29: Don't Change the World

29

Conquering the world and changing it,
I do not think it can succeed.
The world is a sacred vessel that cannot be changed.
He who changes it will destroy it.
He who seizes it will lose it.
So, among all things,
Some lead and some follow,
Some sigh and some pant,
Some are strong and some are weak,
Some overcome and some succumb.
Therefore the sage avoids extremity, excess, and extravagance.

Don't Change the World

Lao Tzu continues his ecological thinking, more than two millennia ahead of time. In his own era, he was not alone in appreciating the world as it was, but he expressed it with rare sharpness and devotion...

Here is my full commentary on this Tao Te Ching chapter:
Tao Te Ching Chapter 29 Translation and Commentary