Daodejing Part Three

LYRICS Do not crown the clever minds, Let the people rest their eyes, Do not praise the things so rare, Or thieves will rise from empty skies. Hide the fire that wakes the dream, Lest their hearts begin to burn— Peace is found in what’s unseen, When nothing calls, they don’t return. Empty the mind, and fill the bowl, Quiet the will, and strengthen the soul. When nothing is done, all things align— The world moves gently down the line. Feed their bellies, starve their pride, Keep their bones from growing weak, Let no hunger rule inside, Let no wisdom learn to speak. For the sage who does not lead, Still guides the hearts of everyone, By doing nothing, all are freed, And in his stillness, all is done. Empty the mind, and fill the bowl, Quiet the will, and strengthen the soul. When nothing is done, all things align— The world moves gently down the line. Those who know must cease to act, Lest the balance be undone, Power fades where hearts contract, But peace expands beneath the sun. Abstain from striving, stay the hand, Let the river shape the stone— Good order rules a quiet land, Where silence speaks alone. Empty the mind, and fill the bowl, Quiet the will, and strengthen the soul. When nothing is done, all things align— The world moves gently down the line. DAODEJING PART THREE: Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder. Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties their minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens their bones. He constantly keep them without knowledge and without desire, and where there are those who have knowledge, to keep them from presuming to act. When there is this abstinence from action, good order is universal.