Verse 32

The eternal Tao has no name.
Although simple and subtle,
no one in the world can master it.

If kings and lords could remain
centered in the Tao,
all things would naturally obey.
Heaven and earth would rejoice
with the dripping of sweet dew.
Everyone would live in harmony,
not by official decree,
but by their own goodness.
When you have names and forms,
know that they are provisional.
When you have institutions,
know where their functions should end.

Knowing when to stop,
you can avoid any danger.
Rivers and streams are born of the ocean,
and all creation is born of the Tao.
Just as all water flows back to become the ocean,
all creation flows back to become the Tao.

[For Personal Development]

• Living in integrity is the path to inner peace and makes law obsolete.
• Like quantum physics, the Tao tells us that the deepest level of reality is an energy field of infinite power from which all creation is born.
• Knowing when to stop; all things have limits. You win only if you know when to walk away from the black jack table.

[For Coaching]

• Living in integrity is the path to true fulfilment (Coach U Guiding Principle #9).
• The art of coaching is simple and subtle, yet it produces powerful results.
• Holding the vision for the clients, all actions will fall into place.

Verse 40

Returning is the motion of the Tao.

Yielding is the way of the Tao.

All things are born of being.

Being is born of non-being.

[For Personal Development]

• Return to your nature state of simplicity, child-like innocence and curiosity.
• Let go and let it happen. The more you resist, the stronger the resistance you will encounter.
• Life often comes full circle.

[For Coaching]

• Great coaching is to uncover the who and invite the client to embrace who they are.
• People are inquisitive: Wonder, curiosity and inquiry are the source of all learning (Coach U Guiding Principle #2)
• The most powerful coaching takes place at the level of "who", the non-being.

Verse 60

Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish.
You spoil it with too much poking.

Center your country in the Tao
and evil will have no power.
Not that it isn't there,
but you'll be able to step out of its way.

Give evil nothing to oppose
and it will disappear by itself.

[For Personal Development]

• Less is more. You “overcook the fish” when you are trying too hard.
• Center your team in what’s truly important to the people, and things will come together by themselves.
• As a leader you don’t have to do more than that.When people have integrity, crises may still happen but are no longer threats.

[For Coaching]

• Great coaching is effortless.
• As coaches, we invite our clients to center themselves in their values and life purpose.
• Feel the fear and do it anyway: when people live out of integrity, the fear may still exist but it is grounded and harmless.

Verse 2

When people see some things as beautiful,

other things become ugly.

When people see some things as good,

other things become bad.

Being and non-being create each other.

Difficult and easy support each other.

Long and short define each other.

High and low depend on each other.

Before and after follow each other.

Therefore the Master acts without effortand teaches without saying anything.

Things arise and he lets them come;

things disappear and he lets them go.

He has but doesn't possess,acts but doesn't expect.

When his work is done, he forgets it.

That is why it lasts forever.

[For Personal Development]

• Beauty is defined by something being seen as ugly. Good and bad are two sides of the same coin.
• Opposites are judgments of the human mind, make one and you also make the other.
• Yin and Yang coexist at any given time. Be human: accept your weaknesses.
• Accomplish much by trying less.

[For Coaching]

• See each client as a whole person; unconditionally celebrate their strengths and accept their weaknesses.
• It's perfectly normal to run into a few stumbling blocks on a fast track.
• As a coach, don’t attach to an outcome. The client does the work and is responsible for his/her outcomes.
• Be present and, in the dance with the client, things will arise naturally.
• Be a role model.