"Difficult things in the world must needs have their beginnings in the easy; Big things must needs have their beginnings in the small."

"The sage does not hoard. The more he helps others, the more he benefits himself."

"Act without action. Those who act will fail. Those who seize will lose."

"The empire is a sacred vessel and cannot be acted on. He who acts on it harms it; he who grasps it loses it."

"The sage's Way is to act and not to contend."