Tao te Ching: 3

Do not exalt the worthy, so that the people shall not compete.
Do not value rare treasures, so that the people shall not steal.
Do not display objects of desire, so that the people's hearts shall not be disturbed.
Therefore in the government of the sage,
He keeps their hearts vacuous (hsü),
Fills their bellies,
Weakens their ambitions,
And strengthens their bones,
He causes his people to be without knowledge (cunning) or desire,
And the crafty to be afraid to act.
By acting without action, all things will be in order.

Finally we have Lao Tzu's why: all things will be in order. A society exists for the benefit of the people inside of it. If you don't have that, then you don't have a society but some othe rcollection of people. The sage, ruling over his kingdom needs to act in accordance with this (or not act, as wu-wei would have it, but remember that it doesn't mean inaction.) The kingdom can be your nation, state, city, household, or even yourself.

Lao Tzu continues with what we should and should not do with our newly discovered opposites. We've come from the Nameless to the Earth and Heaven, to naming all things, to realizing the opposite of things, to a code of behavior toward these things. Don't exhalt beauty, or treasures, and in the previous chapter Lao Tzu told the sage not to act for rewards or recognition. A new dynamic is born, don't seek recognition and praise and don't give recognition and praise when it comes to things. If you do, the category of haves and have-nots are born. The Buddhists recognize this very same concept with the Four Noble Truths. I'll address that in more detail in the next post, because I think it is important to look at how the beginnings of Tao te Ching compare to the most fundamental Buddhist teaching.

There are scary words in this english translation of the Tao te Ching. I try to put a clarifying word next to them in parentheses, especially where the texts I have read have done so. First, we have hsü, which is a state of mind of absolute peacefulness, purity of mind, and freedom from evil thoughts like selfishness and greed. It also means imperturbable. This vacuity is like an empty and calm sea. We can see cleanly through to the bottom and the wind never makes more than a ripple. Remember hsü, because Taoism thinks highly of it and as we discuss it more, we will start to see how it relates to Buddhism.

The other scary part is "to be without knowledge" but the author has already included the clarification of cunning. Cunning is a sly sort of intelligence. Cunning is always figuring out the angles and secrets. Cunning wants things to come out in a very specific way. Cunning is the antithesis of wu-wei. Lao Tzu instead says that the sage should keep his society peaceful, content, and strong, but without cunning goals and ambition toward the "good things" because cunning and ambition leads to greed, and that greed destroys wu-wei and creates the haves and the have-nots.