People are hard to govern. The rulers interfere with too much. That is why people are hard to govern.
Interpretation
Governance is challenging because excessive interference leads to resistance from the governed.
This quote by Laozi highlights the inherent difficulty in governing people, suggesting that the more rulers intervene in the lives of their subjects, the more resistance they encounter. The essence of the quote lies in the idea that too much control can foster a sense of rebellion and a longing for autonomy among individuals, reflecting a philosophical view on governance and the nature of authority.
In practice
In a speech about the limits of government, one might say, 'As Laozi observed, people are hard to govern due to excessive interference.'
If you understand others you are smart._x000D_ If you understand yourself you are illuminated._x000D_ If you overcome others you are powerful._x000D_ If you overcome yourself you have strength._x000D_ If you know how to be satisfied you are rich._x000D_ If you can act with vigor, you have a will._x000D_ If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting._x000D_ If you die without loss, you are eternal.
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.
In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it.
Rule your mind with serenity rather than with force and manipulation.
He who despises himself esteems himself as a self-despiser.
Man's free agency is not of the mind, for that is bound. There is no freedom there.
Bolshevism is to be reckoned with Mohammedanism rather than with Christianity and Buddhism. Christianity and Buddhism are primarily personal religions, with mystical doctrines and a love of contemplation. Mohammedanism and Bolshevism are practical, social, unspiritual, concerned to win the empire of the world.
If by the people you understand the multitude, the hoi polloi, 'tis no matter what they think; they are sometimes in the right, sometimes in the wrong; their judgment is a mere lottery.
Holiness has nothing to do with what we know and everything to do with Who we know.
Hours of solitude, hours of creation, hours of meditation. Solitude and meditation gave me an awareness, a perspective which I have never lost: that of solidarity with the rest of mankind.
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