# X explained — Tao Te Ching

> Chapter companion for Tao Te Ching by Laozi.

## What happens

This chapter emphasizes the cultivation of inner harmony through the union of the spiritual and physical aspects of being, the attainment of pliancy like a newborn, and the purification of perception. It extols the Tao's creative and nurturing power, which acts without possession, boasting, or control, embodying the mysterious Quality.

## Themes in this chapter

### Wu Wei (Non-Action or Effortless Action)

The passage advises ruling and loving the people without purposeful action, and describes the Tao as producing and nourishing without claiming or controlling.

### The Soft Overcoming the Hard

The ideal of becoming as a tender babe and acting with the softness of a female bird illustrates the power of yielding and pliancy.

## Key lines

> When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one embrace, they can be kept from separating.

By unifying the spiritual and physical aspects of the self, one maintains inner integrity.

_This describes the harmony of the soul's components._

> When one gives undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) babe.

By focusing on the breath and making it supremely soft, one attains the innocence and suppleness of an infant.

_This emphasizes breath control and yielding as a path to renewal._

> It produces them and does not claim them as its own; it does all, and yet does not boast of it; it presides over all, and yet does not control them.

The Tao creates and nurtures without ownership, pride, or domination.

_This illustrates the selfless and non-coercive nature of the Tao._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tao_te_ching_se/chapters/part-i-x
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tao_te_ching_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tao_te_ching_se/chapters