Surface skills

If I had even a little true understanding, and walked on the Great Tao, my only fear would be going astray. The Great Tao is broad and smooth, yet people love to take narrow side paths. The court is kept beautifully clean and splendid, while the fields are overgrown and the granaries are empty. People wear fine embroidered clothes, carry sharp swords, feast on rich food, and have more wealth than they need. This is called the swagger of a robber chief. Truly, it is not the Tao!