Verse 19
Abandon holiness
Discard cleverness
and the people will benefit a hundredfold
Abandon the rules of "kindness"
Discard "righteous" actions
and the people will return
to their own natural affections
Abandon book learning
Discard the rules of behaviour
and the people will have no worries
Abandon plots and schemes
Discard profit-seeking
and the people will not become thieves
These lessons are mere elaborations
The essence of my teachings is this:
See with original purity
Embrace with original simplicity
Reduce what you have
Decrease what you want
Discard cleverness
and the people will benefit a hundredfold
Abandon the rules of "kindness"
Discard "righteous" actions
and the people will return
to their own natural affections
Abandon book learning
Discard the rules of behaviour
and the people will have no worries
Abandon plots and schemes
Discard profit-seeking
and the people will not become thieves
These lessons are mere elaborations
The essence of my teachings is this:
See with original purity
Embrace with original simplicity
Reduce what you have
Decrease what you want
