35.
She who is centered in the Tao can go where she wishes without danger. She perceives the universal harmony even amid great pain because she has found peace in her heart. Music or the smell of cooking can make people stop and
enjoy. But words that point to the Tao seem monotonous and without flavor. When you look for it there is nothing to see. When you listen for it there is nothing to hear. When you use it, it is inexhaustible.
36.
If you want to shrink something you must first allow it to expand. If you want to get rid of something you must first allow it to flourish. If you want to take something you must allow it to be given. This is called the Subtle Perception of the way things are. The soft overcomes the hard. The slow overcomes the fast. Let your workings remain a mystery. Just show people the results.
37.
The Tao never does anything, yet through it, all things are done. If powerful men and women could center themselves in it the whole world would be transformed by itself in its natural rhythms. People would be content with their simple everyday lives in harmony and free of desire. When there is not desire all things are at peace.
38.
The Master doesn't try to be powerful, thus he is truly powerful. The ordinary man keeps reaching for power thus he never has enough. The Master does nothing, yet he leaves nothing undone. The ordinary man is always doing things, yet many more needs to be done. The kind man does something, yet something remains undone. The just man does something, yet leaves many things undone. The moral man does something and when no one responds he rolls up his sleeves and uses force. When the Tao is lost there is goodness, when goodness is lost there is morality, when morality is lost there is ritual. The ritual is the husk of true faith. The beginning of chaos. Therefore the Master concerns himself with the depths and not the surface. With the fruit and not the flower. He has no will of his own. He dwells in reality and lets all illusions go.
39.
In harmony with the Tao the sky is clear and spacious. The earth is solid and full. All creatures flourish together content with the way they are endlessly repeating themselves endlessly renewed. When man interferes with
the Tao, the sky becomes filthy, the earth becomes depleted and the equilibrium crumbles. Creatures become extinct. The Master have used the parts with compassion because he understands the whole. He doesn't glitter like a jewel, but lets himself be shaped by the Tao, as rugged and common as a stone.
40.
Return is the movement of the Tao. Yielding is the way of the Tao. All things are born of being. Being is born of non-being.
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