In the area south of jiuqi mountain, people engage in less activities on land and more in the water, so people cut their hair and tattoos to imitate the image of ichthyosaurs; Wear shorts and skirts to facilitate wading; Wearing short-sleeved clothes or rolling up the sleeves for easy boating, which is chosen according to the local environment. In the area north of Yanmen Mountain, the ethnic minorities in the north do not eat grain, despise the elderly and value the young and middle-aged, and have the custom of advocating strength. People do not relax with bowstrings, and the cages carried by horses do not unravel, which is also chosen according to the local environment. Therefore, when Yu arrived in the naked country, he took off his clothes when he went in, and then put them on after he came out, also according to local customs. ...... Therefore, those who are proficient in the Tao will return to their pure nature, and those who explore the nature of things will end in natural inaction. With tranquility and tranquility, with indifference to cultivate the spirit, you can enter the natural realm. The so-called "natural" means that the mind is pure and simple, the essence is upright, and there are no impurities that intersect and merge with it. The so-called "man-made" refers to the uneven nature of human nature, calculations and attempts, hypocrisy and cunning and skill, and bending intentions to meet people. So, cattle have cracked hooves with long horns on their heads, and horses have full hooves with manes on their necks, which is "natural"; Wrapping the horse's mouth with the head of a horse's cage and passing a rope through the nose of a cow is "artificial".
To obey nature is to travel with the Tao; To be submissive is to be confused with worldly interactions. ...... So the saints will not disturb "nature" with man-made, nor will they disturb the true nature with desire. ...... The saint cultivates his nature inward, rather than modifying the insignificant things outward. He maintains his spirit and stops calculating in his mind, so that he can do nothing but do nothing, he can calmly do nothing, but nothing is not governed. The so-called "inaction" means not changing things in advance; The so-called "all do" is to obey the natural changes of things. The so-called "no cure" means not to change one's own nature; The so-called "no cure" is to make things conform to their nature. ...... Therefore, those who have attained enlightenment have a soft will, but they do things simply and neatly; Inner emptiness has no preconceptions, and the response is accurate and appropriate. ...... Actions are not lost in time, running around with all things, not advocating first, responding to them after feeling them. Therefore, the noble will call themselves by humble names, and the towering will be based on inferior things. ...... Therefore, those who want to be strong must be guarded by suppleness; If you want to be strong, you must use weakness to maintain. Accumulate suppleness and become strong; A weak accumulation becomes strong. ...... Weapons are too brittle, they are easy to destroy; The wood is hard and straight, and it is easy to be broken; If the leather is too strong, it is easy to crack; Teeth are harder than tongue but damaged first. Therefore, weakness is the key to survival, and strength is the road to death. Taking the lead in advocating is the way to fall into poverty; Subsequent action is the principle of achieving the goal. ...... Why? Because it is difficult to act wisely first, it is easy to succeed later. The forerunner ascends to the top, and the follower can climb with it; The forerunner crosses the lower place, and the follower follows the pedaling; The forerunner falls into the trap, and the follower re-plots the way out; The first mover shows signs of failure, and the follower can learn the lesson and do it all over again. From this point of view, the forerunner is like the bow and arrow and target of the follower, staring at the target. ...... The so-called after, is not to stop and not act, solidified and not to flow, the valuable thing about the back movement is that it is in line with the law and is timely. If you grasp the law to cope with changes, the first can restrict the later, and the latter can also restrict the first. Why? If you don't lose the factors that can restrain others, others can't restrain you. ...... Therefore, the saints adhere to the path of tranquility, hold a gentle discipline, obey the law to deal with changes, and often be in a position of latecomers without scrambling to act first. Supple so clean, comfortable and serene so stable, but can overcome the tall and wear away the hard things, nothing can compete with it. There is nothing weaker than water. However, the water is boundless and unfathomable; Long and endless, far to no end... It accompanies all things throughout, and this is the highest virtue. The reason why water can make itself the highest virtue in the world is because of its soft and lubricating nature.
So Lao Tzu said, "The softest things in the world can drive the hardest things under the world." Arises from the invisible and enters without gaps. That's what it means to be inactive. "The invisible is the most fundamental source of all things: the one who has no sound is the suzerainty of the most fundamental sound." The invisible descendants are light and water, both of which arise from the invisible. Light can see, but cannot grasp; Water can be obeyed, but it cannot be destroyed. So of all the things that have shapes, none are more noble than water. ......
