Sacred Text · The Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching, chapter 66
Chapter 66 of 81
“That whereby the rivers and seas are able to receive the homage and tribute of all the valley streams, is their skill in being lower than they;--it is thus that they are the kings of them all. So it is that the sage (ruler), wishing to be above men, puts himself by his words below them, and, wishing to be before them, places his person behind them. In this way though he has his place above them, men do not feel his weight, nor though he has his place before them, do they feel it an injury to them. Therefore all in the world delight to exalt him and do not weary of him. Because he does not strive, no one finds it possible to strive with him.”
Tao Te Ching 66 · Legge
Translation: James Legge (1891), The Tâo Teh King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XXXIX, public domain, via Project Gutenberg (ebook 216). Reproduced in full and in context; chapter 1 and the chapter count (81 chapters) validated against the source before publishing. Legge’s round brackets are his own clarifying insertions.
Christian comparison
How this connects to Jesus
That whereby the rivers and seas receive the homage of all the streams is their skill in being lower than they; so the sage, to be above the people, puts himself below them. Jesus taught his followers plainly: whoever would be great among you must be your servant (Mark 10:43-44). Leadership by lowliness, in two traditions at once.
Explore: Leading by being lowestWhy Jesus?Read the Gospel