Tao Te Ching · 7 of 81 · tr. James Legge

Chapter 7

Heaven is long-enduring and earth continues long. The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves. This is how they are able to continue and endure. Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him, and yet that person is preserved. Is it not because he has no personal and private ends, that therefore such ends are realised?

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Themes

Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology

The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.

The sage's behavior is presented as a reflection of the enduring nature of Heaven and Earth, positioning the human as a small-scale image of the cosmic order.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

[auto] The text relies on apparent contradictions such as putting oneself last to be found first and having no ends to realize ends to convey its spiritual insight.

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Wu Weipraxis

Effortless action aligned with the spontaneous flow of the Dao; non-coercive, non-striving conduct that yields results without forcing — the sage acts without acting.

[auto] The passage explicitly describes the sage's conduct of having no personal ends yet realizing them through non-striving, which is the core definition of effortless action aligned with the Dao.

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