Laozi
上善若水。 水善利萬物 而不爭，處 衆人之所惡， 故幾於道。 居善地，心 善淵，與善仁， 言善信，正 善治，事善能， 動善時。夫唯 不爭，故無尤。
James Legge
The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike. Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao.
The excellence of a residence is in (the suitability of) the place; that of the mind is in abysmal stillness; that of associations is in their being with the virtuous; that of government is in its securing good order; that of (the conduct of) affairs is in its ability; and that of (the initiation of) any movement is in its timeliness.
And when (one with the highest excellence) does not wrangle (about his low position), no one finds fault with him.
Victor H. Mair
The highest good is like water; Water is good at benefiting the myriad creatures but also struggles to occupy the place loathed by the masses. Therefore, It is near to the Way. The quality of an abode is in its location, The quality of the heart is in its depths, The quality of giving lies in trust, The quality of correct governance lies in orderly rule, The quality of an enterprise depends on ability, The quality of movement depends on timing. Now, It is precisely because one does not compete that there is no blame.
C. Spurgeon Medhurst
The highest goodness resembles water. Water greatly benefits all things, but does not assert itself.
He approximates to the Tao, who abides by that which men despise.
He revolutionizes the place in which he dwells; his depth is immeasurable; he strengthens moral qualities by what he bestows; he augments sincerity by what he says; he evokes peace by his administration; his transactions manifest ability; he is opportune in all his movements.
Forasmuch as he does not assert himself he is free from blame. [^1]
Water adapts itself to every mold and flows into any vessel, making no difference between the clean and the foul, the fine and the coarse. In the words of Ruskin. “Of all inorganic substances, acting in their own proper nature, and without assistance or combination, water is the most wonderful.” Hence it is the fittest type of the highest goodness, which by its self-abandon and eagerness to serve, has always been the chief puzzle. “Then said I, lo! I am come: in the roll of the Book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy Will, O my God; yea, Thy law is within my heart.” (Ps. xl, 7.) It is the universal solvent of man’s ills. “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up into eternal life.” (John. iv, 14.) The most wretched and the most outcast may here find satisfaction for their needs. “And both the Pharisees and the Scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” (Luke xv, 2.)
[^1] There is a correspondence between early Chinese thought and the beginning of Greek philosophy. Thales, born only some thirty odd years before Lao-tzu, and who, like him, was a seeker after Wisdom, is said to have “maintained water to be the ground of all things,” but while Thales appears to have confined his philosophy to the conclusions that as it is water or moisture which keeps the world alive, so there is in man and in all things a living power which prevents them becoming mere heaps of dead atoms. Lao-tzu goes further and draws from the non-assertion of water the inference that the highest goodness, that which alone can transform the world, must, like water, be born of that Power which is the child of Purity—the purity of selflessness.
Lao-tzu’s teaching is expanded with great force and beauty in a later Taoist treatise—“History of the Great Light.” (v. Taoist Texts, by Balfour, pp. 84-85.)
Ursula K. Le Guin
True goodness is like water. Water’s good for everything. It doesn’t compete.
It goes right to the low loathsome places, and so finds the way.
For a house, the good thing is level ground. In thinking, depth is good. The good of giving is magnanimity; of speaking, honesty; of government, order. The good of work is skill, and of action, timing.
No competition, so no blame.
Note UKLG: A clear stream of water runs through this book, from poem to poem, wearing down the indestructible, finding the way around everything that obstructs the way. Good drinking water.