Chapter 28
Those who would seize the world and act upon it, I see that they cannot succeed.
The world is a sacred vessel; it cannot be acted upon. Those who act upon it ruin it; those who grasp it lose it.
Thus, among all things: some lead, some follow; some breathe warmly, some blow cold; some are strong, some are weak; some build up, some tear down.
Therefore the sage removes excess, removes extravagance, removes extremity.