Tao Translation In Modern Words--#46

Everywhere I go, people tell me,
"Tao is so powerful, so immense, it's inconceivable!"

But it's only powerful because it's inconceivable.
If we could wrap our minds around it,
Tao would be just another thing.

The three most important qualities in life are
compassion, or showing kindness and mercy to others,
moderation, or knowing what a thing is worth,
and modesty, or knowing your place in the world.

Courage stems from showing
kindness and mercy to others.
Generosity starts with knowing
what a thing is worth.
True leadership begins
with knowing your place in the world.

But these days,
I see everyone trying to act courageous
without any trace of compassion.
They try to be generous
but they don't practice moderation
in their own lives.
They act like leaders,
but they have no sense of modesty.
No good can come of this.

If you want to get ahead,
show people compassion.
When other people attack you,
defend yourself with compassion.
It's the most powerful force in the universe.