Even the conquer is necessary,
never force it.
Potency (strength) is always followed by aging (weakness).
Doing so, is not the way of Tao.
Non-Tao, dies young.
31
Good weapons, instruments of bad omen,
all creatures hate them,
followers of Tao never use them.
The wise man prefers the left.
The man of war prefers the right.
Weapons, instruments of bad omen,
not a wise mean's tools.
He uses them only when he has no choice.
Peace and quiet are great virtues,
victory causes no rejoicing.
Who rejoices in victory, delights killing.
Who delights killing, cannot come to power in the world.
Good omen prefers the left.
bed omen to the right.
The generals stand on the left,
The commander-in-chief on the right,
same as conducting a funeral.
Many people are killed,
should be mourned in heartfelt sorrow.
Victory ceremony must be like a funeral.
32
The Tao has no name.
Pooh (the pure Tao) is minute, yet no one can grasp (manage) it.
If kings and lords could harness it,
everything would come and obey.
Heaven and earth couple,
gentle rain fall; people needs not to pray for it.
After the rise of civilization, there are names.
Now, enough names,
must know when to stop.
Knowing to stop, eternal again.
Tao to the world is like a river flowing home to the sea.
33
Knowing others is wisdom.
Knowing self is enlightenment.
Managing others has power.
Managing self needs strength.
Who satisfies, rich.
Who persists, success.
Keep your place, endure.
Dead, yet present, immortal.
34
The great Tao flows, to the left, to the right,
everything arises from it.
Fulfills its purpose, making no claim.
Nourishes everything, yet not their lord.
It has no claim, could name it minute (lowly).
Everything returns to it, could name it Great.
By not showing its greatness, it could be truly great.
35
Up held the great sign (of Tao), all men come,
for safety, for peace, and for happiness.
Traveler stop for music and good food.
As for Tao, not flavor for mouth,
not beauty for eyes,
not good music for ears,
but use it and cannot be exhausted.
36
To shrink it, expand first.
To weaken it, strengthen first.
To throw it away, get first.
To rob him, give first,
This is called deception. Soft and weak overcome hard and strong.
Fish cannot leave water.
Do not show a country's strength.
37
Tao abides Wu-Wei (no action against Tao).
yet, nothing is left undone.
If kings and lords observed this,
everything would manifest naturally.
If they desired to do something (against Tao),
I would stop them with nameless pooh.
Nameless pooh has no desire.
No desire is till (invariance and eternal).
Everything will manifest according to its own path.
38
High Teh (virtue), not Teh (not showing), is Teh.
Lower Teh, not lost Teh (showing Teh), is not Teh.
High Teh Wu-Wei, thus not much to do.
Low Teh, doing many, thus many things need to be done.
Higher Jen (highest love), doing things (being loving), and not muchto do.
Higher iL (Justice), doing things (for justice), and much needs tobe done.
Higher Li (ways of conduct), doing things,
and don't know which conduct should be used,
shake hands, touch elbow?
After Tao is lost, there is Teh.
After Teh is lost, there is Jen.
After Jen is lost, there is iL.
After iL is lost, there is Li.
We need Li, because now lacking loyalty and honesty.
Li is the beginning of chaos.
Who with futuristic vision, seeing only the surface of Tao,
a beginning of ignorance.
Therefore the truly great man dwells on what is solid,
not on what is shallow,
on the fruit, not the flower.
Choose this, not that.
39
Those who were the only one (whole, individual).
Only one Tien (sky), thus it could be clear.
Only one Di (earth), thus peaceful.
Only one spirit, thus having magic.
Valley is one (whole), it could hold water.
Every creature is one (individual), it has life.
Only one king, the world respects him.
Tien not clear, could crack.
Di not peaceful, could quake.
Spirit without magic, could exhaust.
Valley could not hold water, could dry up.
Every creature has no life, could extinct.
King is not high and mighty, could fall.
The low is the foundation of the high.
The humble is the root of the noble.
King considers himself, the Only, the only One, the worthless.
Do the king is truly lowly in essence? No!
To much (success, fame,...) is not ....
Do not tinkle like jade,
clatter like stone.
40
The opposite (relativity) is the result of the motion of the Tao.
Yielding is the way of the Tao.
Everything is born of being.
Being is born of Nothingness.
41
The wise student hears of the Tao, practices it diligently.
The average student hears of the Tao, gives it thought now and then.
The foolish student hears of the Tao, laughs aloud.
If there were no laughters, the Tao would not be the true Tao.
Hence it is said:
the bright path seems dim;
forwarding seems retreating;
easy way seems hard;
highest Virtue seems empty;
true white seems polluted.
a wealth of Virtue seems inadequate;
the strength of Virtue seems frail;
real Virtue seems unreal.
The infinite square has no corners.
Great talents ripen late.
The highest notes are hard to hear.
The greatest form has no shape.
The Tao is hidden and without name.
The Tao alone nourishes and brings everything to fulfillment.
42
The Tao begot one.
One begot two.
Two begot three.
Three begot everything.
Everything carries Yin (on the back) and embraces Yang (in the front).
They achieve harmony by combining these forces.
Men hate to be "the Only," "the only One," or "worthless,"
but this is how kings and lords describe themselves.
For one gains by losing,
loses by gaining.
What others teach, I also teach, that is:
"A violent man will die a violent death!"
This will be the essence of my teaching.
43
The softest thing in the universe,
overcomes the hardest thing.
That without substance can enter where there is no room.
Hence I know the value of Wu-Wei.
The benefits, of teaching without words, of Wu-Wei,
are understood by very few.
44
Fame or self: Which matters more?
Self or wealth: Which is more precious?
Gain or loss: Which is more painful?
He who is attached to things will suffer much.
He who saves could suffer heavy loss.
A contented man is never disappointed.
He who knows when to stop does not find himself in trouble,
he will stay forever safe.
45
Great accomplishment seems imperfect,
yet it does not outlive its usefulness.
Great fullness seems empty,
yet it cannot be exhausted.
Great straightness seems bent.
Great intelligence seems ignorant.
Great eloquence seems awkward.
Movement overcomes cold.
Stillness overcomes heat.
Peaceful set things in order in the universe.
46
When the world follows Tao,
the horses haul manure.
When the world abandoned Tao.
War horses run wild.
There is no greater sin than unable to be satisfied.
No greater misfortune than wanting and wanting.
Thus, he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.
47
Without traveling, we could know the world.
Without looking through the window, we could see the Tao of heaven.
The farther you go, the less you know.
Thus the sage knows without traveling.
He knows things without actually seeing them.
He success without effort.
48
In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired.
In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.
More and more dropped, until Wu-Wei is achieved.
With Wu-Wei, nothing is left undone.
The world always takes its own course.
If not, it cannot rule the world.
49
The sage has no pre-perceived notion,
sees people's virtue as virtue,
values the good virtue,
also values the bad virtue,
because, virtues are Virtue.
He has faith in people who are faithful.
He has faith in people who are not faithful.
Because Virtue is faithfulness.
The sage has an open mind to the world.
The minds of people,
the sage sees them as good as innocent children.
50
In the journey of life and death,
three in ten will live a long life,
three in ten will die before their time.
There are also three in ten will survive from the extreme dangeroussituations.
Why is this so?
Because they know the ways of surviving.
Who knows how to preserve his own life,
will not meet rhinoceros or tigers in traveling,
will not be wounded in battle.
Because, rhinoceroses can find no place to thrust their horn,
tigers no place to use their claws,
weapons no place to pierce.
Why?
Because, he will not place himself into those situations.
51
Teh (virtue) arose from Tao, nourishes everything.
It gives rise to form, body, and individual fulfillment.
Thus, everything respects Tao and values Teh.
The high honor of Tao, the high value of Teh,
are inner values from themselves, not from our valuing them.
Therefore, Teh arose from Tao is able to care for, repress, or destroy.
It gives lives, but not possesses them.
It nourishes them, but not rules over.
This is the Primal Virtue.
52
There is a beginning for the universe,
the mother of everything.
Knowing the mother, knows the sons.
Knowing the sons, knows the mother.
Knowing these, becomes immortal.
Plug your openings (9 for man's body),
t the gate,
and life is ever full.
Open you openings (for some schools, specially care about the gatefor semen).
Always be busy (such as: having sex),
life is beyond hope.
Value the small (such as semen or any insignificant things) is insight.
Yielding (as woman) is strength.
Using the light , return to insight (such as transform semen into spirit),
body will not be harmed.
Practice this constantly.
53
If I have even just a little sense,
I will walk on the main road;
my only fear will be of straying from it.
The main road is flat,
yet people love the short cut.
The court, in splendor,
the fields full of weeds,
the warehouses empty.
Some wear gorgeous clothes,
carry sharp swords,
indulge themselves with food and drink,
have more possessions than they can use.
They are robber barons.
Not the way of Tao.
54
Firmly established cannot be uprooted.
Firmly grasped will not slip away.
These are handed down from generation to generation.
Virtue cultivated by yourself, is real for yourself.
Practiced in the family, it will abound.
Cultivated in the village, the Virtue will grow.
Cultivated in the nation, it will be abundant.
Cultivate in the universe, the Virtue will be everywhere.
Therefore, study selves with self,
study families with family,
study villages with village,
study nations with nation,
look at the universe with the world.
How do I know about the universe.
With the above.
55
Use new born to see the value of great Virtue (Teh).
Wasps and serpents will not sting him;
wild beasts will not pounce upon him;
he will not be attacked by birds of prey.
His bones are soft, his muscles weak,
but his grip is firm.
He has not experienced the union of man and woman, is a whole,
an unbroken whole, the purest jing (pure substance).
He screams all day without becoming hoarse.
This is perfect harmony (without lost any semen).
Knowing how to reach harmony, can preserve.
Knowing how to preserve, is enlightenment.
Preserving produces good omen.
Desire (ejaculation) makes you potent.
Potency ensures aging (decay).
This is not Tao.
Not-Tao causes early death.
56
Those who know do not chat.
Those who chat do not know.
Plug the openings, close the gate.
Temper the sharpness, eliminate the division.
Soften the brightness, be the same as the dust (as lowly as possible).
This is the Primal Union.
Thus, friends, enemies, good, harm, honor and disgrace are all withyou.
The world will honor you.
57
Rule a nation with justice.
Wage war with deception.
Become ruler of the world with peace.
How do I know that this is so?
Because of these.
The more laws and restrictions,
the poorer people become.
The sharper men's weapons,
the more trouble in the land.
The more ingenious and clever men,
the more strange things happen.
The more rules and regulations,
the more thieve and robbers.
Therefore, the sage says: I Wu-Wei,
people will rule themselves.
I enjoy peace and people become honest.
I do nothing special (such as tax and war) and people become rich.
I have no unjust desires (concubines, conquering, etc.),
people return to the good and simple life.
58
When the country is ruled with simple rules,
the people are simple.
When the country is ruled with complicated laws,
the people are cunning.
Misery often gives rise to future happiness.
Beneath happiness often lurks misery.
Who knows what the future holds?
Positive could be reversed.
Nothing stays positive forever.
Honesty becomes dishonest.
Goodness could become wicked.
People will be confused for a long time.
