Tao Te Ching 78

Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it. The soft overcomes the hard; the gentle overcomes the rigid. Everyone knows this is true, but few can put it into practice.

True words seem paradoxical.
______________________________________________________

These words give a concrete example of the related teaching in Chapter 76. A newborn infant can move water aside without the slightest effort. Yet, that same water can drip on concrete and wear the concrete away as if it had no more strength than a newborn infant.

Everyone understands the power of water on the move. Yet, few understand the truth that being yielding and gentle will overcome the hard and inflexible. Most of us believe that power lies in being hard and unyielding, rather than appreciating that power resides in the relentless flow of the soft.

Note, too, that true words only seem to be paradoxical. They are paradoxical only in the mind that sees the world in dualistic terms. In the mind of those who see the world in reality, there is no dualism and thus no paradox.