The softest thing in the world dashes against and overcomes the hardest;
That which has no (substantial) existence enters where there is no crevice.
I know hereby what advantage belongs to doing nothing (with a purpose). There are few in the world who attain to the teaching without words, and the advantage arising from non-action.
Interpretation:
This chapter returns to the concept of Wu Wie, the idea that inaction is often the best action.
The first stanza can be seen to be describing the action of water which, though it has no form of its own can overcome or wear down anything having a set form.
The second stanza curiously parallels quantum physics which has discovered a range of massless or near massless particles capable of passing through solid matter as if it were transparent. The same can be said to a lesser extent of radio signals, x-rays and other massless energy forms.
The third stanza suggests that non-action results in the ability to penetrate seemingly intractable problems. Can you think of an example where direct opposition to a problem was ineffective but waiting would have created an opening?
