聖人無常心，以百姓心為心。
善者，吾善之；不善者，吾亦善之；
德善。信者，吾信之；不信者，吾亦信之；德信。
聖人在天下，歙歙為天下渾其心，百姓皆注其耳目，聖人皆孩之。
The Sage has no decided opinions and feelings,
But regards the people’s opinions and feelings as his own.
The good ones I declare good;
The bad ones I also declare good.
That is the goodness of Virtue.
The honest ones I believe;
The liars I also believe;
That is the faith of Virtue.
The Sage dwells in the world peacefully, harmoniously.
The people of the world are brought into a community of heart,
And the Sage regards them all as his own children.
(Translation by Lin Yutang )
The image ifs from Gurmeet.Net
What should rulers do? Lao Tzu gives a clear idea here. It seems simple, but it is not easy to carry out.
Rulers are leaders with power, and power corrupts them. The more power they possess, the more corrupt they become. The power of the ancient emperors is beyond our imagination. They have the power to kill, extort, and do whatever they want. Finding noncorrupted rulers are rare. As a result, Lao Tzu wrote this article on the vigilance of the power of rulers. Whoever gains the support of the people will prosper, and whoever loses their support will perish.
