Chapter 19 – Tao Te Ching

1. The Verse (Original)

Abandon wisdom and discard cleverness,and the people will benefit a hundredfold.

Abandon kindness and discard morality,and the people will return to filial piety and love.

Abandon skill and discard profit,and there will be no thieves and robbers.

These three are merely outward formsand not sufficient in themselves.

Therefore,hold to the centerand let all things take their course.

2. The Essence — What Laozi Is Actually Saying

This chapter continues the fierce critique from Chapter 18.But now Laozi goes even deeper—he shows that “virtue,” as society practices it,is often a mask hiding inner disconnection.

He is not saying wisdom, kindness, or skill are bad.He is saying that performative wisdom,forced kindness,and profit-driven skillarise only when natural alignment has been lost.

“Abandon wisdom and cleverness”means:let go of intellectual posturing.Drop the competitive intelligence.People thrive when leaders stop performing brillianceand return to simplicity.

“Abandon kindness and morality”means:stop forcing goodness.Stop preaching virtue.If you remove the pressure to “be good,”people return to genuine care.

“Abandon skill and profit”means:stop making efficiency and gain the highest values.When society stops glorifying profit,stealing becomes unnecessary—because greed was the true thief.

Laozi sees that society’s “virtues”are often coping mechanisms for inner imbalance.

So he says:Don’t chase those outer forms.Go back to the center.The center is the Tao—the natural, unforced wayfrom which true goodness arises effortlessly.

3. Modern Clarity — Slow, Rich, Line-by-Line Commentary

**“Abandon wisdom and discard cleverness,

and the people will benefit a hundredfold.”**

Laozi is calling out artificial intelligence—the kind made of ego, strategy, cunning, image.

“Wisdom” used to impressis not wisdom.

“Cleverness” used to gain advantagecorrupts trust.

If leaders stop using intelligence as performance,people relax,cooperation increases,and society becomes stable.

True wisdom is simple,quiet,deep—not flashy.

**“Abandon kindness and discard morality,

and the people will return to filial piety and love.”**

This is Laozi at his most paradoxical.He is not saying “be unkind.”He is saying:

When governments, religions, or families enforce morality,it means natural affection has died.

The harder you try to force love,the more artificial it becomes.

When you remove the pressure to “be good,”people rediscover genuine affectionbecause their hearts were never the problem—the pressure was.

**“Abandon skill and discard profit,

and there will be no thieves and robbers.”**

Skill used only for gaincreates competition, envy, and inequality.

Profit as a supreme valuecreates desperation—and desperation creates crime.

When society stops glorifying profit,people become more content.And when contentment rises,the need to steal disappears.

Laozi is pointing out root causes,not symptoms.

**“These three are merely outward forms

and not sufficient in themselves.”**

Forced wisdom, forced kindness, forced skill—these are symptoms, not solutions.

They are outward formslacking the inner substance of the Tao.

You can’t fix societythrough polished appearances.

You fix itby returning to inner alignment.

**“Therefore,

hold to the centerand let all things take their course.”**

This is Laozi’s entire teaching distilled:Stay rooted in the center—the Tao, the heart, the quiet inner knowing—and do not over-manipulate life.

When a person is centered,their actions arise naturally,without forcing,without moralizing,without schemes.

The center is the stillnessfrom which true virtue flows.

4. IFS-Informed Understanding — The Tao Inside the Psyche

A. “Abandon wisdom and cleverness” → releasing intellectual manager parts

In IFS,“wisdom and cleverness” often represent manager partswho try to keep the system safethrough analysis, planning, control, mental superiority.

These parts mean well.But when they dominate,Self’s natural clarity is obscured.

Letting them softenallows deeper wisdom to emerge—not from strategy,but from Self.

B. “Abandon kindness and morality” → releasing the Pleaser and Inner Good Girl/Good Boy

Many people have protectorswho enforce “being good.”

• “Be nice.”• “Don’t upset anyone.”• “Always do the right thing.”

These parts are terrified of causing harmor being rejected.

But their goodness is often tense,forced,and rooted in fear.

When they relax,Self’s compassion emerges—natural, effortless, and real.

C. “Abandon skill and profit” → unhooking from the Achiever

The Achiever part seeks worth through performance:more success, more progress, more results.

But when this part unblends,you rediscover contentment—you realize you are enougheven when you’re not producing.

From this place,creativity becomes authentic,not compensatory.

D. “Outward forms are not sufficient” → parts can imitate Self, but not replace it

Managers can mimic wisdom.Performers can mimic kindness.Achievers can mimic purpose.

But these imitations lack the warmth,depth,and easeof Self-energy.

Only Self provides the inner wholenessthat makes forced virtue unnecessary.

E. “Hold to the center” → returning to Self

The center is the core of Self:

• calm• compassion• clarity• curiosity• confidence• creativity• courage• connectedness

When parts softenand Self leads,inner harmony returnswithout forcing anything.

This is “letting all things take their course”inside the psyche—healing happensbecause Self is present.

5. A Soft Invitation — Not Therapy, Just Curiosity

• What parts of me rely on cleverness instead of true clarity?• Where do I perform kindness instead of allowing natural compassion?• Which protector believes success equals safety?• What opens in me when I imagine releasing these pressures?• Can I sense the quiet center in me that does not need to prove anything?

6. Closing — The Tao and IFS Share the Same Gate

Both traditions teach this truth:

When you lose your center,you compensate.You force goodness.You perform intelligence.You chase achievement.You imitate virtue.

But when you return to the center—to Self, to Tao—all these compensations dissolve.

You do not need to pretend to be wise.Wisdom arises.

You do not need to force kindness.Love emerges.

You do not need to chase worth.Presence is enough.

This is the quiet revolutionLaozi offers the world,and the revolutionIFS offers the inner world:

Real virtue is what remainswhen all forcing stops.