It means: A saint does not have a possessive heart, but tries his best to take care of others, and he himself will be richer; he tries his best to give to others, and he will be richer. The law of nature is to bring benefit to all things without harming them. The code of conduct of a saint is not to compete with others in anything.
Original text of Chapter 81 of "Tao Te Ching"
Trustful words are not beautiful, and beautiful words are not believed. A good person does not argue, and a person who debates is not good. A person who knows is not knowledgeable, and a person who is knowledgeable does not know. The sage does not accumulate. Since he thinks that others and himself have more, he has given more to others and himself. The way of heaven is beneficial but not harmful. The way of a saint is to work without fighting.
Translation
True and trustworthy words are not beautiful, and beautiful words are not true. A kind person speaks unkindly, and a person who speaks artfully is not kind. People who are truly knowledgeable do not show off, and people who show off how much they know are not truly knowledgeable. A saint is not possessive, but tries his best to take care of others, and he himself will be richer; he who tries his best to give to others will make himself richer. The law of nature is to bring benefit to all things without harming them. The code of conduct of a saint is not to compete with others in anything.
Appreciation:
At the beginning of this chapter, three pairs of categories are proposed: faith and beauty; kindness and eloquence; knowledge and erudition. These are actually true and false, beauty and ugliness, good and evil. question. Laozi tried to explain that the appearance of something and its essence are often not consistent. This contains rich dialectical thoughts and is the moral standard for judging human behavior.
According to these three principles, we must demand ourselves with "faith", "good deeds" and "true knowledge" to achieve the harmony of truth, goodness and beauty within ourselves. According to Laozi's thinking, it is to return to "simplicity" and return to the nature that is not contaminated by worldly things such as hypocrisy, cleverness, and fighting.
Zhang Songru said: "There are many kinds of things in the world, and social phenomena are even more complex. If we simply believe that 'faith words' are not beautiful, and 'good words' are not believed; 'those who know' 'They are all ignorant, and 'experts' are ignorant, which is one-sided. It cannot be said that true, good and beautiful things in the world can never be unified, but can only exclude each other.