| | Laozi said: The total of all things passes through one aperture; the root of all affairs originates from one gate. Therefore, the sage follows a single measure and adheres to established paths, not altering what has been done before or changing what is constant. He sets standards and follows guidelines, bending only in accordance with nature's regular course. Joy and anger are deviations from Dao; Sorrow and grief are losses of virtue. Preferences and aversions are excesses of the mind; Cravings and desires are burdens upon life. Great anger harms yin; great joy exhausts yang. Weak breath causes muteness; sudden fear leads to madness. Sorrow and grief burn the heart, and illness accumulates as a result. If one can eliminate these five afflictions, he will harmonize with the divine and the sage-like. Those who attain the divine and sage-like have mastered their inner self. To master one's inner self means the five organs are at peace; thoughts and concerns remain balanced; ears and eyes become keen and discerning; sinews and bones grow strong and resilient. One becomes open and unobstructed without contradiction, firm yet never depleted—neither excessive in any aspect nor lacking in anything. Nothing in the world is more soft and weak than water, yet water embodies Dao. Its breadth cannot be measured; its depth cannot be fathomed. It extends endlessly without limit, flows far beyond all horizons. Its ebb and flow increase or decrease without end, surpassing all estimation. In the heavens it becomes rain and dew; on earth it provides moisture and nourishment. All things must depend upon it to grow, and all affairs must rely upon it to succeed. It embraces all living beings with no partiality, bestows its grace even upon crawling creatures without seeking reward. It enriches the world endlessly without depletion, benefits the people without cost. Its movement cannot be exhausted or fully understood; its subtlety cannot be grasped or held. Striking it causes no wound, piercing it inflicts no injury, cutting it does not sever, burning it produces no smoke. Though soft and flowing, it remains unbroken and undispersed. It cuts through metal and stone, submerges the world with strength, is neither in excess nor lacking, allows all to take from or give to it freely. It receives all things without preference or sequence, showing neither partiality nor favor, uniting with heaven and earth as one vast whole—this is called the highest virtue. Water is able to achieve its highest virtue precisely because of its softness and smoothness. Hence it is said: "The most yielding in the world can prevail over the hardest; nothing enters where there is no space." The formless is the great ancestor of all things; the soundless is the supreme source of all categories. The true person communicates with the spiritual hall, becoming one with the creators and transformers of existence. Holding the profound virtue within his heart, he transforms and moves as if by divine power. Therefore, the Way that is not a way is vast and boundless indeed; without issuing proclamations or commands, it can transform customs and change the prevailing winds—this is achieved solely through the practice of the heart. All things have their origin, yet alone they return to their roots; all affairs have their source, yet alone they remain at the gate. Thus, one can fathom the infinite and reach the boundless, illuminate objects without becoming dazzled, respond like an echo without knowing it.
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