LAO TZU, a great philosopher of ancient China
Image by Heather V. Kreiter / Shaman Soul Studios
shamansoulstudios.com/cards/lao-tzu
Tao is a great gift of the eastern world to humanity. So we know now why the US did not win the Vietnam war. Tao is a unification of opposites, Tao is being empty and yet filled, knowing the world without leaving home, getting things done by keeping still...
Tao Te King
by Lao Tzu
1
Tao
As for the road,
The Road that can be told is not the eternal Road.
As for names,
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of the ten thousand things.
The named is the mother of the ten thousand things.
Therefore, ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Those constantly with desires,
will only see what they yearn for and seek.
These two spring from the same source.
They have different names; yet they are called the same.
That which is even more profound than the profound
The gateway to all mystery.
2
Qualities
When everyone in the world can see beauty as beauty
Than ugliness comes into being.
When everyone knows good as good
Than evil comes into being.
Therefore having and not having arise together.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short contrast each other:
High and low rest upon each other;
Voice and sound harmonize each other;
Front and back follow one another;
These are all constants.
Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing,
And practices the wordless teaching.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,
But he does not begin them.
He acts on their behalf, yet not taking credit.
When he has done the work, then he forgets about it.
Therefore it lasts forever and it does not leave him.
3
Control
By not exalting the worthy,
you prevent people from competing.
By not valuing treasures,
You prevent people from acting like thieves.
By not displaying desirable things,
You prevent people from confusion of the heart.
Therefore the sage rules
by emptying their minds
and by stuffing their bellies,
by weakening their ambitions
and strengthening their bones.
He constantly causes the people
to be without knowledge and desire,
If he can bring about that clever people
will not try to interfere,
than there is nothing that wil not be in order.
4
Properties of Tao
The Road is an empty vessel;
Yet when you use it, you never need to fill it again.
Deep and still, it seems to be
the source of the ten thousand things!
It blunts the sharpness, it unties the knot,
Soften the glare, and settles the dust.
Submerged, it seems perhaps to exist.
We do not know whose child it is.
It seems to be the forefather of the gods.
5
Nature
Heaven and Earth are impartial;
They regard the ten thousand things as straw dogs.
The wise are impartial;
He regards the common people as straw dogs.
The space between heaven and Earth -
Is it not like a bellows?.
It is empty but not depleted;
Move it and more [always] comes out.
Much learning means frequent exhausting.
That is not so good as holding on to the mean.
6
The heart
The valley spirit never dies;
We call it female, the primal mother.
The gate of the mysterious female
We call it the root of Heaven and Earth.
It is like a everlasting veil, barely seen.
In being used; it is not exhausted.
7
Self
Heaven endures; Earth last a long time.
The reason why Heaven endures
And Earth last a long time,
Is that they do not live for themselves,
Therefore they can long endure.
Therefore the sage puts himself in the background,
Yet finds himself in the foreground.
Puts selfconcern out of [his mind],
Yet finds that his selfconcern is preserved.
It is not that he has no self-interest,
That he is therefore able to attain fulfillment.
8
Intimacy
The highest good is like water.
Water give life to the ten thousand things and yet does not compete with them.
It flows in places that the mass of people detest
and therefore is it close to the Way
In dwelling, the good thing is the land.
In the mind, the good thing is depth.
In giving, the good thing is being like Heaven.
In speeking, the good thing is sincerity.
In ruling, the good thing is order.
In affairs, the good thing is ability.
In action, the good thing is timeliness.
It is only because it does not compete,
that therefore it is without fault.
9
Hubris
To hold it upright and fill it to the brim,
is not so good as stopping in time.
When you pound it out and oversharpens the blade,
the edge will soon blunt.
When gold and jade fills your rooms,
You will never be able to protect it.
Arrogance and pride with wealth and titles,
bring on their own disaster.
Retire when the work is done,
Such is the way of Heaven.
10
Love
In nourishing the soul and embracing the One,
Can you do it without letting them leave?
In concentrating your breath and making it soft,
Can you make it like that of a newborn babe?
In cultivating and cleaning your profound vision,
Can you do it so that you stay without stain?
In loving the people and giving life to the country,
Can you be without cleverness?
In opening and closing the gates of Heaven,
Can you play the role of woman?
In understanding and being open to all within the four reaches,
Can you do it without using knowledge?
Give birth to them and nourish them,
Give birth to them, but don't try to own them,
Help them to grow, but don't rule them,
This is called the Profound Virtue.
11
Wealth and worth
Thirty spokes unite in the wheel's hub;
It is precisely where there is nothing,
that makes the wheel so useful.
We shape and fire clay into a vessel;
It is precisely the space within that makes the clay pots so useful.
We chisel out the doors and windows for a room;
It is precisely in these empty spaces that makes the room so useful.
Therefore benefit comes from what is there;
Usefulness comes from what is not there.
12
Distraction
The five colors causes one's eyes to become blind.
Racing horses and hunting causes one's mind to go mad.
Goods that are hard to obtain, pose an obstacle to one's travels.
The five flavors confuses one's palate.
The five tones causes one's ears to go deaf.
Therefore, in the government of the sage:
He is for the belly and not for the eyes.
Thus he rejects that and takes this.
The five colors
green, red, yellow, white and black
The five flavors
sweet, bitter, salty, sour and pungent
The five tones
C, D, E, G and A
13
Anxiety
Regard favor and disgrace with alarm.
Respect great distress as you do your own person.
What do I mean when I say
"Regard favor and disgrace with alarm?"
Favor is inferior.
If you get it - be alarmed!
If you lose it - be alarmed!
That is what I mean when I say
"Regard favor and disgrace with alarm."
What do I mean when I say
"Respect great distress as you do your own person?"
The reason that I have great distress
Is that I have a body
Without a body, what distress would I have?
Therefore, to one who values acting for himself
over acting on behalf of the world,
you can entrust the world.
And to one who in being parsimonious
Regards his person as equal to the world,
you can turn over the world.
14
The continuity of Tao
We look at it, but do not see it;
We name this "the minute."
We listen to it, but do not hear it;
We name this "the rarified."
We touch it, but do not hold it;
We name this "the level and smooth."
These three cannot be examined to the limit.
Thus they are merged as one.
One - there is nothing more encompassing above it,
and nothing smaller below it.
Boundless, formless! It cannot be named,
and returns to the state of no-thing.
This is called the formless form,
The substanceless image.
This is called the subtle and indistinct.
Follow it and you won't see it back;
Greet it and you won't see its head.
Hold on to the Way of the present -
To manage the things of the present,
And know the ancient beginning.
This is called the beginning of the thread of Tao
15
The Saints
The one who was skilled at practicing Tao in antiquity,
was subtle, mysterious, profound, and penetratingly wise.
His depth cannot be known.
It is only because he cannot be known,
That therefore, were I forced to describe him, I'd say:
Hesitant was he!,
Like someone crossing a winter stream.
Undecided was he!,
As though he was in fear of neighbors on all four sides.
Solemn and polite was he,
Like a visiting guest.
Scattered and dispelled was he!
Like ice that is about to melt.
Genuine unformed was he,
Like uncarved blocks of wood.
Merged, undifferentiated was he,
Opaque, like a muddy pool.
Broad and expansive was he,
Like a valley.
If you take a muddy pool and still it,
It gradually becomes clear.
If you bring something to rest in order to move it,
It gradually comes alive.
The one who preserves this Tao does not desire to become fulfilled.
Therefore he can wear out with no need to be renewed.
16
Trancending nature
To reach Emptyness is what we mean by the extreme.
To maintain tranquility is what we mean by the center
Side by side, the ten thousand things rise and fall
And by this I see their return.
Things come forth in great numbers;
Each one returns to its source.
This is called tranquility,
"Tranquility" - This mean to return to your fate.
To return to your fate is to be constant.
To know the constant is to be wise.
Not to know the constant is to be reckless and wild.
If you're reckless and wild,
Your actions will lead to misfortune.
To know the constant, is to be open-minded.
To be open-minded, is to be impartial.
To be impartial, is to act royally.
To be royal, is to be like Heaven.
To be like Heaven is to be [one with] the Tao.
If you are one with the Tao,
You will suffer no harm till the end of your days,
17
Rulers
With the highest rulers -
Those below simply know they exist.
With those one step down -
They love and praise them.
With those one further step down -
They fear them.
And with those at the bottom -
They ridicule and insult them.
Who does not trust enough
will not be trusted.
Hesitant and undecided!
Like this is his respect for speaking.
He completes his tasks and finishes his affairs
Yet the common people say,
"These things all happened by nature."
18
The loss of Tao
Therefore When the great Tao is rejected,
the virtues of humanity and righteousness arise.
When knowledge and wisdom appear,
It is then that the great hypocricy begins.
When the six relations are not in harmony,
Filial piety and compassion arise.
And when the country is in chaos and confusion,
it is then that Virtuous officials appear.
The six relations
Father, sun, older brother,
younger brother, husband and wife
19
Simplicity
Give up sainthood, renounce knowledge,
And the people will benefit a hundredfold.
Eliminate humanity, renounce righteousness,
And people will return to filial piety and compassion.
Give up ingenuity, renounce profit,
And bandits and thieves will disappear.
These three sayings -
Regarded as a text are yet not complete.
Thus we must see to it
That they have the following appended:
Manifest plainness and embrace the genuine;
Lessen selfinterest and make your desires few,
Eliminate learning and have no undue concern.
20
Oneness
Agreement and angry rejection;
How great is the difference between them?
Beautiful and ugly;
What is it like - the difference between them?
The one who is feared by others;
Must I also fear what others fear?
Wild, unrestrained. It will ever come to an end.
The multitudes are peaceful and happy,
Like climbing a terrace in springtime,
enjoying the sacrificial feast of the ox.
But I alone am calm and quiet -
not yet having given any sign.
Like a newborn baby before it learns to smile,
Tired and exhausted,
As though I have no place to return.
The multitudes all have more than they need,
I alone seem to have nothing.
Mine is the mind of a fool - ignorant and stupid!
The common people see things clearly;
I alone am in the dark.
The common people discriminate and make fine distinctions;
But I alone am muddled and confused.
Oh, I am formless!
Like the ocean;
Oh I am shapeless!
As though I have nothing in which I can rest.
The masses all have their reasons for acting;
I alone am stupid and obstinatie like a rustic.
But my desires alone differ from those of others -
For I am nourished by the Mother.
21
Expressions of Tao
The character of great Virtue
Follows only from the Way.
As for the nature of the Way -
It is without shape or form.
Formless! Shapeless! Inside there are images.
Shapeless! Formless! Inside there are things.
Hidden! Obscure! Inside are there essences.
These essences are very real,
Inside them is the proof.
From the present back to the past,
its name has never gone away.
It is by this that we comply
with the father of the multitude of things.
How do I know the father of the multitude is so?
By this.
22
Expressions of Tao
Bent over, you will be preserved whole;
When twisted, you will be upright;
When hollowed out, you will be full;
When Worn out, you will be renewed;
When you have little, you will attain much;
With much, you will be confused.
Therefore the Sage embrace the One
and in this way becomes shepherd of the World.
He does not show himself off;
Therefore he becomes prominent.
He does not put himself on a display;
Therefore he brightly shines.
He does not brags about himself;
Therefore he receives credit.
He does not praise his own deeds;
Therefore he can long endure.
It is only because he does not compete,
That therefore no one is able to compete with him.
The so called "Bent over, you will be preserved whole"
Of the the ancients was an expression
that was really close to it!
Truly "wholeness" will belong to him.
23
Acceptance and Contention
To talk little, is the way of Nature.
Fierce winds do not last all morning.
Heavy rain does not last all day.
Who makes these things!
If even Heaven and Earth
Cannot make these things last long,
How much more is this true for man?
Therefore one who devotes himself to Tao
Is one with Tao.
One who devotes himself to Virtue [and attainment]
is one with Virtue.
One who devotes himself to losing
is one with that loss.
To the one who is one with Virtue,
Tao also gives Virtue.
While for the one who is one with his loss,
Tao also disregards him.
24
Tumors
One who boasts is not established.
One who shows himself off does not become prominent.
One who makes a show is not enlightened.
One who brags about himself gets no credit;
One who praises himself does not long endure.
In the Way such things are called:
"Extra food and redundant action."
And with things - there are those who hate them
therefore followers of the Tao does not dwell in them.
25
Four infinities
There was something mysteriously formed out of chaos,
That was born before Heaven and Earth.
Quiet en still! Pure and deep!
It stands alone on its own and does not change.
It can be regarded as the mother of Heaven and Earth.
I do not yet know its name.
I style it "The Way".
For lack of a better word, I call it great.
Being great, it flows, it flows far away.
Having gone far, it returns.
Tao is great;
Heaven is great;
Earth is great;
And the king is also great."
These are the four great powers
And the king occupies one place among them.
Man models himself to the Earth.
Earth models itself on Heaven.
Heaven models itself on the Tao.
Tao models itself on what is natural.
26
Calm
The heavy is the root of the light;
Tranquility is the master of agitation.
Therefore the gentleman, traveling all day,
does not lose sight of his luggage carts,
Though there are beautiful things to be seen.
When he is safely inside a walled-in tavern
Only then does he trancends all concern.
How can the lord of ten thousand chariots
Treat his own person more lightly than the whole land?
If you regard the things too lightly
Then you lose your roots.
If you are restless, you lose your control.
27
Attention
A good walker leaves no track behind;
A good speaker makes no slips;
A good reckoner needs no tally.
A good closer of doors needs no bolt or lock,
And yet no one can open it.
Good binding of knots requires no rope or cord,
Yet no one can loosen it.
Therefore the sage is constantly good
In taking care of all men
And never rejects anyone;
Constantly good in taking care of things;
And never rejects useful goods;
This is called "Doubly bright".
Therefore the good man is the teacher of the good
And the bad man is the raw material for the good.
Do not value one's teacher
And do not cherish the raw goods-
Though one had great knowledge,
He would still be greatly confused.
This is called the essential of the sublime.
28
Being female
When you know the strength of man,
Yet keep a woman's care!
You will be the ravine of the country.
When you are the ravine of the country,
Your constant virtue will not leave.
And when your constant virtue does not leave.
You will return to the state of a little child.
When you know the pure,
Yet keep the soiled!
You will be the valley of the country!
When you are the valley of the country,
Your constant virtue is complete.
And when your constant virtue is complete,
You will return to the state of unvcarved wood.
When you know the white,
Yet keep the black.
You will be the model for the country!
And when you are the model for the country,
Your constant virtue will not go astray,
And when your constant virtue does not go astray,
You will return to the condition without limit.
When uncarved wood is cut up,
It is turned into vessels;
When the sage is used,
He becomes Head of the Officials.
Truly, great carving is done without splitting up.
29
Blindness
Fot those who like to take control
of the world and act on it -
I see that with this they simply will not succeed.
The world is a sacred vessel;
It is not something that can be acted upon.
Those who act on it, destroy it.
Those who hold on it, lose it.
With things - some go forward, others follow;
Some are hot - others submissive and weak;
Some rise up - while others fall down;
Therefore the Sage avoids extremes,
Excesses, and extravagance.
30
Violence
Those which advise their ruler in the way of Tao,
Do not use weapons to commit violence in the world.
Such deeds easily rebounds.
In places where armies are stationed,
Thorns and brambles will grow.
The good general achieves his result and that is all;
He does not use the occasion to seize strength from it.
He achieves his result, but does not become arrogant.
He achieves his result, but does not praise his deeds.
He achieves his result, and yet does not brag.
He achieves his results, yet he abides with the result
Because he has no choice.
This is called "Achieving one's result without using violence".
When things reach their prime, they get old;
We call this "Not the way of Tao".
What is not the way of Tao
Will come to an early end.
31
Tools of violence
As for weapons - they are instruments of ill omen;
And among creatures there are those that hate them.
Therefore, who is a follower of Tao, never use them.
When the wise man is at home, he prefers the left.
When at war, he honors the right.
Therefore, they are not a wise man's tools.
Weapons are instruments of ill omen;
When you have no choice to use them,
It is best to remain trnquil and calm.
You should never look upon them
As things of beauty.
If you see them as beautiful things -
This is to delight the killing of men.
And when you delight in the killing of men;
You will not realize your goal in the land.
Therefore, on happy occasions we honor the left,
But in mourning we honor the right.
Therefore, in the army the general stands on the left,
And the commander-in-chief stands on the right.
Which is so to say, that war is conducted like a funeral.
When multitudes of people are killed,
We stand before them in sorrow and grief.
When we are victorious in battle,
We treat the occasion like a funeral ceremony.
32
Shape
The Tao is forever undefined.
Though it seems small in its natural state,
No one in the world dares to treat it as a subject.
If kings and lords werer able to maintain it,
The ten thousand things would submit to them on their own.
And Heaven Earth would unite to send forth sweet dew.
By nature it would fall equally on all things,
With no one among the people ordering that it be so.
As soon as we start to establish a system,we have names.
And as soon as there are set names,
Then you must also know when it is time to stop.
By knowing to stop - in this way you averts trouble.
The presence of Tao in the world
is like the relationship of smal valley streams
to rivers and seas.
33
Virtue
To understand others is to have wisdom;
To understand yourself is to be wise.
To conquer others is to have strength;
To conquer yourself is to be strong.
To know when you have enough is to be rich.
To go forward with strength is a sign of ambition.
To lose not your place is to last long.
To die but not to be forgotten -
That is true long life.
34
Tao favours no one
The Tao flows and drifts everywhere,
both to the left and to the right.
It accomplishes its tasks and completes its affairs,
And yet for this it is not given a name.
The ten thousand things entrust their lives to it,
And yet it does not act as their master.
Thus it is constantly without desires.
It can be named with the things that are small.
The ten thousand things entrust their lives to it,
And yet it does not act as their master.
It can be named with the things that are great.
Therefore the Sage's ability to accomplish the great
Comes from his not playing the role of the great.
Therefore he is able to accomplish the great.
35
Peace
Hold on to the Great Image
And the whole world will come to you.
Come to you and suffer no harm;
But rather know great safety and peace.
Music and food -
For these passing travelers stop.
Therefore, of the Tao speaking, we say:
Insipid, it is ! It is lack of flavor.
When you look at it, it is not sufficient to be seen.
When you listen to it, it is not sufficient to be heard.
Yet when you use it, it can't be used up.
36
Influence
If you wish to shrink it,
You must certainly stretch it.
If you wish to weaken it,
You must certainly strenghten it.
If you wish to desert it,
You must certainly work close with it.
If you wish to snatch something from it,
You must certainly give something to it.
This is called the Subtle Light.
The submissive and weak conquer the strong.
Fish should not be taken out of the depths;
The state's sharp weapons should not be displayed.
37
Quieting the heart
Tao is constantly nameless,
Were kings and lords able to maintain it,
The ten thousand things would tranform on their own.
Having transformed, were their desires to become active,
I would subdue them with the nameless simplicity.
Having subdued them with the nameless simplicity,
I would not disgrace them.
By not being disgraced, they will be tranquil.
And Heaven and Earth will
of themselves be correct and right.
38
Religion
The highest virtue is not virtuous;
Therefore it truly has virtue.
The lowest virtue never loses sight of its virtue;
Therefore it has no true virtue.
The highest virtue takes no action
Yet it has no reasons for acting this way.
The highest humanity takes action,
Yet it has no reasons for acting this way.
The highest righteousness takes action
And it has its reasons for acting this way;
The highest propriety takes action
And when no one responds to it,
Then it angrily rolls up its sleeves
And forces people to comply.
Therefore when Tao is lost,
Only then do we have virtue.
When virtue is lost, only then do we have humantiy.
When humanity is lost, there is righteousness.
And when righteousness is lost,
Only then do we have propriety.
As for propriety,
It is but the thin edge of loyalty and sincerity,
And the beginning of disorder.
And knowledge of the future
Is only a flowery trapping of Tao.
It is the beginning of folly.
Therefore the great man
dwells in the Thick and not in what is thin.
and not what is on the surface,
Dwells in the fruit and not in what is a flower.
Therefore accept the One and reject the other.
39
Wholeness
Of Those in ancient times
That attained the one -
Heaven by attaining the One became clear;
Earth by attaining the One became stable;
Gods by attaining the One became divine;
Valleys by attaining the One became full;
Kings and lords by attaining the One,
Made the whole land ordered and secure.
Talking this to its logical conclusion we would say -
If Heaven were not by means of it clear,
It would, I'm afraid, shatter.
If the Earth were not by means of it stable,
It would, I'm afraid, let go.
If the gods were not by means of it divine,
They would, I,m afraid be powerless.
If the valleys were not by means of it full,
They would, Im afraid, dry up.
And if kings and nobles
were not by means of it noble and high,
They would, I'm afraid, topple and fall.
Therefore it must be the case
That the noble has the base as its root;
And it must be the case
That the high has the low for its foundation.
Therefore kings and nobles call themselves
"The orphan", "The widower" and "The one without grain".
This is taking the base as one's root, is it not?!
Therefore they regard their large numbers of carriages
As having no carriage.
And because of this,
They desire not to dazzle and glitter like jade,
But to remain firm and strong like stone.
40
Application of Tao
Returning is the motion of the Tao.
Weakness is the function of the Tao.
The things of the world
are born of being.
Being is born of not being.
41
Travellers
When the highest type of men hear of Way
With diligence they are able to practice it;
When average men hear of Tao
Some things they retain and others they lose.
When the lowest type of men hear of Way
They laugh out loud at it.
If they did not laugh at it,
It could not be regarded as the Way.
Therefore, there is a set saying about this that goes:
The bright Way appears to be dark;
The Way that goes forward appears to retreat;
The smooth Way appears to be uneven;
The highest Virtue is empty like a valley;
The purest white appears to be soiled;
Vast Virtue appears to be insufficient;
Firm Virtue appears to be thin and weak;
The simplest reality appears to change.
The Great Square has no corners;
The Great Vessel takes long to complete;
The Great Tone makes little sound;
The Great Image has no shape.
The Way is great but has no name.
Only the Way is good at beginning things
and also good to bring everything to fulfillment.
42
Harmony
The Tao gave birth to the One.
The One gave birth to the Two.
The Two gave birth to Three.
And the Three gave birth to the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things carry Yin on their backs
and embrace Yang.
Through the blending of Ch'i
They achieve a state of harmony .
The things that are hated in the whole world
Are to be orphaned, widowed and worthless.
Yet Kings and lords take these as their names.
Thus with all things - some are increased by taking away;
While some are diminished by adding on.
Therefore, what other men teach,
I will also consider and then teach to others.
Thus, the strong and violent do not come to a natural end.
I will take this as the father of my studies.
43
Overcoming the impossible
The softest and most pliable thing in the world
Runs roughshod over the firmest thing in the world.
That which has no substance can enter
Into that which has no spaces or cracks.
I therefore know that there is benefit in taking no action.
The wordless teaching, the benefit of taking no action -
Few in the world can realize these!
44
Contentment
Fame or your health: Which matters more?
Your health or your wealth: Which is more precious?
Gain or loss: In which is there harm?
If your desires are great, you're bound to be extravagant;
If you store much away, you're bound to lose a great deal.
Therefore, if you know contentment, you'll be not disgraced.
If you know when to stop, you suffer no harm.
And in this way you can last a very long time.
45
Silence
Great accomplishment seems incomplete,
Yet its usefulness is never exhausted.
Great fullness seems to be empty,
Yet its usefulness is never used up.
Great straightness seems to be twisted;
Great skill seems to be clumsy;
Great eloquence seems to stammer;
Great surplus seems to be lacking.
Activity overcomes cold.
Tranquility overcomes heat.
If you are quiet and tranquil
You can become the ruler of the world.
46
Desire
When the world has the Way,
Ambling horses are retired to fertilize fields.
When the world lacks the Way
War horses are bred outside the city.
Of sins - none is greater
than having things that one desire,
Of disasters - none is greater
than not knowing when one has enough.
Of defects - none brings greater sorrow
than desire to attain.
Therefore he who knows that enough
is enough is abiding contentment indeed.
47
Experience
No need to leave your door,
To know the whole world.
No need to peer through your windows,
To know the Way of Heaven.
The further you go,
the less you know.
Therefore the Sage knows without going;
Names without seeing;
And completes without doing a thing.
48
Knowledge
Those who work at their studies
Increase day after day;
Those who have heard the Tao
Decrease day after day.
They decrease and decrease,
till they get to the point where they do nothing.
They do nothing and yet there is nothing left undone.
When someone wants to take control of the world,
He must always be unconcerned with affairs.
For in a case where he is concerned with affairs,
He will be unworthy as well,
of taking control of the world
49
The world of others
The Sage constantly has no mind of his own.
He takes the mind of the common people as his mind.
Those who are good, he regards as good.
Those who are not good, he regards also as good.
In this way he attains goodness.
Those who are trustworthy, he trusts.
Those who are not trustworthy, he also trusts.
[In this way] he gets their trust.
As for the Sage's presence in the world - he is one with it.
And with the World he merges his mind.
The common people all fix their eyes and ears on him.
And the Sage treats them all as his children.
50
Life and death
We come out into life and go back in death.
The companions of life are thirteen;
The companions of death are thirteen;
And yet people, becuse they regard life as LIFE,
In all of their actions move forward to the thirteen
that belong to the realm of death.
Now, why is this so?
Because they regard as LIFE.
You have no doubt heard of those
who are good at holding on to life:
When they walk through hills,
They do not avoid rhinoceros or tiger.
When they go to battle,
They do not put on armor or shields:
The rhinoceros has no place to probe with its horn;
The tiger has no place to put its claws;
And weapons find no place to hold their blades.
Now, why is this so?
Because there is no place for death in them.
51
Love
Tao gives birth to them and Virtue nourishes them.
Substance gives them form
And their unique capacities complete them.
Therefore the ten thousand things
As for their veneration of Tao and their honouring of Virtue -
No one rewards them for it; it is constantly so on its own.
Tao gives birth to them,
nourishes them and matures them,
Completes them, rests them,
Rears them, supports them,
And protect them.
It gives birth to them
But does not try to own them;
It acts on their behalf
But does not make them dependent;
It matures them
But does not rule them.
This is what we call Profound Virtue.
52
Restraint
The World had a beginning,
Which can be considerd as the mother of the World.
Having attained the mother,
In order to understand her children,
If you return and hold on to the mother,
Until the end of your life you will suffer no harm
Block up the holes;
Close the doors;,
And till the end of your life you will not labor.
Open the holes;
Meddle in affairs;
And till the end of your life
you will not be saved.
To perceive the small is called "discernment".;
To hold on to the pliant is called "strength".
If you use the rays, to return to the bright light,
You will not abandon your life to peril.
This is called Following the Constant.
53
Distractions
Were I have the least bit of knowledge,
In walking on a Great Road
it is only going stray that I Would fear.
Keeping to the main road is easy,
But people greatly delight in tortuous paths.
The courts are swept very clean;
While the fields are full of weeds;
And the granaries are all empty.
Their clothing - richly embroidered and colored,
While at their waists they carry sharp swords,
And indulge themselves with food and drink;
And of possessions they have plenty.
It is called thievery!
And thievery is certainly not the way of Tao.
54
Go by love
What is firmly set up
cannot be pulled down.
What is firmly embraced cannot slip away.
And our sons and grandsons, as a result,
Will sacrifice without end.
When you cultivate it in your self,
Your virtue will then be genuine;
When you cultivate it in your family,
Your virtue will then overflow;
When you cultivate it in your village,
Your virtue will then be long lasting;
When you cultivate it in your nation,
Your virtue will then be abundant;
When you cultivate it throughout the world,
Your virtue will then be widespread.
Use the individual to examine the individual;
Use the family to examine the family;
Use the village to examine the village;
Use the nation to examine the nation;
And use the world to examine the world.
How do I know that the world is so?
By this!
55
Love and Nature
One who embraces the fullness of Virtue
Can be compared with a newborn child.
Wasps and scorpions, snakes and vipers
Will not sting him;
Birds of prey and fierce beasts
Do not seize him;
His bones are soft, his muscles weak and pliant,
Yet his grip is firm.
He has not experienced the union of
Man and woman, yet his organ is aroused.
This is because his essence is at his height.
He can scream all day,
Yet without becoming hoarse.
This is because his harmony is at its height.
To know harmony is called "the constant."
To know the constant is called "being wise."
To add on to life is called "a bad omen."
For the mind to control the breath -
That is called "forcing things."
When things has reached their prime they get old.
This is called "not the way of Tao."
What is not the Way
Will come to an early end.
56
Impartiality
Those who know do not talk about it.
Those who talk do not know about it.
He blocks up his holes,
Closes his doors,
Softens the glare,
Settles the dust,
Files down the sharp edges,
And unties the tangles.
This is called the profound union.
Therefore, there is no way
To get intimate with him.
There is no way to benefit him,
But there is also no way to harm him.
There is no way to ennoble him.
But there is also no way to debase him
For this reason he is the noblest thing in the world.
57
Government
Use the upright and correct to order the state;
Use surprise tactics when you use troops.
Use unconcern with affairs
To take control of the world.
How do I know that this is so?
Well, the more taboos and prohibitions
There are in the world,
The poorer the people will be;
The more sharp weapons the people possess,
The more muddled the states will be.
The more knowledge and skill people have,
The more novel things will appear.
The more legal matters are made prominent,
The more robbers and thieves there will be.
Therefore the words of the Sage say:
I do nothing,
And the people of themselves are transformed.
I love tranquility,
And people of themselves are upright.
I am unconcerned with affairs,
And the people of themselves become rich.
I desire not to desire,
and the people of themselves
Are genuine and simple,
like unvarved wood.
58
Be forgiving
When the government is muddled and confused,
The people are genuine and sincere.
When the government is discriminate and clear,
The state is crafty and cunning.
Disaster is that on which good fortune depends.
Good fortune is that in which disaster is concealed.
Who knows where it will end?
For there is no [fixed] "correct".
The correct turns into the "deviant".
And good turns into evil.
People's state of confusion
Has certainly existed for a long time.
Therefore be square but do not cut,
Be sharp but do not stab,
Be straightforward but not unrestrained,
Be bright but do not dazzle.
59
Restraint
For ordering humanity and serving Heaven,
Nothing is so good as being sparing.
For only if you are sparing can you,
Therefore, early submit to The Way.
Early submission - This is called
To repeatedly accumulate Virtue
If you repeatedly accumulate Virtue,
Then there is nothing you cannot overcome.
When there is nothing you cannot overcome,
No one knows where it will end,
You can possess the state.
And when you possess the mother of the state,
You can last a very long time.
This is called having deep roots
and a firm base.
It is the Way of long life and long-lasting vision.
60
Emotions
Ruling a large state is like cooking a small fish.
When you use the Way to govern the world,
Evil spirits will not have godlike power,
It is that their power will not harm men.
But it is not only that their powers will not harm men,
The sage also, will not harm them.
Since these two do not do not harm others,
Therfore their Virtues intermingle and returns to them.
61
International relations
A large state is like the lower part of a river.
It is the female of the world.
It is the meeting point of the world.
The female constantly overcomes
The male with tranquility.
Because she is tranquil,
Therefore she is fittinly underneath.
The large state - if it is below the small state,
Then it takes over the small state.
The small state - if it is below the large state,
Then it is taken over by the large state.
Therefore some by being low take over,
And some by being low are taken over.
Therefore a large state merely desires
To unite and rear others;
While the small state desires
To enter and to serve others.
If both get what they want,
Then the large state should
Fittingly be underneath.
62
Sin
The Way is that toward which all things flow.
It is the treasure of the good man,
And that which protect the bad.
Beautiful words can be bought and sold;
Honored deeds can be presented to others as gifts;
Even with things that people regard as no good -
Will they be rejected?
Therefore when the Son of Heaven
is being enthroned or the Three Ministers installed,
Though you might salute them with gifts of jade
Preceded by teams of four horses,
That is not so good as sitting still and offering this.
That is the reason why he ancients
valued this - what was it?
Did they not say,
Those who seek with this, will attain,
And those who commit offenses with this, will escape?
Therefore, it is the most valued thing in the world.
63
Work
Act without acting.
Serve without concern for affairs.
Find flavor in what has no flavor.
Regard the small as large, and the few as many.
And repay resentment with kindness.
Plan for the difficult while it is easy;
Act on the large when it is minute.
The most difficult things in the world
Begin as things that are easy.
The most difficult things in the world
Arise from the minute.
Therefore the sage, to the end,
Does not strive to do the great.
Those who too lightly agree,
Will necessarily be trusted by few;
And those who regard many things as easy,
Will necessarily end up with many difficulties.
Therefore, the Sage always regards things as difficult,
And as a result, in the end he has no difficulty.
64
Care at the beginning - Care at the end
What is at rest is easy to hold;
What has not yet given a sign, is easy to plan for;
The brittle is easily shattered;
The minute is easily scattered.
Act on it before it comes into being;
Order it before it turns into chaos.
A tree so big as a man's embrace
Starts out as the tiniest shoot;
A terrace of nine stories high
Rises up from a basket of dirt.
A high place of a hundred or thousand feet high
starts under your feet.
Those who act on it ruin it;
Those who hold on to it lose it.
Therefore the Sage does not act,
And as a result, he does not ruin things,
He does not hold on to things,
And as a result, he does not lose things.
In people's handling of affairs,
They always ruin things
When they are right at the point of completion.
Therefore we say, If you are as careful at the end
As you were at the beginning, you will have no failures.
Therefore the Sage seeks freedom from desire
And does not value goods that are hard to obtain.
He learns not to learn
And returns to what the masses pass by.
He could help the ten thousand things
To find their own nature,
Yet he dare not do it.
65
History
Those who practiced Tao in antiquity,
Did not use it to enlighten the people,
Rather they used it, to make them dumb.
Now the reason why people are difficult,
Is because their knowledge.
As a result, to use knowlwedge to rule the state
Is thievery of the state.
To use ignorance to rule the state
Is kindness to the state.
One who constantly understands these two,
Also understands the principle.
To constantly understand the principle -
This is called Profound Virtue.
Profound Virtue is deep, is far-reaching,
And together with things it returns.
Thus we arrive at the Great Accord.
66
Lead by following
The reason why rivrs and oceans are able
to be the kings of the hundred valleys is
that they are good at being below them.
For this reason they are able to be the kings
of the hundred valleys.
Therefore in the Sage's desire to be above the people,
He must in his speech be below them.
if he would lead them, he must follow behind.
And in his desire to be at the front of the people
He must in his person be behind them;
Thus he dwells above,
Yet the people do not regard him as heavy;
And he dwells in front,
Yet the people do not regard him as posing a threat.
The whole world delights in his praise
and never tires of him.
It is not because he is not contentious,
That as a result, no one in the world
can content with him.
67
Three treasures
The whole world says, I am the Great;
Great and unlike everyone else.
But it is precisely because I am unlike everyone else,
That I am therefore able to be the Great.
Were I like everyone else,
For a long time now I would have seemed
insignificant and small.
I hold and keep three treasures;
Hold on to them and treasure them.
The first is compassion;
the second is frugality;
The third is not presuming to be
At the forefront of the world.
Now. it is because I am compassionate
that I therefore can be courageous;
And, it is because I am frugal
that I therefore can be generous;
And it is because I do not presume
To be at the forefront of the world,
That I therefore can be the head
of those with complete talent.
Now, if you abandon this compassion,
and yet try to be courageous,
And if you abandon this frugality,
And yet try to be generous;
And if you abandon this staying behind
And yet try to be first.
Then you will die
If with compasssion you attack, you will win;
If you defend, then you will stand firm.
When Heaven is about to establish him,
It is as though he surrounds him
with the protective wall of compassion.
68
Using men
Therefore, one who is good at being a warrior,
Does not make a show of his might;
One who is a good in battle does not get angry;
One who is good at defeating the enemy
Does not engage him.
And one who is goed at using men
Places himself below them.
This is called the Virtue of not competing;
This is called the ability to deal with people.
This is called matching Heaven.
It is the high point of the past.
69
Ambush
Those who use weapons have a saying which goes:
"I do not presume to act like the host
but instead play the part of the guest;
I do not advance and inch
but would rather retreat a foot".
This is called moving forward
without appearing to move -
Rolling up one's sleeves
without showing one's arms -
Grasping firmly, without holding a weapon -
And enticing to fight when there is no opponent.
Of disasters, there is no greater catastrophe
Than thinking you have no rival.
To think you have no rival,
Is to come close to losing my treasures.
Therefore when weapons are raised,
and opponents are fairly well matched,
Then is the one who feels grief that will win.
70
Individuality
My words are easy to understand
and easy to put in practice,
Yet no one in the world do understand them,
And no one put them into practice.
Now, my words have an ancestor.
And my deeds have a lord.
And it is simply because [people]
have no understanding [of them],
That they therefore do not understand me.
But when those who understand me are few;
Then I am of great value.
Therefore the sage wears coarse woolen cloth
But inside it, he holds on to jade.
71
Sickness
To know that you do not know is best.
Not to know that you do not know is a sickness.
Therefore the Sage is not sick.
The sage is not sick because he is sick of sickness.
Therefore, he is not sick.
72
Diplomacy
When the people do not respect those in power,
Then what they greatly fear, is about to arrive.
Do not narrow the size of the places in which they live;
Do not oppress them in their means of livelihood.
It is simply because you do not oppress them,
That they therefore will not be fed up.
Therefore the sage knows himself
but does not show himself;
He cherishes himself but does not value himself.
For this reason he lets go of that and chooses this.
73
Fate
If you are brave in being daring, You will be killed.
If you are brave in not being daring, you will preserve life.
With these two things, in one case there is profit,
In the other there is harm.
The things that Heaven hates - Who knows why?
The Tao of Heaven is not to fight
And yet to be good at winning -
Not to speak, and yet to respond with skills -
Not to summon it, yet to let it come on its own -
To be at ease and yet to plan with care.
the Even age is unsure of this.
Heaven's net casts wide.
Though its meshes are course,
nothing slips through.
74
Tyranny
If the people were constant in their behaviour
and yet did not fear to die,
How could you use execution to threaten them?
If you brought it about that the people
were constant in their behaviour
en moreover feared to die,
And we took those who behaved in abnormal ways
and killed them -
Who would dare act in this way?
If the people are constant and moreover necessarily fear to die,
Then we constantly have one in charge of executions.
Now killing people in place of the one in charge of executions,
This is like cutting wood in place of the master carpenter.
And of those who cut wood in the place of the master carpenter, only few do not hurt their hands.
75
Extremis
The reason why people starve,
Is because they take so much in tax-grain.
Therefore the people are starving.
The reason why the common people cannot be ruled,
Is because their superiors have their reasons for acting.
Therefore they cannot be ruled.
The reason why people take death lightly,
Is because they so avidly seek after life.
Therefore the people take death lightly.
Only those who do not act for the purpose of living -
Only those are superior to those who value life.
76
Flexability
When people are born, they are supple and soft;
When they die, they end up stretched and stiff;
When the ten thousand things, grasses and trees are alive,
They are supple and pliant;
When they are death they are withered and dried out.
Therefore we say that the firm and rigid
are the companions of death,
While the supple, the soft, the weak and the delicate
are the companions of life.
If a soldier is rigid, he will not win;
If a tree is rigid, it will come to its end.
Rigidity and power occupy the inferior position;
Suppleness, softness, weakness and delicateness
77
Balance
The Tao of Heaven is like the bending of a bow.
The high it presses down, and the low it raises up.
To those with a surplus, it takes away;
To those without enough, it adds on.
Therefore the way of Heaven
is to reduce the excessive
and increase the insufficient;
The way of Man -
Is to reduce the insufficient
and offer more to the excessive.
Now, who is able to have a surplus
And use it to offer to Heaven?
Clearly it is only the one who possesses Tao.
Therefore the Sage -
Takes action, but do not possess them;
Accomplishes his tasks - but does not dwell on them.
Like this, is his desire
Not to make a display of his worthyness.
78
Accept responsibility
In the whole world nothing is softer
and weaker than water.
And yet for attacking the solid and strong,
nothing can beat it,
Because there is nothing that can replace it.
That water can defeat the strong -
That the weak can defeat the strong -
There is no one in the world that does not know it,
and yet there is no one who can put it into practice.
For this reason, the words of the Sage say:
To take on yourself the disgrace of the state -
This is called being the lord of earth and grain;
To assume responsibility for all ill-omened events in the state -
This is called being the king of the World.
Correct words seem to say the reverse
Of what you expect them to say.
79
Reconciliation
To make peace where there has been great resentment,
There is bound to be resentment left over.
How could this be regarded as good?
Therefore the Sage holds The right tally
Yet makes no demands of others.
For this reason, those who have virtue
are in charge of the tally;
Those without Virtue are in charge of the taxes.
The Tao of Heaven is impartial
It stays always with the good men.
80
Utopia
Let the states be small and the people few -
Bring it about that there are weapons for "tens" and "hundreds",
Yet let no one use them;
Have the people regard death gravely
and put migrating far from their minds.
Though they might have boats and carriages,
no one will use them;
Though they might have armor and weapons,
no one will display them;
Have the people return to the knotting cords
And using them.
They will relish their food,
Regard their clothing as beautiful,
Delight in their customs,
And feel safe and secure in their homes.
Neighboring sates might overlook one another,
And the sound of chickens and dogs might be overheard,
Yet the people will arrive at old age and death
with no comings and goings between them.
81
The sage
Sincere words are not showy.
showy words are not sincere.
Those who know are not "widely learned"
Those who are "widely learned" do not know.
The good do not have a lot.
Those with a lot are not good.
The sage accumulates nothing.
Having used what he had for others,
He has even more.
Having given what he had to others,
What he has is even greater.
Therefore, the way of Heaven
is to benefit and not to cause any harm;
The way of Man is to act on behalf of others
And not to compete with them.
TAO TE KING
LAO TZU
http://home.pages.at/onkellotus/TTK/English_Hond_TTK.html
0 comments:
Post a Comment