Tao Te Ching · 57 of 81 · tr. James Legge

Chapter 57

A state may be ruled by (measures of) correction; weapons of war may be used with crafty dexterity; (but) the kingdom is made one's own (only) by freedom from action and purpose. How do I know that it is so? By these facts:--In the kingdom the multiplication of prohibitive enactments increases the poverty of the people; the more implements to add to their profit that the people have, the greater disorder is there in the state and clan; the more acts of crafty dexterity that men possess, the more do strange contrivances appear; the more display there is of legislation, the more thieves and robbers there are. Therefore a sage has said, 'I will do nothing (of purpose), and the people will be transformed of themselves; I will be fond of keeping still, and the people will of themselves become correct. I will take no trouble about it, and the people will of themselves become rich; I will manifest no ambition, and the people will of themselves attain to the primitive simplicity.'

§ Ask Guru about this passage →

Themes

Childlike Innocenceanthropology

The infant or child as symbol of the unfallen, undivided spiritual state; return to primordial simplicity.

The text explicitly states the goal is for people to 'attain to the primitive simplicity,' aligning with the symbol of the unfallen, undivided spiritual state.

All passages →

Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis

Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.

The sage's resolve to 'manifest no ambition' and 'take no trouble' reflects a radical letting-go of will and grasping.

All passages →

Inner Silencepraxis

The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence.

The sage states he will be 'fond of keeping still,' indicating a practice of stilling the mind and speech to allow natural order.

All passages →

Meditationpraxis

Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.

The sage's state of 'keeping still' and non-action implies a disciplined inward attention characteristic of meditative practice.

All passages →

Paradox As Teachingethics

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

The passage uses apparent contradictions such as 'do nothing' to achieve transformation and 'more legislation' leading to 'more thieves' to destabilize ordinary understanding.

All passages →

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 centrally defines governance through 'freedom from action and purpose' and the sage's declaration to 'do nothing' so people transform themselves.

All passages →

Related passages · 10 parallels

hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III|Sutra 7

“This threefold power, of Attention, Meditation, Contemplation, is more interior than the means of growth previously described. Very naturally so; because the means of growth previously described were concerned with the extrication of the sp…”

Shared concept: Meditation — Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting. (derived)

christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|PREFACE-a

““ Meister Eckhart ,” who has been called the “Father of German thought,” was a Dominican monk, and one of the most profound thinkers of the Middle Ages. He was born about 1260 A.D. in Thuringia, and died at Cologne 1327 A.D. In 1295 he w…”

Shared concept: Detachment Gelassenheit — Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim. (derived)

hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book IV|Sutra 16

“Nor do material objects defend upon a single mind, for how could they remain objective to others, if that mind ceased to think of them? This is but a further development of the thought of the preceding Sutra, carrying on the thought that, w…”

renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|First Dialogue-g

“Wherefore not only can we never discourse about things divine, but we cannot even think of them without detracting from, rather than adding to the glory of them; so that the best thing to be done with regard to them is, that man, in the pre…”

Shared concept: Inner Silence — The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence. (derived)

hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book I|Sutra 22

“The will may be weak, or of middle strength, or intense. Therefore there is a spiritual consciousness higher than this. For those of weak will, there is this counsel: to be faithful in obedience, to live the life, and thus to strengthen the…”

hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III|Sutra 3

“When the perceiving consciousness in this meditative is wholly given to illuminating the essential meaning of the object contemplated, and is freed from the sense of separateness and personality, this is contemplation (samadhi). Let us revi…”

christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 11, Section 1c

“And the perfect Peace guards each several individuality unalloyed by Its providential gift of peace, keeping all things without internal or mutual discord or confusion, and establishing all things, in the power of unswerving stability, so a…”

Shared concept: Paradox As Teaching — Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight. (derived)

neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 424

“Section 8 8. This is the explanation of Plato's Triplicity, in the passage where he names as the Primals the Beings gathered about the King of All, and establishes a Secondary containing the Secondaries, and a Third containing the Tertiarie…”

Shared concept: Inner Silence — The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence. (derived)

christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology|Chapter V-a

“That He Who is the Pre-eminent Cause of everything intelligibly perceived is not Himself any one of the things intelligibly perceived. Once more, ascending yet higher we maintain 537 537 It is not (1) a Thinking Subject; nor (2) an Act or…”

Shared concept: Paradox As Teaching — Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight. (derived)

christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 8 (part 8)

“For the internal being is continually labouring to manifest itself outwardly. Thus everything has its own mouth for the purpose of revealing itself, and therein is based the language of nature, by means of which each thing speaks out of it…”

Shared concept: Childlike Innocence — The infant or child as symbol of the unfallen, undivided spiritual state; return to primordial simplicity. (derived)