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 nort 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 forard 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,
