Meaning: Tao generates all things, virtue nourishes all things. Although everything takes on various forms, the environment makes everything grow. Therefore, everything and everything respects Tao and cherishes virtue. The reason why Tao is revered and virtue is precious is because Tao grows all things without interfering with them, and virtue nourishes all things without dominating them, letting nature take its course.

Therefore, Tao grows all things, and virtue nourishes all things, causing all things to grow and develop, mature and bear fruit, and enable them to be nurtured and protected. To grow all things without claiming them as one's own, to nurture all things without taking credit for one's merit, to guide all things without dominating them, this is the profound and far-reaching virtue.

From the "Tao Te Ching·Chapter 51" written by Li Er during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the original text is as follows:

Tao is born, virtue is accumulated, things are shaped, and momentum is formed. In short, all things must respect Tao and value virtue. The respect of Tao, the nobility of virtue, and the destiny of the husband are always natural. Therefore, Tao gives birth to it, virtue accumulates it, nurtures it when it grows, matures it when it becomes mature, and overturns it when it is nourished. To be born without having something, to work without relying on it, to grow without being killed is called Xuande.

Extended information

The purpose of this chapter is to focus on "the Tao respects virtue". Although Tao is respected, Tao is not self-respecting; although virtue is noble, virtue is not self-respecting. Morality, which is not respectable but respectable, not noble but noble, is all a kind of natural beauty, without any trace of deliberate artificiality. The nature of all things possesses the characteristic of morality. Although all things respect Tao and virtue, it is not a deliberate act of respecting or exalting, but a natural expression of it.

Tao is the foundation of virtue, and virtue is the operation and practice of Tao. What gives birth to all things is Tao, which is embodied in the body of all things and applied to the world. It is formed in oneself and benefits others. These are all the forces of the circulation of Tao and the existence and development of virtue. All things in the world are born from Tao, and all are formed from virtue. Therefore, morality is the most noble and noble thing in the world.

Morality has no boundaries and no place. It is so big that it cannot be seen outside, and it is so small that it is as small as the core of dust. They are all natural. It seems to be doing nothing, but in fact it is doing everything; it seems to be nothing, but in fact it is everything; it seems not to be invincible, but in fact it is the hub and total support of the entire universe; it seems to have no virtue, but in fact its virtue is boundless, filling everything in the universe.

If a person can understand the Tao but forget about the Tao, and use virtue but forget about the virtue, then his Tao will be respected and his virtue will be noble. If a person can be in a wealthy and high position without taking himself to be noble, he can be of the same mind as all people, share the same virtue with all things, and be of the same substance as the Great Way, and he will naturally be respected by all things and all people.

The natural law of the growth of all things is the Tao. From the nameless beginning, the Tao gives birth to one thing. Before all things are formed, they have already been nourished by virtue. After the physical nature of things is generated, as the virtues and qualities increase or decrease, all things will move and develop along the trend of youth, growth, old age and death. Power comes from reason, form comes from virtue, virtue comes from Tao, and ultimately returns to the origin. Therefore, after all things form a natural trend, they begin to move from prosperity to decline, from strength to weakness, and follow the path of return.

It can be seen from this that morality is the foundation, situation is the end, the original is noble but the end is humble, the original is noble but the end is low. Knowing this, we know that the softness of inaction can overcome the strength of tangible things. To put it in a nutshell, all things are born from virtue and formed by virtue, and the shape of things is formed; from a basic point of view, the growth, growth, and maturity of all things are the result of morality.

But the end of the Tao is nameless and inaction, so not having, not relying on, and not killing is Xuande. The creation of things is the lifeblood of morality; the growth of momentum is also the lifeblood of morality. Therefore, all things respect Tao and value virtue.