ava on Nostr: What is firmly rooted cannot be pulled out; What is tightly held in the arms will not ...

What is firmly rooted cannot be pulled out;
What is tightly held in the arms will not slip loose;
Through this the offering of sacrifice by descendants will never come to an end.

Cultivate it in your person
And its virtue will be genuine;
Cultivate it in the family
And its virtue will be more than sufficient;
Cultivate it in the hamlet
And its virtue will endure;
Cultivate it in the state
And its virtue will abound;
Cultivate it in the empire
And its virtue will be pervasive.

Hence look at the person through the person;
Look at the family through the family;
Look at the hamlet through the hamlet;
Look at the state through the state;
Look at the empire through the empire.

How do I know that the empire is like that?
By means of this.

— #Tao Te Ching: Ch 54 (D.C. Lau translation)

#IKITAO #TaoistWisdom