The extreme is the way of the sage.
Guan Yin Zi said: The sage rules the world without regard for my own wisdom or folly, so he honors others for their wisdom and pities them for their folly. Not regarding myself as right or wrong, I approve what is right and disapprove what is wrong. Knowing the universal harmony of ancient and modern times, I may give precedence to the ancient or the modern. Knowing the universal harmony within and without, I may give precedence to the internal or the external. Nothing in the world can be relied upon, so I base it on modesty; nothing in the world can be relied upon, so I contain it in emptiness; nothing in the world can be relied upon, so I follow the easy way; nothing in the world can be relied upon, so I change with flexibility. With this, I can rule the world; with this, I can make music to harmonize the world; with this, I can manage the world's wealth with fairness; with this, I can defend the world against its enemies; with this, I can make laws based on the world; and with this, I can make instruments to observe the world. The sage does not rule the world by himself, but rules the world by the world. The world is indebted to the sage, and the sage is indebted to the world. Therefore, when Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang ruled the world, everyone said that it was natural. It is said that heaven covers everything, kills and gives life, and has no love or hate. The sun shines on everything, on the beautiful and the ugly, and does not discriminate.
It is said: The way of the sage is ordained by heaven, and no one but a sage can understand it; the virtue of the sage is in accordance with the times, and no one but a sage can possess it; the affairs of the sage are done by men, and no one but a sage can manage them. Therefore, a sage has neither way, virtue nor affairs.
It is said: The sage knows that I have no self, so he acts with benevolence; he knows that things have no self, so he weighs them with righteousness; he knows that the heart has no self, so he guards it with propriety; he knows that knowledge has no self, so he illuminates it with wisdom; he knows that words have no self, so he guards them with faith.
It is said: The way of the sage is either benevolence, or righteousness, or propriety, or wisdom, or faith. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faith each have five aspects, but the sage unifies them without becoming rigid, and the world cannot name him.
It is said: Do not judge a sage by his actions, for his way is without trace; do not judge a sage by his words, for his way is without words; do not judge a sage by his abilities, for his way is without action; do not judge a sage by his appearance, for his way is without form.
It is said: Actions, though perfect, are not above or below the mark; words, though fair and impartial, are not without right or wrong. Abilities, though divine, are not without skill or clumsiness; appearances, though extraordinary, are not without beauty or ugliness. The sage uses this to show the world, and the world, in its ignorance, sees the sage.
It is said: The sage imitates the bee for the ruler and minister, the spider for the net, the mole for etiquette, and the ant for the army. The common people imitate the virtuous man, the virtuous man imitates the sage, and the sage imitates all things. Only the sage is one with all things, and therefore has no ego.
The sage says: The sage says that the way is the way of all things. He sees the world and its creatures as his way. He advocates harmony and balance, continuity and completion, the green and the yellow, the egg and the wing. He does not love the way or abandon the things, he does not honor the gentleman or belittle the villain. The sage says: Things are different, but the sage does not discriminate. He is constantly giving and taking, shortening and lengthening, straightening and squaring. He is at ease with things. He does not know that the sage despises the separation of things, and so being a man, he does not regard this as himself.
It is said: The sage is the same as everyone else in food, clothing, housing, transportation, wealth, poverty, and status. Everyone is the same as the sage, and the sage is the same as everyone else. Those who admire the tall and boast of the big, is it so, or is it not?
It is said: A fish that wants to be different from the other fish and jumps out of the water to the shore will die; a tiger that wants to be different from the other tigers and enters the city will be captured. The sage is not different from everyone else, and the special things cannot be constrained.
It is said: Those who follow the Way without making it their own, and who respond to the world with the Way, are not following the Way. Those who use the Way to explain things, and who have no fixed way of doing things, are not using the Way. The sage cannot even reveal the Way to others.
It is said: The words of the sage are like the sound of a bell, like the sound of bells and drums. The actions of the sage are like the sound of a cart, like the sound of carts and boats. It is only because they cannot be named that they silence the words of the world; it is only because they cannot be understood that they outwit the wisdom of the world.
It is said that a centipede eats a snake, the snake eats a frog, the frog eats the centipede, and they all eat each other. The words of the sage are the same. They speak of the disadvantages of having and not having, of having neither the one nor the other, and of getting rid of the disadvantages of having neither the one nor the other. They speak as if they were drawing a saw, but the sage who is good at it does not say a word.
It is said that a dragon, a snake, a turtle, a fish, and a clam can all do the same things. The dragon is the dragon, the snake is the snake, the turtle is the turtle, the fish is the fish, the clam is the clam. The dragon is the dragon, the snake is the snake, the turtle is the turtle, the fish is the fish, the clam is the clam. The sage is like the dragon, the virtuous man is like the snake.
It moves like water, it is still as a mirror, it responds like an echo, it is ethereal as if it were lost, silent as if it were pure, it is the same as all things, it gains and loses, it never leads but always follows.
It is said: It is all one with the ocean, it is all one with the beginning of time, it is all one with gold, it is all one with jade, it is all one with dung, it is all one with earth, it is all one with flying things, it is all one with chasing things, it is all one with mountain things, it is all one with deep things, it is all one with power, it is all one with madness, it is all one with foolishness.
It is said: Those who play the zither well have compassion, and their sound is sad; they have thought, and their sound is slow; they have grievance, and their sound is repeated; they have admiration, and their sound is lively. Therefore, those who are sad, thinking of grievances, and yearning for something are not playing the instrument with their hands, or with bamboo, or with silk, or with paulownia. They are playing with their hearts, and the instrument responds to their hearts. Those who have the way are all in the middle of the path.
The sage is like everyone else because he speaks and acts and thinks; he is different from everyone else because he never speaks, never acts, and never thinks.
It is said: The clearer the mind about gain and loss, the less harmonious the relationships; the clearer the mind about wisdom and stupidity, the less friends; the clearer the mind about right and wrong, the less success; the clearer the mind about beauty and ugliness, the less understanding of things. Therefore, the sage keeps it all in a blur.
It is said: The foolish of the world are foolishly self-righteous, while the sage's foolishness is self-deprecating. Little do they know that the sage is sometimes wise, sometimes foolish, sometimes clever, sometimes clumsy.
It is said: those who follow the teachings of the sage are wise; those who follow the teachings of the wise are sages. It is because those who follow the teachings of the sage follow the signs and forget the way that they do so, while those who follow the teachings of the wise follow the opposite and thus follow the way.
It is said: the wise rush upwards and do not look down, while the crowd rush downwards and do not look up. The sage is at one with the world above and below, doing what is appropriate. Is it not said that the sage is not separate from the wise and the crowd, but is a separate sage?
It is said: The way of the world is that the man takes the lead, the woman follows, the male runs, the female chases, the male crows, and the female answers. Therefore the sage regulates his words and actions, while the virtuous man is bound by them.
It is said: The sage's way is like a tiger changing its form, but his actions are like a tortoise. It is said: The sage's way is like a fine silk being divided into threads, but his actions are like a chessboard.
It is said that the way of the sage is: how it is solitary, how it is thorough, how it is majestic, how it is generous. It is only able to encompass all things, and nothing is able to encompass it, so it is able to value all things.
It is said that the rolling up and the unrolling of clouds, the flying of birds, are all in the void, so there is no end to change, and this is the way of the sage.

三极       
极者，尊圣人也。
关尹子曰：圣人之治天下，不我贤愚，故因人之贤而贤之，因人之愚而愚之。不我是非，故因事之是而是之，因事之非而非之。知古今之大同，故或先古，或先今。知内外之大同，故或先内或先外。天下之物，无得以累之，故本之以谦；天下之物，无得以外之，故含之以虚；天下之物，无得以难之，故行之以易；天下之物，无得以窒之，故变之以权。以此中天下，可以制礼；以此和天下，可以作乐；以此公天下，可以理财；以此周天下，可以御侮；以此因天下，可以立法；以此观天下，可以制器。圣人不以一己治天下，而以天下治天下。天下归功于圣人，圣人任功于天下。所以尧舜禹汤之治天下，天下皆曰自然。曰：天无不覆，有生有杀，而天无爱恶。日无不照，有妍有丑，而日无厚薄。
曰：圣人之道天命，非圣人能自道；圣人之德时符，非圣人能自德；圣人之事人为，非圣人能自事。是以圣人不有道，不有德，不有事。
曰：圣人知我无我，故同之以仁；知事无我，故权之以义；知心无我，故戒之以礼；知识无我，故照之以智；知言无我，故守之以信。
曰：圣人之道，或以仁为仁，或以义为仁，或以礼以智以信为仁。仁义礼智信，各兼五者，圣人一之不胶，天下名之不得。
曰：勿以行观圣人，道无迹；勿以言观圣人，道无言；勿以能观圣人，道无为；勿以貌观圣人，道无形。
曰：行虽至卓，不离高下；言虽至公，不离是非。能虽至神，不离巧拙；貌虽至殊，不离妍丑。圣人假此，以示天下，天下冥此，乃见圣人。
曰：圣人师蜂立君臣，师蜘蛛立网罟，师拱鼠制礼，师战蚁置兵。众人师贤人，贤人师圣人，圣人师万物。惟圣人同物，所以无我。
曰：圣人曰道，观天地人物皆吾道，倡和之，始终之，青黄之，卵翼之，不爱道不弃物，不尊君子，不贱小人。贤人曰物，物物不同，旦旦去之，旦旦与之，短之长之，直之方之，是为物易也。殊不知圣人鄙杂厕别分居，所以为人，不以此为己。
曰：圣人之于众人，饮食衣服同也，屋宇舟车同也，富贵贫贱同也。众人每同圣人，圣人每同众人。彼仰其高侈其大者，其然乎，其不然乎？
曰：鱼欲异群鱼，舍水跃岸即死；虎欲异群虎，舍山入市即擒。圣人不异众人，特物不能拘尔。
曰：道无作，以道应世者，是事非道。道无方，以道寓物者，是物非道。圣人竟不能出道以示人。
曰：如钟钟然，如钟鼓然，圣人之言则然。如车车然，如车舟然，圣人之行则然。惟莫能名，所以退天下之言；惟莫能知，所以夺天下之智。
曰：蝍蛆食蛇，蛇食蛙，蛙食蝍蛆，互相食也。圣人之言亦然，言有无之弊，又言非有非无之弊，又言去非有非无之弊。言之如引锯然，惟善圣者不留一言。
曰：若龙若蛟，若蛇若龟，若鱼若蛤，龙皆能之。蛟，蛟而已，不能为龙，亦不能为蛇为龟为鱼为蛤。圣人龙之，贤人蛟之。
曰：在己无居，形物自着，其动若水，其静若镜，其应若响，芒乎若亡，寂乎若清，同焉者和，得焉者失，未尝先人，而尝随人。
曰：浑乎洋乎游太初乎，时金己，时玉己，时粪己，时土己，时翔物，时逐物，时山物，时渊物，端乎权乎狂乎愚乎。
曰：人之善琴者，有悲心，则声凄凄然，有思心，则声迟迟然，有怨心，则声回回然，有慕心，则声裴裴然。所以悲思怨慕者，非手非竹非丝非桐。得之心，符之手；得之手，符之物。人之有道者，莫不中道。
曰：圣人以有言有为有思者，所以同乎人；未尝言未尝为未尝思者，所以异乎人。
曰：利害心愈明，则亲不睦；贤愚心愈明，则友不交；是非心愈明，则事不成，好丑心愈明，则物不契。是以圣人浑之。
曰：世之愚拙者妄援，圣人之愚拙自解。殊不知圣人时愚时明，时拙时巧。
曰：以圣师圣者，贤人；以贤师圣者，圣人。盖以圣师圣者，徇迹而忘道；以贤师圣者，反迹而合道。
曰：贤人趋上而不见下，众人趋下而不见上，圣人通乎上下，惟其宜之，岂曰离贤人众人，别有圣人也哉。
曰：天下之理，夫者倡，妇者随，牡者驰，牝者逐，雄者鸣，雌者应。是以圣人制言行，而贤人拘之。
曰：圣人道虽虎变，事则鳖行，道虽丝分，事则棋布。
曰：所谓圣人之道者，胡然孑孑尔，胡然彻彻尔，胡然堂堂尔，胡然臧臧尔。惟其能遍偶万物，而无一物能偶之，故能贵万物。
曰：云之卷舒，禽之飞翔，皆在虚空中，所以变化不穷，圣人之道则然。