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Tao Te Ching · 77 of 81

Chapter 77

May not the Way (or Tao) of Heaven be compared to the (method of) bending a bow? The (part of the bow) which was high is brought low, and what was low is raised up. (So Heaven) diminishes where there is superabundance, and supplements where there is deficiency.

It is the Way of Heaven to diminish superabundance, and to supplement deficiency. It is not so with the way of man. He takes away from those who have not enough to add to his own superabundance.

Who can take his own superabundance and therewith serve all under heaven? Only he who is in possession of the Tao!

Therefore the (ruling) sage acts without claiming the results as his; he achieves his merit and does not rest (arrogantly) in it:—he does not wish to display his superiority.

Asked of Guide

Why does Lao Tzu compare Heaven’s Way to bending a bow?

Lao Tzu uses the bow to show how the Tao evens things out: “what was high is brought low, and what was low is raised up,” so Heaven “diminishes where there is superabundance, and supplements where there is deficiency.” The image makes balance visible—action that corrects extremes without forceful contest.

That model explains the sage’s conduct: he “acts without claiming the results” and “does not wish to display his superiority,” because true leadership redistributes benefit rather than hoards it. The idea echoes Chuang Tzu’s praise of softness and yielding (water) as effective means to change what seems fixed.

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Echoes elsewhere

Chuang Tzu · Taoism78. 1. There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet for attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing that can take precedence of it;--for ther Cosmic Consciousness · Esotericto the contrary, the low ground which all men dislike. Hence (its way) is near to that of the Tâo. There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet for attackin