How do I know about these wise masters?
I use the criterion mentioned above.
22
The Enlightened Way of Life
When something is bent, it is ready to be put straight;
When someone is wronged, one is ready to be redressed;
When a container is empty, it is ready to be filled;
When something gets old, it is ready to be renewed;
When you have just a little, you are ready to get more;
When you have got a lot, you are ready to be confused.
For this reason the Sage espouses one universal formula.
Do not be prejudiced by your own views, and your will see;
Do not think that you are right, and you will know the truth;
Do not boast about your achievements, and you will achieve;
Do not be self-contented; and you will grow.
Because (in-seeking growth) one never need to struggle
or to contest with others,
One will never need to fear that one's achievements will be
contested away by others.
The ancient saying that "When something is bent it is
ready to be straightened" certainly is not idle talk.
To be whole, just follow the one formula.
23
The Dao Will Not Fail the Serious Seeker
To live with sparse words is to live with nature.
Occasional winds and showers will not last through the day.
Who is responsible for this result?
Heaven and earth.
Even heaven and earth take breaks.
So certainly should men.
(Why should anyone then talk too much?)
(Rather then just talk)
Those who follow the way will find the way.
Those who live virtuously will have a virtuous life.
Those who live not seeking the way will lose the way.
For those who seek the way, the way will seek them out.
For those who seek virtue, virtue will seek them out.
For those who do not find the way,
The way will not find them either.
Some people do not believe adequately.
Some people do not believe at all.
24
Excesses Deviate from the Dao
He who stands on tip-toe cannot really stand.
He who takes big strides cannot really walk.
He who sees only through his own point of view cannot see clearly.
He who thinks he is always right will not see the truth.
He who boasts of his own achievements will achieve nothing,
He who is self-contented will not grow.
Such people to the Dao are like those who eat too much or do too much,
They will be fed up with what they eat or what they do.
Hence those who follow the Dao will not fall into the "too much" mode.
25
The Dao Emulates the Great Nature
In the beginning, before the formation of heaven and earth,
Something had already existed amid the confusion.
This lonely existence was totally independent of anything else,
And it would not change,
It only moved in its own way tirelessly.
Only it could have been the mother of heaven and earth.
I do not know its name,
I would just call it "the Dao."
I could also call it "the great something."
This great something has now about disappeared
from the world as we know it.
It has been getting more and more remote from us.
It has become more and more contrary from the
world as we know it.
The Dao is great,
Heaven is great,
Earth is great,
The man who knows the Dao (the Way) is great.
In the domain we know there are four "greats."
The man who knows the Dao is one of them.
The great man emulates the great Earth.
The great earth emulates the great Heaven,
The great heaven emulates the great Dao.
The great Dao emulates the great Nature.
26
Keeping One\'s Weight
We keep our weight, so we will not lose our roots.
We keep our serenity, so we will not lose our poise.
For these reasons when the Sage travels all day,
he does not part from his heavy luggage wagon.
He sits quietly, untouched by the magnificent views.
What a pity it is then to see the lord of ten thousand chariots
losing his weight in front of his people!
If one loses one's weight, one also loses one's base.
If one loses one's serenity, one also loses one's poise.
27
The Perfect Man
Perfect deeds leave no tracks behind it.
Perfect speech leaves no flaws to find fault with.
Those adept in counting do not require counting chips.
Those adept in sealing require no door latches,
yet what is sealed cannot be opened.
Those adept in tying need produce no knots,
yet the strings cannot be untied.
The Sage who is adept in saving people will abandon no one.
He is adept in saving creatures and will abandon no creature.
This is known as the Tradition of the Light.
The perfect man is the teacher of the imperfect.
The imperfect man is the assets of the perfect.
Those who do not value their teachers,
And those who do not take good care of their own assets,
However clever they are, they are really lost.
This is a key point that is often not understood.
28
Great But Humble
Keep one's place however humble, while knowing one's
real strength.
Stay low, like the rivers that gather water from the higher grounds.
Be that lowly river:
Depart not from the eternal virtue,
Emulate the unpretentiousness of infants.
Keep one's color, though it be black,
while knowing about the white.
Be an example for the world.
Be an example for the world,
Do not disgrace the eternal virtue,
Emulate the Eternal.
Take the blames from the world without complaint,
Yet never forgetting the need for honor,
Be the lowly valley of the world.
This way, the eternal virtue is fulfilled.
And simplicity is restored.
Simplicity is valuable.
From simple substances we have all our useful tools.
When simple men are used by the Sages,
They become great statesmen.
Great people never go out of their way to make themselves great,
Just as the great artists will not do superfluous things
to draw the attention of others.
29
Guard Against Vain Ambitions and Excesses
Someone who sets out to win the world and
contrives to make his way will never make it.
The world is holy, and is beyond contrivance and possession.
He who contrives to win will only lose.
He who only aspires to possess will be dispossessed.
The Sage never contrives to do anything and so he fails in nothing.
He never possesses anything and so he never loses anything.
Among the living things, some lead, while others follow.
Some sigh, while others shout.
Some display their strengths, while others show their weaknesses.
Some lend support, while others destroy.
In contrast, the Sage will discard the excessive, the
extravagant, and the extreme.
30
Good Deeds Beget Good Results
The person who through the Dao helps a ruler
Will advise against using sheer military force to conquer the world.
Such military activity will invite its own counter-effects.
For where the military force goes,
farmlands will give way to thorns and brambles.
In the wake of military conquest,
A year of misfortune inevitably follows.
Good results are the natural outcome of good deeds.
They are not achieved by force or contrivance.
In the face of good results,
One must not indulge in conceit;
Nor must one boast about one's success;
Nor must one succumb to pride.
Remember that good results follow the natural law.
Good results are not brought about
by forcing the course of events.
Anything that has seen the prime of its age
will soon get old.
Going past the prime is going against the Dao.
Going against the Dao, one soon perishes.
31
Do Not Glorify Military Victories
Fine weapons are ominous objects
And are detested by all living things.
For this reason the man who follows the Dao
will stay away from them when possible.
The refined man respects life in his daily life.
(he "follows the left").
If he should resort to military force, he unavoidably
destroys life (he "follows the right").
Weapons are ominous objects and are never
the instruments of a refined person.
If ever he cannot avoid using them,
he must not make a big thing out of it.
Even if he wins the war,
he must not glorify the victory.
He who glorifies military victories
takes pleasure in killing.
He who takes pleasure in killing
will not win the support of the world.
Auspicious events are symbolized by the left;
Ominous events are symbolized by the right.
The next-in-command should take the left seat;
The chief-in-command should take the right seat.
This is to say that a military victory should be
treated like a ceremony to honor the dead.
For those who kill, let us shed our tears upon them.
Upon winning a war, let us pay tribute to
those who die with the rites of mourning.
32
The Nameless Way
The Dao has always been nameless and simple.
Though humble, it is never subservient to anyone under heaven.
Still, if kings and barons would follow the Dao steadfastly
All the living things on earth would benefit and pay them homage.
It is the interaction of heaven and earth
that brings rain to all the living things.
Heaven and earth are not at the command of anyone.
Yet all living things benefit from their actions.
Humans since the beginning of time
have established all kinds of traditions and have named names.
Should they then not know when to stop?
Those who know when to stop know no death.
Just as the rivers and valleys bring water to the sea,
So the Dao brings all living things to the Ultimate.
33
Real Strength and Endurance
He who knows others is wise,
He who knows himself is wiser.
He who conquers others is strong.
He who conquers himself is stronger.
He who knows what is adequate lives a rich life.
He who overcomes difficulties knows what he wants.
He who will not lose his place endures.
He who dies and yet lives lasts.
34
The Great Dao
The Great Dao is all-encompassing.
Its influences pervade all directions.
All living things depend on it.
But the Dao works quietly.
It accomplishes yet makes no claims.
It provides clothing and nourishments
yet does not take command over anything.
Ever aspiring for non-existence,57
It can be called little.
Providing a home to all the living things
yet claiming no ownership,
It can be called great.
Exactly because the Dao never takes itself as great,
It is truly great.
35
The Dao Does Not Attract Followers
He who holds the great sign
Attracts a great following.
He who helps the followers avoid harm
Enjoys great peace.
Music and good food can stop passers-by on their way.
The Dao, on the contrary, offers only a bland taste.
It can hardly be seen or heard.
Yet if one uses it, it is inexhaustible.
36
Refined Understanding
In order to fold, one must first unfold;
In order to weaken, one must first strengthen;
In order to banish, one must first establish;
In order to deprive, one must first provide.
The following is called refined understanding:
That the weak will outperform the strong.
Just as fish should stay inside their deep pools.
So the best gadgets and tools of a country
should not be displayed in front of others.
37
Stillness of the Mind and Refined Action
The Dao neither contrives to do something
nor abstains from doing anything.
If only the kings and barons would follow the Dao,
all the living things would be transformed.
If the transformed living things
should contrive to do anything,
I would restrain them
with the natural simplicity of the Unnamed.
I would have them freed from desires.
Freedom from desires is achieved by stilling the mind.
Everything under heaven will then fall back into their natural places.
38
Refined Way of Life
The refined virtuous never attempts to be virtuous.
For this reason they are truly virtuous.
The unrefined virtuous always adheres to what is virtuous.
For this reason they are not really virtuous.
The refined virtuous will not contrive to do anything
and do not act for gain.
The unrefined virtuous contrives to act
and does so for gain.
The refined kindly man lives a kindly life not for benefit.
The refined fair man acts fairly and does so for benefit.
The refined gentlemanly person acts gentlemanly
and expects to be so treated.
If he is not treated the way he expects,
he would push away and thrust aside his counterpart.
The man who has lost the Dao
finds refuge in being virtuous.
The man who has lost the virtuous way of life
finds refuge in being kindly.
The man who has lost the kindly way of life
finds refuge in being fair.
The man who has lost the fair way of life
finds refuge in being gentlemanly.
Ceremony and gentlemanly behavior
is the result of the thinness of faith and trust,
and is the origin of many ills.
Learning to tell what is "virtuous" and "fair"
is merely the showy flower(not the fruit) of the Dao.
It could be the beginning of folly.
The fully grown person chooses a life
that offers substance and satisfaction,
not one that is thin and superficial.
He knows what he opts for and what he gives up.
39
The Universal Formula
There is one universal formula that always works:
The sky had followed the universal formula,
and it became clear.
The earth had followed the universal formula,
and became calm and safe.
The gods follow the universal formula,
and they have become effective.
The valleys follow the universal formula,
