Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 48
Chapter 48 of Tao Te Ching translated by James Legge (1893)
Translation
48. 1. He who devotes himself to learning (seeks) from day to day to increase (his knowledge); he who devotes himself to the Tao (seeks) from day to day to diminish (his doing).
2. He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing nothing (on purpose). Having arrived at this point of non-action, there is nothing which he does not do.
3. He who gets as his own all under heaven does so by giving himself no trouble (with that end). If one take trouble (with that end), he is not equal to getting as his own all under heaven.
Practical Reading
In pursuing knowledge, each day adds something. In pursuing Tao, each day removes something. In productivity, less often produces more. What unnecessary burden could you release?