To look too hard for life
Is to find death.
3 out of 10 chase their passions,
3 out of 10 push away what they don’t like,
3 out of 10 ignore and sleep-walk.
These all hold on too hard to life.

Only 1 out of 10 understands how to live in ways
That they fear no weapons in battle,
That they cross wild lands without fear of danger.
Horns can find no place to gore,
Claws can find no place to tear,
Soldiers can find no place to thrust their swords.

They have nowhere in them for death to enter.

To stay in power, rulers need to provide a scapegoat. In spite of best efforts, inevitably some projects will fail, some results won't match expectations, some people will get angry and critical. Small failings will assume undeserved attention while large scale positive results will be ignored. Having an external target for the inescapable resentment, anger, and ridicule that arise from failed ventures enables the possibility of trying new ones.
[Several chapters—3, 31, 88, 125—advise how to avoid becoming a scapegoat but this one suggests creating one. This contradicts Balthasar's general intent and attitude but blends in better if the idea of "scapegoat" is depersonalized and applied to an inanimate system or idea.]

True confidence and self-satisfaction may look similar on the surface; but, in reality, they quickly become opposites. Ignorance and complacency become a solid foundation for self-satisfaction and can make us temporarily feel better—until it ruins our reputation. Instead of believing our distorted, personal propaganda, we can view our self-assessments with skepticism. Misfortunes and difficulties don't surprise someone who has already anticipated them. But empty self-satisfaction only increases folly ruining our endeavors and undermining our efforts.

True goodness is like water
Bringing benefit and giving life to the 10,000 things.
It doesn’t compete but like the Tao
Immediately flows to the lowest place.
Everyone else always wants to be first
But the wise only want to be last,
To live on solid ground,
To think deeply,
To be gentle and kind,
To speak with honesty,
To govern with peace and order,
To work with skill,
To act at only the best time.

True leadership arises from a genuine, a natural, an inborn integrity. More powerful than any kind of trickery or conmanship, this authentic inner authority inspires the respect, the esteem, the faith, the hearts and minds of those around them. Lions because of charisma and kings by way of merit, they often become heads of state, rulers of industry, and managers of movements accomplishing more with a gesture than others do with long speeches.

True words aren’t fancy,
Charming words aren’t true.
Good people don’t argue,
Proselytizers aren’t good.
The wise aren’t academic,
Scholars aren’t wise.
The foolish understand the words,
The wise understand the sense.

The wise don’t accumulate, hoard or grasp;
The more they do for others,
The more they fulfill themselves.
The more they give to others,
The more they have.

This way of life leaves no trace,
Sharpens without cutting,
Benefits without causing harm.
The wise act without effort,
Accomplish great things
Without striving or struggle.

Truth is most often seen, rarely heard. Lies flood our ears but avoid our eyes. Conflicts of interest abound; but, deeply buried, become difficult to see. Psychologists have become highly paid advertising executives playing on our emotions and vulnerabilities. Since we live and act based on our trust in the information we receive, some of the most important skills include testing for exaggeration and falsehood. Information inevitably comes to us tinged by the desires and emotions of the people who share it with us, understanding the intentions of our sources can supersede the content. Maintain more skepticism and caution with those who praise than with those who criticize.

Uncontrived awareness goes on forever,
Undefined and nameless.
Small and like uncut wood in primal simplicity,
No one can control or manipulate it.

When rulers follow this Tao,
The world becomes like a guest,
Heaven and Earth harmonize,
Life becomes like the freshness of rain,
People become good for each other,
And all things take their natural course.

For practical wisdom,
Experience must be defined and ordered.
But when definitions proliferate,
It’s time to stop and understand more deeply.
If people know when to stop,
Danger dissolves.
True wisdom in the world
Is like a river flowing home to the sea.

Under the surface of our prejudice, our culturally-influenced opinions, confused conclusions, and false beliefs; we have a wise voice of reason, an intuitive clarity, an accurate psychological awareness. Without listening to this—even with impressive qualities, intelligence, and skills—our decisions undermine our goals. Nothing else lacking in our character has so many unfortunate consequences. With an egoless attention to this inner voice of reason, all the activities of our lives become more satisfying, more truthful, and more successful.

Understanding and channeling the right people into the right positions requires great skill, insight, and perseverance. Each line of work does best with at least slightly different skill-sets. Discerning and matching the best person for each specific task defines management competence and expertise. The easiest project-matches involve honesty, courage, integrity; the hardest require skill, cleverness, subtlety. And the more foolish the employee, the more challenge in directing them. It takes double the sense to direct those without much. The most respected occupations include variety, independence, meaningfulness, and freedom; the least respected have the most unchanging hours and routine, the most supervision.

Use conventional wisdom to rule a country,
Use deception to win a war
But only non-action, not meddling, letting go, doing nothing …
Will win your world.

See how this is true by watching how:
The more laws and prohibitions,
The poorer the people;
The more experts,
The more confusion;
The more weapons,
The more trouble;
The more clever the schemes,
The more people lose;
The louder the call for law and order,
The more thieves and con artists.

For these reasons wise leaders
Don’t meddle and the people transform themselves;
Don’t preach and the people naturally improve themselves;
Don’t create new economic schemes and the people prosper on their own;
Don’t chase ambitious goals and the people return to a good and simple life.

Value inspired focus over a large but shallow abundance; quality over quantity. The larger the quantity, the lower the perceived value; the broader the spotlight, the more mediocrity. Don't value books based on their thickness like they were weight-lifting equipment. The best are always few and rare, giants are usually really dwarfs. Intensity can achieve much more success than skill, experience, and intelligence alone. The more innate ingenuity and genius, the more temptation to spread too thin, neglect the most important, and dissipate capacity.

Watch carefully over the details of life always avoiding pettiness and elevating your interactions. But take a more tolerant view of others without prying into unpleasant matters. Superficial chattering always annoys and becomes harmful when hovering around unpleasant topics. Often the most wise and skillful response rests in pretending to not notice. Most irritations stay small when not attended to, expand when focused on.

Water seems so soft, weak, yielding
Yet easily overcomes the hard and strong.
It has no equal.
The soft overcomes the hard,
The weak overcomes the strong.
This is easy to understand
But rarely put into practice.

And so the wise teach:
Only leaders who take responsibility
For people’s disgrace;
Only leaders who take on people’s misfortunes
Are worthy of leadership.
The truest words always sound wrong.

We all have different and different degrees of strengths and weaknesses. When we only rely on our personal qualities, we do well in some areas but fail in others. In collaborations, we can focus on our strengths and rely on team members who are strong in areas we remain weak. By joining extremes—the cautious with the impulsive, the impatient with the plodding, the creative with the conservative—we can find the golden, middle way. The ability to agree with and appreciate people with very different qualities increases cultural goodness, makes the world more beautiful, and brings greatness to leaders.

We look but don’t see – it’s beyond form.
We listen but don’t hear – it’s beyond sound.
We grasp but can’t hold on – it’s intangible.

All three undifferentiated, it merges into oneness
With no light above and no shadow below -
Continuity

It returns beyond the realm of things
To emptiness: the formless form,
The empty image,
Unthinkable thought beyond imagination.

Face it but you will see no beginning,
Follow it but you will see no end.
Yet upholding this ancient way,
You will merge with and rule the present
Holding fast to the perpetual, momentary flickering of mind.

We often cling to our faults and imperfections—both physical and moral—as a way of attracting sympathy and attention. Even when small however, enemies easily create a focus of attention on the defect which can obscure an abundance of good and noble qualities. Like a small cloud that can obscure the entire sun, a small failing can obscure the most impressive reputations. Therefore, don't neglect even the smallest shortcoming. Like Caesar who decorated his baldness with a laurel wreath, we can often transform mistakes and imperfections into unique and remarkable impressions.

We often mistake admiration for affection, expect that the first leads to the second, and too often sacrifice the second for the first. Our natural talents, good fortunes, and inspirations can become a source of jealousy and resentments against us; or, they can become a foundation for tremendous goodwill when—instead of getting lazy resting on our accomplishments—we work hard doing good with both hands, being generous with both words and deeds, and being loved because of loving. In the social realm; courtesy, good manners, and grace become a kind of potent political magic. This nobility of spirit easily transmits through the years of history through the blessings of biographers.

We often see our own unacknowledged inner imperfections in others and build dislikes and prejudices against people and experiences before we know anything true about them. When this fabricated aversion attaches itself to the good and noble, it degrades us in a similar but opposite way as the appreciation and respect for the good in others ennobles us.

We seldom meet someone with a deep and genuine integrity. When we do, however, it inspires high-mindedness, noble words, courageous action. This quality shines brightest when an opportunity for revenge arises and the impulse is not only rejected but also inspires unexpected generosity. It speaks well of enemies, does not exaggerate or pretend, makes no pretense of victory, and conceals its merits.