Chapter22— The Increase Granted to Humility
Chapter 22 of the Tao Te Ching explores the dialectical relationship between humility and the attainment of the Tao, positing that the incomplete finds wholeness through submission. Situated within the larger work's meditation on wu-wei, this section argues that the wise person, by avoiding the arrogance of self-aggrandizement, naturally aligns with the cosmic order. The text suggests that true fulfillment arises not from active striving but from the receptive posture of the humble, who thereby become the vessel for the Tao's transformative power.
About this translation
The most influential English translation ever made. Sometimes archaic, but the standard PD English text.
Translators commissioned by King James I of England, 1604–1611
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