Chapter 65 – Tao Te Ching

The Verse

Those who practiced the Tao in ancient times did not try to enlighten the people, but to keep them simple.

The people are hard to govern when they know too much.

Those who govern with cleverness harm the nation.

Those who govern with simplicity bring blessing.

To understand these two lines is to hold the pattern of the Tao.

Knowing the pattern is called profound virtue.

Profound virtue is deep and far-reaching. With it, all things return to their natural state.

Then great harmony prevails.

---

The Essence — What Laozi Is Actually Saying

This chapter is not anti-intelligence.

It is anti-cunning,

anti-manipulation,

anti-cleverness-as-power.

Laozi is saying:

When leaders try to dazzle people with knowledge, strategy, sophistication, or complexity, they create distance and confusion.

The more clever the leadership, the more cunning the people.

The more cunning the people, the harder they are to guide.

Simplicity, sincerity, and honesty are the real roots of harmony.

When a leader is grounded, clear, and humble, not manipulative, not showy, not performative,

people naturally settle. Life naturally returns to balance.

This “pattern of the Tao” is a structure woven into reality:

simplicity → clarity → harmony.

And when a person or society reconnects with this pattern, everything flows back toward natural order.

This is profound virtue, so deep it seems invisible, so quiet it can guide the world.

---

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

“Those who practiced the Tao in ancient times did not try to enlighten the people, but to keep them simple.”

Not simple-minded. Simple-hearted.

The ancient sages encouraged a life free from overwhelm, distraction, overthinking, and unnecessary complexity. They understood: simplicity protects the spirit.

“The people are hard to govern when they know too much.”

Again, this is not anti-knowledge.

It’s about cleverness that leads to cunning.

Information without grounding.

Intellect without wisdom.

Strategy without soul.

A mind full of schemes is hard to guide.

“Those who govern with cleverness harm the nation.”

Manipulative leadership creates manipulative citizens.

When leaders use tactics, tricks,or displays of brilliance to control, it destabilizes everything.

Complexity breeds mistrust.

“Those who govern with simplicity bring blessing.”

Simplicity here means:

transparency

honesty

consistency

gentleness

straightforwardness

These qualities create safety and trust.

“To understand these two lines is to hold the pattern of the Tao.”

Laozi says this principle, simplicity over cleverness, is a key pattern woven through all things. It’s the Tao’s blueprint.

“Knowing the pattern is called profound virtue.”

Profound virtue (shen de) is the quiet moral force that comes from alignment with the Tao.

Not morality-as-rules. Morality-as-naturalness.

“Profound virtue is deep and far-reaching.”

Its influence is subtle ,but it touches everything.

It shapes the world by shaping the field around you.

“With it, all things return to their natural state.”

When the leader is simple and sincere, people reconnect with their own essence. Pretenses drop Fear settles. Harmony returns.

“Then great harmony prevails.”

No force .No coercion. No manipulation.

Just natural order restoring itself.

---

IFS-Informed Understanding — The Tao Inside the Psyche

“Keep them simple” → Keeping the inner world uncluttered

Parts spiral when overloaded with:

too much information

too many goals

too many demands

too many internal rules

Simplicity allows parts to relax.

Cleverness = manager-driven control

Managers often rely on:

strategies

clever plans

micromanagement

over-analysis

pressure

This “cleverness” destabilizes the inner system.

Simplicity = Self-energy

Self does not use tactics.

Self does not manipulate or perform.

Self leads by presence, clarity, and ease.

This brings blessing internally.

“Profound virtue” = Self's natural leadership

Profound virtue is what happens when parts trust Self so deeply that leadership becomes effortless.

It is felt, not forced.

“All things return to their natural state” = unburdening

When Self leads:

protectors soften

exiles are welcomed

burdens dissolve

parts rediscover their original gifts

The system returns to its natural harmony.

---

A Soft Invitation — Not Therapy, Just Curiosity

Where in me am I trying too hard to be clever?

Which part of me longs for simplicity, quiet, ease?

What happens when I stop strategizing and simply listen?

Which inner burden might soften if I stopped trying to “fix” it?

Can I sense the “pattern” of the Tao inside me?

---

Closing — The Tao and IFS Share the Same Gate

Both Laozi and Self whisper the same truth:

Cleverness complicates. Simplicity harmonizes.

Force agitates. Presence settles.

Manipulation breeds mistrust. Humility invites alignment.

Profound virtuem, the deepest power, flows from quiet authenticity.

Align with that, and the world around you and the world within you naturally returns to peace.