“It is better to do one's own duty, however defective it may be, than to follow the duty of another, however well one may perform it. He who does his duty as his own nature reveals it, never sins.”

Lao Tzu is a 6th-century BCE Chinese philosopher and writer. He is best known as the traditional author of the *Tao Te Ching*, a foundational text of Taoist thought that explores simplicity, natural harmony, and the virtue of *wu wei* (non-action). His teachings emphasize living in alignment with the Tao, or the natural way of the universe.