Lao Tzu, in his old age, finally gave up on humanity as a lost cause. He packed his yak, and headed for the wilderness where things were sane. At the top of a mountain pass, the last outpost of civilization, the gatekeeper persuaded Lao Tzu to commit his philosophy to paper before he left humankind forever. The resulting book, consisting of just over five thousand Chinese characters, became the famous Tao Te Ching, which means "the book of the Way and its power."
Passage 11:
Thirty spokes join together at one hub,
But it is the hole in the center that makes it operable.
Clay is molded into a pot,
But it is the emptiness inside that makes it useful.
Doors and windows are cut to make a room,
It is the empty spaces that we use.
Therefore, existence is what we have,
But non-existence is what we use.
