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
