“He who acts defeats his own purpose;
He who grasps loses.
The sage does not act, and so is not defeated.
He does not grasp and therefore does not lose.
Therefore, the sage seeks freedom from desire.
He does not collect precious things.
He learns not to hold onto ideas.
He brings men back to what they have lost.
He helps the ten thousand things find their own nature,
But refrains from action.”
from the Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu, translated by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English