Chapter 63 – Tao Te Ching

1. The Verse (Original)

Practice non-action.Work without striving.Taste what is flavorless.

Regard the small as greatand the few as many.

Repay injury with virtue.

Plan for the difficult while it is still easy.Handle the great while it is still small.

The difficult problems of the worldmust be handled while they are still easy.The great problems of the worldmust be handled while they are still small.

Therefore the sage never attempts anything very big,and thereby achieves greatness.

Swift promises breed little trust.Things that are too easy are often the hardest to accomplish.

The sage regards everything as difficult,and therefore encounters no difficulties.

2. The Essence — What Laozi Is Actually Saying

This chapter teaches the Taoist artof doing things before they become overwhelming,and doing them without force.

Laozi says:

• Big problems begin as small ones.• Difficult tasks begin as simple steps.• Complexity grows from neglect, rushing, ego, and force.

If you meet things early—calmly, quietly, naturally—you avoid the storm entirely.

He also teaches one of the most radical Taoist ideas:

repay injury with virtue—not because you’re a saint—but because resentment perpetuates cycles,while virtue dissolves them.

The sage does not wait until life becomes dramaticbefore acting.

She moves like water—gently, steadily, ahead of time.

To the world, this looks miraculous.To the sage, it’s simply the Tao.

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

“Practice non-action.”

Non-action doesn’t mean doing nothing.It means acting without strain,without ego-pressure,without forcing outcomes.

Effortless clarity.

“Work without striving.”

Striving exhausts.Presence accomplishes.

When you stop fighting the work,the work flows.

“Taste what is flavorless.”

Pay attention to the simple, the subtle, the quiet.The Tao is found in plain moments,not dramatic ones.

“Regard the small as great and the few as many.”

Respect the little things.Give them attention early.Small problems grow into giants when ignored.

“Repay injury with virtue.”

Do not escalate harm.Respond from steadiness—not retaliation.

Virtue breaks cyclesthat revenge continues.

“Plan for the difficult while it is still easy.”

Every tangled knotbegan as a loose string.

If you meet a problem early,you meet it gently.

“Handle the great while it is still small.”

Nothing becomes huge overnight—but ignoring it does.

Laozi is teaching preventative wisdom.

“The difficult problems of the world must be handled while they are still easy.”

This is not philosophical—this is practical truth.

Before bills pile up,before resentment hardens,before health collapses—handle what is simple now.

“The great problems of the world must be handled while they are still small.”

A thousand-pound boulderwas once a pebble.

“Therefore the sage never attempts anything very big, and thereby achieves greatness.”

The sage avoids grandiose plans.She performs many small right actions,and the result looks like greatness.

Greatness is accumulated smallness.

“Swift promises breed little trust.”

Quick commitments reflect impulsiveness, not integrity.People trust those who move slowly and follow through.

“Things that are too easy are often the hardest to accomplish.”

Procrastination makes the simple become monstrous.Neglected ease turns into dread.

“The sage regards everything as difficult, and therefore encounters no difficulties.”

This is humility as intelligence:

By treating things with care from the beginning,the sage never faces crises.

Small attentiveness prevents big disasters.

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

A. Non-action = Unblended Self leading

Self doesn’t push, panic, or force.It simply responds—clear, calm, intuitive.

This is non-striving.

B. Small problems = unacknowledged parts

A tiny anxious flicker…a small tightening…a slight avoidance…

If ignored,the part grows louder and more extreme.

Meeting a part earlyis meeting it gently.

C. “Repay injury with virtue” = refusing to exile or attack parts

When a protector acts out—you don’t punish it.

You meet it with Self:warmth, curiosity, steadiness.

This dissolves the internal cycle of retaliation.

D. “Plan for the difficult while it is still easy” = noticing parts at the first signal

The first micro-cue—that’s where healing begins.

Not after the meltdown.Not after the spiral.At the whisper.

E. “Sage never attempts anything very big” = Self heals through small, steady steps

IFS transformation is not dramatic.It’s subtle, quiet, cumulative.

Self leads one small moment at a time.

5. A Soft Invitation — Not Therapy, Just Curiosity

• What small thing in me is asking for early attention?• Which part tends to get ignored until it becomes overwhelming?• Where am I trying to “strive” instead of respond?• What would it feel like to move one inch earlier?• Can I sense the virtue that stops inner cycles of harm?

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

Both the Tao and Self-energy whisper:

Act before force is needed.Listen before pain grows loud.Respond before chaos forms.

Greatness emerges not from dramatic effortbut from a hundred tiny acts of presence.

Suffering often comesfrom waiting too long to meet what is small.

Peace comesfrom meeting things gently, early, and without strain—the Tao’s way,and the way of Self.