"The world is a sacred vessel. It cannot be controlled. Those who try to control it will ruin it. Those who try to grasp it will lose it."

"The sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; he treats his person as foreign to him, and yet it is preserved."

"The sage is like water, which flows to the lowest places and yet is the strongest."

"The sage attends to the belly, and not to what he sees."

"The sage puts his person last and finds his person first. He treats his person as external and his person is preserved."