Tao Te Ching · Ch. 67

天下皆謂我道大,似不肖。夫唯大,故似不肖。若肖久矣,其細也夫!我有三寶,持而保之。一曰慈,二曰儉,三曰不敢為天下先。慈故能勇;儉故能廣;不敢為天下先,故能成器長。今舍慈且勇;舍儉且廣;舍後且先;死矣!夫慈以戰則勝,以守則固。天將救之,以慈衛之。

Tiān xià jiē wèi wǒ dào dà, sì bù xiào. Fú wéi dà, gù sì bù xiào. Ruò xiào jiǔ yǐ, qí xì yě fū! Wǒ yǒu sān bǎo, chí ér bǎo zhī. Yī yuē cí, èr yuē jiǎn, sān yuē bù gǎn wéi tiān xià xiān. Cí gù néng yǒng; Jiǎn gù néng guǎng; Bù gǎn wéi tiān xià xiān, gù néng chéng qì cháng. Jīn shě cí qiě yǒng; shě jiǎn qiě guǎng; shě hòu qiě xiān; sǐ yǐ! Fú cí yǐ zhàn zé shèng, yǐ shǒu zé gù. Tiān jiāng jiù zhī, yǐ cí wèi zhī.

All under heaven say my Tao is great and yet resembles nothing. It is precisely because it is great that it resembles nothing — if it resembled anything, it would long since have become small. I hold three treasures, which I keep and guard: the first is compassion (慈, cí); the second is frugality (儉, jiǎn); the third is not daring to be ahead of the world (不敢為天下先). Through compassion one can be truly courageous; through frugality one can be truly generous; through not daring to be first, one can become a leader among leaders. Now if one forsakes compassion yet tries to be brave; forsakes frugality yet tries to be generous; forsakes the last place yet tries to be first — that is death. Compassion in battle brings victory; in defense it holds fast. When Heaven would save someone, it guards them with compassion.

— Tao Te Ching 67

Source: Wang Bi edition (Chinese) + Hanyu Pinyin transliteration