Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu – Chapter 18


大道廢,有仁義;智慧出,有大偽;六親不和,有孝慈;國家昏亂,有忠臣。

As the great Tao declined,
The principles of “humanity” and “justice” arose.
When knowledge and cleverness appeared,
Great hypocrisy followed in its wake.

When the six relationships no longer lived in peace,
There was (praise of) “kind parents” and “filial sons.”

When a country fell into chaos and misrule,
There was (praise of) “loyal ministers.”

Again and again, Lao Tzu reminded us that life is a balance. It is everywhere. Just as he mentioned in Chapter 2:

Therefore:
Being and non-being depend on growth;
Difficult and easy depend on completion;
Long and short depend on contrast;
High and low depend on position;
Tones and voice depend on harmony;
Front and behind depend on company.

He explains the principle of opposition and symbiosis. All contradictions are two sides of a coin, and they are both dependent and part of the whole. Only when we understand this, will we avoid putting weight on one side. There is no right and wrong, neither good or bad then we enter the Dao, follow the flow of nature and reach tranquility.

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