A great country is like low land.
It is the meeting ground of the universe,
The mother of the universe.
The female overcomes the male with stillness,
Lying low in stillness.
Therefore if a great country gives way to a smaller country,
It will conquer the smaller country.
And if a small country submits to a great country,
It can conquer the great country.
Therefore those that would conquer must yield,
And those that conquer do so because they yield.
A great nation needs more people;
A small country needs to serve.
Each gets what it wants.
It is fitting for a great nation to yield.
(Tao Te Ching, 61)
As how my favorite cartoon would say: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em". If you cannot outdo the other, given that you and the latter are of extreme rivalry, why not stop trying, and instead consolidate with the other?
Given in a conflict, if two parties will just try to overcome and defeat the other, they will just expend a lot of times and efforts to waste because of the fact that none of them is willing to be defeated; both parties will do anything just to hammer the other out and will end up realizing that they will never be able to do so successfully. Even if one would be recognized to win a certain enmity (e.g. They are able to inflict more damage to the other), still, the former will never be able to totally defeat the other because somehow, there would still be contention between the remainders of such conflict. And true defeat means no contention/opposition anymore.
But try to look at it if the two will be unified with each other; indeed, there would be less wastes and expenditures right? Both parties will benefit too, for the fact that the one will provide to the other as the other would do too to the former. From such benefits/incentives, the two will then be able to recognize the truth that, somehow, they are able to defeat each other, in the sense that they are favored by the other themselves; making them win, and the other one lose. But we must remember that it is indeed mutual; since the giving off is mutual, the winning over the other too is mutual. Hence, no one is considered to lose; "Each gets what it wants", everybody is favored, therefore, everybody wins over the other.
And that is what is meant in the enforcement of Tao in acting through non-acting; in conquering without capturing the other. In that sense, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em", and by that, you will be able to beat 'em.
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