Chapter 7

Original Text

天長地久。
天地所以能長且久者，以其不自生，故能長生。
是以聖人後其身而身先，外其身而身存。
非以其無私耶？故能成其私。

Translation

Heaven is long-enduring; Earth is long-lasting.
Why can Heaven and Earth be long and lasting? Because they do not live for themselves—therefore they can long endure.

Thus the Sage puts himself after, and finds himself before;
places himself outside, and his person is preserved.

Is it not because he has no self-claims?
Therefore he is able to fulfill his own.

Word Notes

• 不自生: Not existing/acting “for themselves.”
• 後其身／外其身: Put oneself after / set oneself aside.
• 成其私: Paradoxically “accomplish one’s own”—one’s real good—precisely by not grasping at it.

Chapter Explanation

Durability follows non-self-referential action. Heaven and Earth endure because they do not hoard for themselves. Analogously, the Sage yields pride of place and releases self-entitlement; in return, leadership and preservation arrive through him rather than being clutched by him.

Discourse

This is not a call to self-erasure. It is guidance on priority and flow: serve the whole, and circulation returns to you; grasp for the self, and circulation bypasses you. In governance and in daily life, lead by placing others first; in relationships, de-center the ego and you become the stable one others can rely on.