Chapter 81: True Words (第81章：顯質)

信言不美，美言不信。
善者不辯，辯者不善。
知者不博，博者不知。
聖人不積，既以為人，己愈有；既以與人，己愈多。
天之道，利而不害；聖人之道，為而不爭。
☸

Translation

True words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not true.
A good man does not argue; he who argues is not a good man.
A wise man is not broadly learned (in trivial things); he who is broadly learned is not wise.

The Sage does not hoard. The more he does for others, the more he has.
The more he gives to others, the more he is enriched.

The Way of Heaven is to benefit and not to harm.
The Way of the Sage is to act and not to contend.

✦ ◆ ✦

📜 Liuren Perspective

This final chapter summarizes the Ethics of the Liuren Path. "True words are not beautiful" (信言不美) reminds us that authentic spiritual teaching is often simple and plain, while the "beautiful words" of false teachers are often empty.

"The Sage does not hoard" (不積) is the foundation of Xingshan Jide (行善積德)—Doing good and accumulating virtue. In Liuren Fajiao, we do not hoard our Fa-power. Like the Sage, the more we use our rituals to help others, the more our own power grows and the more we are "enriched" by the lineage.

The ultimate summary of our work is "To benefit and not to harm" (利而不害). Our magic is a force for good in the world. By "Acting and not contending" (為而不爭), we fulfill the will of the Immortal Master and the Jiutian Xuannu, bringing the light of the Dao into the hearts of all.

← Chapter 80
Back to Daodejing Index