ava on Nostr: In ruling the people and in serving heaven it is best for a ruler to be sparing. It ...

In ruling the people and in serving heaven it is best for a ruler to be sparing.
It is because he is sparing
That he may be said to follow the way from the start;
Following the way from the start he may be said to accumulate an abundance of virtue;
Accumulating an abundance of virtue there is nothing he cannot overcome;
When there is nothing he cannot overcome, no one knows his limit;
When no one knows his limit
He can possess a state;
When he possesses the mother of a state
He can then endure.
This is called the way of deep roots and firm stems by which one lives to see many days.

— #Tao Te Ching: Ch 59 (D.C. Lau translation)

#IKITAO #TaoistWisdom