# Chapter 8

## Original Text
上善若水。水善利萬物而不爭。  
處眾人之所惡，故幾於道。  
居善地，心善淵，與善仁，言善信，政善治，事善能，動善時。  
夫唯不爭，故無尤。

## Translation
The highest goodness is like water. Water is good at benefiting the myriad beings and does not contend.  
It dwells where people disdain to be; therefore it is close to Dao.  
In dwelling—be good at the place; in heart—be good at depth; in giving—be good at benevolence; in speech—be good at trust; in governance—be good at order; in affairs—be good at capability; in movement—be good at timing.  
Only because it does not contend is it without blame.

## Word Notes
- **與 — “to give”**: to bestow, to grant (施與).  
- **尤 — “blame/fault”**: a lapse or transgression.

## Chapter Explanation
The highest form of goodness is like water. Water is good at **benefiting** all beings, yet it does **not** contend with others. It settles in the most lowly places that people dislike; therefore it is **near to Dao**.

  
A person of highest goodness is, in **dwelling**, good at finding the proper **place**—like water that comes to rest in hollows without choosing the ground. In **heart**, good at **depth**—like water that is hollow and clear. In **giving**, good at **benevolence**—like water that moistens and nourishes living things. In **speech**, good at **trust**—like water that never loses its tendency to flow downward. In **governance**, good at **order**—like water that washes filth away and levels the high and the low. In **work**, good at **capability**—like water that moves through every task. In **action**, good at **timing**—like water that is lively and responsive.

  
Having all these excellences, it still does **not** contend. Precisely because it does not contend, it is **without blame**.

## Discourse
Alas! The world is in decay; the whole globe is at war. Who can count the multitudes slain, or the leagues burned? Trace the illness to its source and it is nothing but the calamity of **competition**—the calamity of **contending for power and rights**. By contending for rights, people in fact **forfeit** their rights—how baffling!

  
If all nations honored Laozi’s teaching—**yielding and not contending**—they would naturally be amicable and at ease; cheerful and flourishing. How, then, would there have been such a disaster as the world has never seen?

  
Granted, when Laozi teaches people **not to contend**, he is **not** telling them to be pedantic and useless, dependent and weak, sitting still while “natural selection” eliminates them. He merely forbids struggling for **power and profit**, in order to extinguish the wars of ten thousand generations. At the same time he **teaches** people to be **good at benefiting beings, good at place, good at depth, good at benevolence, good at trust, good at order, good at capability, and good at timing**—to possess **exceptional virtue** and **exceptional ability**.

  
This is **not** to contend over **outward posture**, but to strive for **inner content**; not to contend over **appearance and position**, but to contend in **spirit**. Make **non-contention your contention**; seek **without seeking**, and it is naturally obtained. This learning has a hundred benefits and not a single harm. It is precisely the **right prescription** for today’s disease. Why do the peoples of all nations not give it a try?