Line by Line - Verse 66, Line 9-10

Because he does not strive, no one finds it possible to strive with him.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Because he does not compete,
He does not meet competition.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Because they do not contend
So the world cannot contend with them
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

and because he doesn't try to compete with anybody,
nobody is able to compete with him.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

You know how the old saying goes, It takes two to tango? It is the very same thing with wars and arguments. If our goal in life is to best others, then we are encouraging others to compete with us. If we instead refuse to throw down gauntlets, what is there to fight about?

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.