Dao De Jing, #34: Control

In addition to being one of the world's great works of literature, the Dao De Jing is one of the foundations of philosophical Daoism. If you click here, you can find an online version of this timeless work.

Here is chapter 34: Control

34. Control

The Way flows and ebbs, creating and destroying,
Implementing all the world, attending to the tiniest details,
Claiming nothing in return.

It nurtures all things,
Though it does not control them;
It has no intention,
So it seems inconsequential.

It is the substance of all things;
Though it does not control them;
It has no exception,
So it seems all-important.

The sage would not control the world;
He is in harmony with the world.