为无为，事无事，味无味。大小多少。报怨以德。图难于其易，为大于其细；天下难事，必作于易；天下大事，必作于细。是以圣人终不为大，故能成其大。夫轻诺必寡信，多易必多难。是以圣人犹难之，故终无难矣。
Do that which consists in taking no action;
Pursue that which is not meddlesome;
Savor that which has no flavor.
Make the small big and the few many;
Do good to him who has done you an injury.
Lay plans for the accomplishment of the difficult before it becomesdifficult;
Make something big by starting with it when small.
Difficult things in the word must needs have their beginnings in theeasy;
Big things must needs have their beginnings in the small.
Therefore it is because the sage never attempts to be great that hesucceeds in becoming great.
One who makes promises rashly rarely keeps good faith;
One who is in the habit of considering things easy meets with frequentdifficulties.
Therefore even the sage treats some things as difficult.
That is why in the end no difficulties can get the better of him.
It acts without action, does without doing, finds flavour in what is flavourless,
Can make the small great and the few many,
“Requites injuries with good deeds,
Deals with the hard while it is still easy,
With the great while it is still small.”
In the governance of empire everything difficult must be dealt with while it is still easy,
Everything great must be dealt with while it is still small.
Therefore the Sage never has to deal with the great; and so achieves greatness.
But again “Light assent inspires little confidence
And 'many easies' means many a hard.”
Therefore the Sage knows too how to make the easy difficult, and by doing so avoid all difficulties!
(It is the way of the Dao) to act without (thinking of) acting; to conduct affairs without (feeling the) trouble of them; to taste without discerning any flavour; to consider what is small as great, and a few as many; and to recompense injury with kindness. (The master of it) anticipates things that are difficult while they are easy, and does things that would become great while they are small. All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a previous state in which they were easy, and all great things from one in which they were small. Therefore the sage, while he never does what is great, is able on that account to accomplish the greatest things. He who lightly promises is sure to keep but little faith; he who is continually thinking things easy is sure to find them difficult. Therefore the sage sees difficulty even in what seems easy, and so never has any difficulties.