Non-Doing
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將欲取天下而為之，吾見其不得已。天下神器，不可為也，為者敗之，執者失之。故物或行或隨，或呴或吹，或強或羸，或載或隳。是以聖人去甚，去奢，去泰。
One who sets out wanting to take the world and act on it: I see he will not succeed. The world is a sacred vessel; no one can act on it. One who acts on it ruins it; one who grips it loses it. So among things, some lead and some follow; some breathe warm and some blow cold; some are strong and some are weak; some are safe and some are in danger. So the sage lets go of excess, lets go of luxury, lets go of grandeur.
Chapter 29. Heshang Gong titles it 無為, "Non-Doing."
This is a warning against seizing the world and managing it by force. A sacred vessel is something you handle and never grip.
The pairs of opposites refuse to rank one half above the other: leading is no better than following. So the sage’s answer is simply to shed extremes.
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