Well planted is not uprooted, well kept is not lost. The offerings of the generations to the ancestors will not cease.

To follow the way yourself is real power. To follow it in the family is abundant power. To follow it in the community is steady power. To follow it in the whole country is lasting power. To follow it in the world is universal power.

So in myself I see what self is, in my household I see what family is, in my town I see what community is, in my nation I see what a country is, in the world I see what is under heaven.

How do I know the world is so? By this.

Note UKLG: I follow Waley’s interpretation of this chapter. It is Tao that plants and keeps; the various kinds of power belong to Tao; and finally in myself I see the Tao of self, and so on.