With but a small understanding

One may follow the Way like a main road,

Fearing only to leave it;

Following a main road is easy,

Yet people delight in difficult paths.

When palaces are kept up

Fields are left to weeds

And granaries empty;

Wearing fine clothes,

Bearing sharp swords,

Glutting with food and drink,

Hoarding wealth and possessions -

These are the ways of theft,

And far from the Way.

Cultivate harmony within yourself, and harmony becomes real;

Cultivate harmony within your family, and harmony becomes fertile;

Cultivate harmony within your community, and harmony becomes abundant;

Cultivate harmony within your culture, and harmony becomes enduring;

Cultivate harmony within the world, and harmony becomes ubiquitous.

Live with a person to understand that person;

Live with a family to understand that family;

Live with a community to understand that community;

Live with a culture to understand that culture;

Live with the world to understand the world.

How can I live with the world?

By accepting.

Who is filled with harmony is like a newborn.

Wasps and snakes will not bite him;

Hawks and tigers will not claw him.

His bones are soft yet his grasp is sure,