Practice taking no action; 1

Commit yourself to no commitment; 2

Taste what has no taste. 3

Regard the big as though it is small, the many as though few, and repay resentment with virtue. 4

Plan for the difficult while it is easy; 5

Act on the big while it is minute. 6

The difficult things under heaven arise from what is easy; 7

The big things under heaven arise from what is minute. 8

For this reason, the sage never attempts to be great all the time. 9

Therefore, he can accomplish his greatness. 10

Now, rash promises are unavoidably short of trust; 11

Things too easy to do will undoubtedly become things too difficult to do. 12

For this reason, the sage rather regards things as difficult.