Tao Te Ching Chapter 53

 

If I were possessed of Austere Knowledge,

Walking on the Main Path (Tao),

I would avoid the by-paths.

the Main path is easy to walk on,

Yet people love the small by-paths.

 

The (official) courts are spic and span,

(While) the fields go untilled,

And the (people's) granaries are very low.

(Yet) clad in embroidered gowns,

And carrying find swords,

Surfeited with good food and drinks,

(They are) splitting with wealth and possessions.

- This is to lead the world toward brigandage.

Is this not corruption of Tao?