Chapter 54
What Tao’s skillful planter plants cannot be uprooted; what his skillful arms hold close cannot be taken away. Sons and grandsons, in an unbroken line, will bring offerings to his shrine.
Cultivate Tao within yourself, and your power becomes genuine. Cultivate it in the family, and abundance follows. Cultivate it in the neighborhood, and prosperity spreads. Cultivate it in the state, and good fortune appears. Cultivate it throughout the kingdom, and people flourish everywhere.
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So the effect can be observed in the individual, in the family, in the neighborhood, in the state, and in the kingdom—each case compared to the others.
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How do I know this holds true everywhere under heaven? By this very method of observation.
