Ruling a great state is like cooking small fish. Xian, a kind of fish. When cooking small fish, one does not remove the entrails or the scales and dares not stir it, for fear that it will fall apart. If governing a country is too complicated, the people below will become chaotic; if cultivating oneself is too complicated, one's essence will disperse. Ruling the world with the Dao makes its ghosts powerless. If one occupies a position and governs the world by virtue of the Dao, then ghosts will not dare to use their spiritual power to harm people. It is not that these ghosts have lost their supernatural powers; rather, they do not harm people with them. These ghosts are not devoid of spiritual power; it is that without the right conditions, they cannot harm those who live in accordance with nature. It is not merely that supernatural forces do not harm people, but also that sages do not harm them. It is not ghosts or spirits who can harm people. Because a sage in power does not harm people, the ghosts dare not interfere with them. The two do not harm each other; ghosts and sages both do not harm each other. Therefore, virtue converges upon them. When the two do not harm each other, people can be governed by yang and ghosts and spirits can be governed by yin; people preserve their lives and bodies, while ghosts preserve their spiritual essence. Therefore, virtue converges upon them both.