Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Thirty 

“Whenever you advise a ruler in the way of Tao,
Counsel him not to use force to conquer the universe.
For this would only cause resistance.
Thorn bushes spring up wherever the army has passed.
Lean years follow in the wake of a great war.”

The universe is always in a state of chaos. War is bad but unfortunately inevitable, it always leaves humanity and our environment worse off. Therefore how we deal with it is important.

“Just do what needs to be done.
Never take advantage of power. 

Achieve results,
But never glory in them.
Achieve results,
But never boast.
Achieve results,
But never be proud.
Achieve results,
Because this is the natural way.
Achieve results,
But not through violence. 

Force is followed by loss of strength.
This is not the way of Tao.
That which goes against the Tao comes to an early end.”

Use the minimum required. Don’t take advantage, glory in the results, boast, or indulge in pride. This is embodied in the code of martial arts and the ‘do’ or ‘way’ in karatedo, kendo, judo and so on, it’s also the ‘tai chi’ in tai chi chuan. Force has to be followed by weakness and if the ‘way’ is not followed it’s bound to be weakened.