The Dao of Abundance

The sage sees profit and sees loss
And laughs at both,
For wealth flows like water
Finding its own level
When left uncontained.

Ten thousand things grow wild and free,
Each according to its nature —
Have you seen the pine tree
Demand payment from the birds?
Or the stream charge interest
On its sparkling gifts?

The clever ones build walls
And count their coins behind them,
But walls block the wind
That carries seeds,
And hoarded wealth
Is stagnant water,
Growing poisonous in its stillness.

The true way cannot be owned,
Cannot be ruled,
Cannot be bought or sold —
It moves like autumn clouds,
Dropping rain on every field alike.

In the ancient garden
No one counted beans
Or measured rice by the grain.
The peach trees dropped their sweetness
Without consulting ledgers,
And hungry hands reached up
Without consulting masters.