ava on Nostr: When the government is muddled The people are simple; When the government is alert ...

When the government is muddled
The people are simple;
When the government is alert
The people are cunning.

It is on disaster that good fortune perches;
It is beneath good fortune that disaster crouches.

Who knows the limit? Does not the straightforward exist?
The straighforward changes again into the crafty, and the good changes again into the monstrous.
Indeed, it is long since the people were perplexed.

Therefore the sage is square-edged but does not scrape,
Has corners but does not jab,
Extends himself but not at the expense of others,
Shines but does not dazzle.

— #Tao Te Ching: Ch 58 (D.C. Lau translation)

#IKITAO #TaoistWisdom