Daodejing Chapter 34: free of desire

The great Dao flows everywhere,
Both to the left and to the right.
The myriad things depend on it for life,
It never turns away from them.
It accomplishes its work,
Yet it claims no credit for it.
It clothes and nourishes
The myriad things,
Yet it does not claim
To be their master.
Free of desire,
It can be called small.
The myriad things return to it,
Yet it does not act as their master.
It can be called great.
Because it never claims to be great,
It achieves greatness.

「大道氾兮，其可左右。萬物恃之而生而不辭，功成不名有，衣養萬物而不為主。常無欲，可名於小；萬物歸焉而不為主，可名為大。以其不自為大，故能成其大！」

The Dao is selfless. Even though all things owe their existence to it, it never expects anything in return from them and never attempts to claim credit for its work.

The Dao does not make any claims of ownership over everything either. It does not even ask for allegiance or loyalty from anything.

The Dao is thus “free of desire.” Because it does not seek greatness, it effortlessly achieves it. You would do well to follow the example of the Dao by acting selflessly and quietly working away without expecting any reward. Just like the Dao, you will achieve greatness precisely because you do not search for it.

Note
I took this image at Longhu (Dragon Tiger) Mountain, a famous Daoist site about ten miles south of Yingtan in Jiangxi Province. A great place to visit!