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<title>07 - Chapters 43 - 50</title>
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43.

The softest force in the universe
can overcome the hardest of objects.
Something without substance
can pass through the space between atoms.

That's how I know 
about the power of doing nothing.

The silent teachings 
and the power of doing nothing
can only be understood 
by a few people.


44.

What's more important,
fame or your well-being?
What's worth more,
your money or your life?
What is more dangerous,
winning or losing?

If you are too attached 
to your possessions,
they will bring you misery.
If you hang on to your riches,
you will suffer substantial loss.
If you know when you have enough,
you will never be disgraced.
If you practice moderation,
you can stay out of trouble.

And that's the secret to lasting success.


45.

The greatest achievements 
may look like mistakes,
but you will always be able 
to build upon them.

The fullest reserves may seem empty,
but you will always be able 
to draw upon them.

The straightest line looks crooked.
The most skilled people 
come off as clumsy.
The most eloquent people 
are usually silent.

When it's cold, 
you can move around to stay warm.
When it's hot, 
you should keep still and stay cool.
But whatever the weather, 
if you stay calm,
the world will sort itself out around you.


46.

"When the world is right with Tao," 
Lao Tzu said,
"horses haul fertilizer to the fields.
When the world loses touch with Tao,
horses are trained for cavalry."

Nothing is more insidious than possession.
Nothing is more dangerous than desire.
Nothing is more disastrous than greed.

If you know when enough is enough,
you will always have enough.


47.

You don't have to leave your room
to understand what's happening in the world.

You don't have to look out the window
to appreciate the beauty of heaven.

The farther you wander,
the less you know.

The Masters don't wander around
They know.
They don't just look. 
They understand.
They don't do anything, 
but the work gets done.


48.

Usually, 
we try to learn something new every day.

But if we want to get right with Tao,
we have to let go of something every day.

We do less and less, 
until we end up doing nothing.
And it's when we do nothing
that we get the job done.

Let events take their course, 
and everything will turn out
in your favor.
If you act on your ambitions, 
they will never pan out.


49.

The Masters 
don't make up their minds.
They turn their thoughts
to other people.

They are good to good people, 
and they're good to bad people.
This is real goodness.

They have faith in the faithful, 
and they have faith in the unfaithful.
This is real faith.

A Master throws himself 
into the world completely,
forgetting everything he's been told.
People pay attention to him
because he lives a life of child-like wonder.


50.

People who look 
for the secret of long life 
wind up dead.

Their bodies are the focus of their lives
and the source of their death,
because they think a healthy body
is all there is to life.

Lao Tzu used to say 
a man who truly understood life
could walk through the jungle 
without fear
or across a battlefield 
without armor, totally unarmed.
Wild animals and weapons couldn't kill him.

I know, I know: 
what the hell does that mean?
"Well, he couldn't be killed," 
Lao Tzu said,
"because his body 
wasn't where he kept his death."


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