Heaven and Earth are the source of all created things. Heaven is the power of initiation. Earth is charged with the power of inheriting Heaven’s creation and accomplishing the tasks to assist in the formation of all living things. Heaven’s nature is self-motivating, auto-initiating, self-sustaining, and infinitely giving without any obstruction or cause. Earth’s nature is passive, quiescent, obedient to Heaven, compromising, nurturing and sustaining. With these aspects, actions are created and accomplished in an effortless way. Since humans exist in the space of He Qi（和气 filled with the Heaven Qi and the Earth Qi), humans carry all these natures of Heaven and Earth. That is the true nature of human beings. Thus, humans must cultivate Tao and keep reminding themselves to practice every day embracing the nature of Heaven and Earth. This action of humans is described as cultivating virtue, De 德 .
Therefore, a human is able to be self-motivated and take initiative on many tasks. A human is able to bear the responsibility of providing and offering love and kindness to others. A human has both the capacity to be compromising and nourishing while carrying out their tasks and the work they aim to accomplish. Thus, if humans carry this wisdom, integrity and moral ethics of Heaven and Earth, and act on them, this is the action of De, called De Xing（德行. Abundance, richness, happiness and harmony will be created among people by being De Xing.)
However, if humans act against their true nature, being ignorant and lacking in integrity and moral ethics, disrespecting the Tao of Heaven and Earth and acting upon such a mindset, they will create harm to others and their surroundings. That is called, Shao De (少德), meaning lack of virtue. With such a life, there is no trust among people and no faith in the goodness of the universe. Such people become: selfish, self-centered, greedy with complaints about everything, lazy, wishing to be served all the time, competitive, trying to be the best at any cost regardless of the harm that may come to others or the environment.
People with this nature not in accord with the Tao, often do things like fighting, robbing, killing, and intentionally weakening others. Following the opposite of De, all beings will become weaker and weaker. Without De, Heaven and Earth will not last long. Lao Tsu concluded that the human being’s Tao needs to follow Heaven’s Tao. Human actions should “Do without competition”(为而不争).
Lao Tsu states in the last chapter (chapter 81) of Tao Te Ching, the following:
“信言不美，美言不信。
善者不辩，辩者不善。
知者不博，博者不知。
圣人不积，既以为人己愈有，既以与人己愈多。
天之道，利而不害。圣人之道，为而不争。”
Honest words are not lavish (beautiful); lavish words are not truthful. Kind (righteous) people do not like to argue; People who like to argue are not kind (righteous).People who are truly expert on something, do not have a broad knowledge; People who have a broad knowledge are not experts. Sages never focus on accumulating wealth, but always consider other’s welfare first, offering great effort to help in things that are good for people. The
more they provide, the more they feel enriched.
“Following the Tao of heaven, things are done with every benefit to all and harm to none;
Following the Tao of the sages, things are done with all offering without considering anything in return.”
~Tao Te Jing, Chapter 81, Translated by Dr. Joy Tianyun Wu
Human’s Tao teaches people to become honest, trustworthy and wise. The wise person who continues learning the Tao, obtaining knowledge and skills, and selflessly offering kindness to others, to nature and the world, these wise ones will have abundance in life and peacefulness of heart. These wise ones will grow into sage-life human beings. Their consciousness can grow as large as the universe. This is the self-mastery path for spiritual growth and the realization of Tao. Sages imitate the actions of Heaven and Earth, teaching and transforming ignorant people. They inspire them to follow the Tao in order that all may have a rich, joyful and vibrant healthy life. Each human who grows from ignorance toward the Tao will become kind, selfless, and obey laws, not only of their country but mostly of the Tao and Heaven and Earth.
