Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu – Chapter 29


將欲取天下而為之,吾見其不得已。
天下神器,不可為也,為者敗之,執者失之。
故物或行或隨;或歔或吹;或強或羸;或挫或隳。
是以聖人去甚,去奢,去泰。
There are those who will conquer the world
And make of it (what they conceive or desire).
I see that they will not succeed.

(For) the world is God’s own Vessel
It cannot be made (by human interference).
He who makes it spoils it.
He who holds it loses it.

For: Some things go forward,
Some things follow behind;
some blow hot,
And some blow cold;
Some are strong,
And some are weak;
Some may break,
And some may fall.

Hence the Sage eschews excess, eschews extravagance,
eschews pride.
(Translation by Lin Yutang )

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A constant law of history is that the emperors or rulers take turns to govern the people. A hero is nothing but a product of his current situation; the current situation produces their heroes. With that being said, we know that it is not possible to conquer the world by one’s own deliberation and intention. The consequence for a ruler to gain the world forcibly will fail, and similarly, he will lose it no matter how hard he wants to hold it.

Including the power of ruling the world regime, everything is always changing and in motion. They are relative, not absolute, at different times and different locations: some walking in front, and some follow behind; sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily; sometimes there is strength and sometimes weakness;
sometimes one is up and sometimes down…
So saints avoid extremes, excesses, and complacency.

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