and you can be their leader.
Deal with the world's problems,
and you'll be a Master."
Sometimes the truth makes no sense.
79
Sometimes,
when an argument is settled,
feelings of resentment still remain
on either side.
What's the point of carrying a grudge?
The Masters care
about what they owe other people,
not what other people owe them.
People who are in touch with Tao
do their duty.
People who aren't
try to force others into submission.
Tao doesn't play favorites.
But if you do right by Tao,
Tao will do right by you.
80
Lao Tzu had a dream
about a small country
with very few people.
They didn't need machines
to get their work done faster.
They took their lives seriously,
and stayed close to home.
They may have owned
boats and carriages,
but they never went anywhere.
They may have owned weapons,
but they kept those weapons
locked up, securely hidden.
They had so few responsibilities,
they never had to make a To-Do list
to remember what had to be done.
They enjoyed simple foods,
dressed plainly,
lived comfortably,
and kept their traditions alive.
And even though
their neighbors were so close
they could hear
the dogs barking at night,
they had no interest
in leaving their homes,
where they grew old peacefully
and died.
81
The truth isn't flashy.
Flashy words aren't true.
Educated people
aren't always smart.
Smart people
don't always have an education.
Good people don't argue.
People who argue aren't good.
The Masters don't hang on to things.
They're always doing something
for other people,
so they always have more to give.
They give away
whatever they have,
so what they have is worth more.
If you want to get right with Tao,
help other people, don't hurt them.
The Masters always work with people,
never against them.
English_Hond_TTK
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
Chinese (Mawang Dui) - English by
Bram den Hond
http://home.wanadoo.nl/kwispel/woewei/uk01to3.htm
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,
