And what the small states desire is to serve the great state.
Then each side gets what it desires,
But the great state should especially learn to lower itself.
62
Tao, as the abyss where all things are hidden, is effective and precious to good men, and must also be preserved by bad men.
Eloquent words can purchase honour from others,
And admirable deeds can put one above others,
How can it be abandoned by men, even in their evil deeds?
Therefore, when the Son of Heaven mounts the throne and the principal ministers come to their places,
It is better to offer Tao as a present (without any ceremonies),
Though there is the round jadeware, followed by the four-horse chariot.
Why is Tao so much valued from the old days on?
Can it not be said that (with it) one can get what he seeks for and be forgiven his sin?
Thus it is valued by all under Heaven.
63
Consider nonaction as and action, having no trouble as an affair and flavourless as a flavour.
No matter how hostile others are toward me,
I always repay them with "De."
Prepare for a difficult problem while it is easy,
Enter on a great task while it is still small.
All the difficult things under Heaven necessarily arise from the state in which they were easy;
All the great tasks under Heaven arise from the state in which they were small.
For this reason, the sage never does great things,
And he can accomplish great things just on that account.
Light promising makes on lose one's credit,
And thinking things easy leads to difficulties.
So, the sage, though he is very wise, pays much attention to the difficulties,
Therefore he is free from difficulties in the end.
64
The stability of things is easy to hold while they are stable;
Things are easy to deal with while they show no sign of change;
Things are easily broken while they are still fragile;
Things are easily dispersed while they are minute.
Deal with things before they have happened,
And get things in order before their disorder begins.
A huge tree which fills one's arms grows from a tiny seedling;
A high terrace which has nine storeys rises from a small heap of earth;
A journey of a thousand li begins with the first step.
He who takes action messes things up;
And he who holds things fast loses them.
Therefore, the sage does not fail in anything since he does nothing;
Does not lose anything since he holds nothing.
People often fail when they are about to succeed in their business.
If they are as careful at the end as at the beginning,
They would not ruin their business.
Therefore the sage's desire is to have no desire,
And he doesn't value rare goods.
(The Sage's) learning is to learn nothing, in order to remedy the fault that people often have.
Thus he helps the natural development of all things, and does not dare to act constrainedly.
65
From of old those who have carried out the principle of Tao do not enlighten the people with it, but make them foolish and simple with it.
What makes it difficult to govern the people is that they have too much knowledge,
Therefore to govern the state by wisdom is a disaster for the state,
And not to govern the state by wisdom is a blessing for the state.
It is a principle to now the two (by wisdom and not by wisdom).
Carrying out the principle forever is called the mysterious "De."
The mysterious "De" is very deep and far-reaching.
It is contrary to the nature of concrete things,
But leads to the greatest conformity.
66
The rivers and seas can become the masters of many streams just because they skillfully stay in lower valleys.
So they can be the leaders of many streams.
Therefore (he) who wants to rule over the people should show his modesty by his words.
He who wants to lead the people should place himself behind them.
In this way, the sage is above the people, but the people do not feel him as a burden.
He is in front of the people (leading them), but the people do not feel him as a hindrance.
Therefore all the people under Heaven revere him and do not tire of him.
Just because he does not compete with others,
Nobody under Heaven can compete with him.
67
All the people under Heaven say that my Tao is great,
But it is not like anything concrete.
Just because it is great,
It is not like anything concrete.
If it is like something concrete,
It would have been very small for long.
I have three precious things which I hold up and preserve:
The first if "tolerance";
The second is "economy";
The third is "to dare not go ahead of all the people under Heaven."
With tolerance, one can be brave;
With economy, one can be generous;
With not daring to go ahead of all the people under Heaven, one can be a leader.
Now, seeking bravery without tolerance, seeking generosity without economy, and seeking precedence without retreat will only end with death.
With tolerance, one can be victorious in war or strengthen himself in defense.
When Heaven is to save a person, it will protect him through tolerance.
68
He who is god at being a shi (officer) does not boast of his martialism;
He who is good at fighting does not resort to his rage;
He who is skillful in winning against the enemy does not wrestle with them;
He who is skillful in managing his men has a modest attitude toward them.
This is called the De of not contending with others;
This is called the power of making use of others' force;
This is called being in accord with the Way of Heaven,
Thus it has been a principle very long since.
69
A master in the art of war is very correct in saying:
"I dare not take the offensive, but prefer to take the defensive;
I dare not advance an inch, but prefer to retreat a foot."
This is called:
Disposing no lines of troops,
Raising no arms,
Confronting no enemy,
And grasping no weapons.
There is no disaster greater than underestimating the enemy,
Underestimating the enemy nearly makes me lose my "three precious things."
Therefore the side in grief conquers in case of the balance of the forces of two sides.
70
My words are very easy to understand, and very easy to practice.
But no one under Heaven is able to understand them or to practice them.
Speeches should have their main principle,
And deeds should have their master.
Because of their ignorance, the people are not able to understand me.
Those who are able to understand me are very few,
And those who are able to follow me are very heard to meet.
Therefore the sage (who is not understood) looks like he is wearing coarse grab, but he has a precious jade in his heart.
71
It is the best for one to know that he does not know;
It is an illness to pretend to know when he actually does not know.
Recognizing the illness as an illness prevents one from the illness.
The sage is free from the illness,
Because he recognizes the illness as an illness.
He can prevent the illness thereby.
72
When the people do not fear the force (of the ruler),
Something forceful and terrible would happen.
Don't force the people out of their houses,
Don't block their way of livelihood.
Only by not oppressing the people, can one make the people feel no oppression.
Therefore the sage seeks for self-knowledge, not for self-parade, for self-love, not for self-importance.
So, self-parade and self-importance should be abandoned and self-knowledge and self-love should be kept.
73
He who is brave in daring everything will be killed,
And he who is brave in daring nothing will live on.
Of the results of the two kinds of braveness, one is advantageous, the other is harmful.
When Heaven has some detestation,
Who can know its cause?
So even the sage feels it difficult to explain.
It is the Tao (Way) of Heaven:
Not to struggle and yet be good at winning,
Not to speak and yet be good at replying,
Without being called it comes of itself,
though slow, it plans skillfully.
The net of Heaven is vast,
It has large meshes, but it lets nothing escape.
74
Since the people do not fear death,
What is it for to frighten them with death?
If the people fear death and I can catch and kill those who make trouble,
Who dares to make trouble?
There is always someone who is in charge of inflicting death.
Inflicting death in place of those who are in charge of it can be described as hewing wood in place of a skillful carpenter.
Of those who hew wood in place of skillful carpenters, few have not cut their own hands.
75
The people suffer from famine because too many of the taxes are swallowed by their rulers.
Thus they suffer from famine.
The people are difficult to rule because their rulers are fond of taking action.
Thus they are difficult to rule.
The people take risks with their lives because the rulers take good care of their own lives.
Thus the people are forced to risk their lives.
Those who do not value their lives are wiser than those who overvalue their lives.
76
Man ahs a soft and weak body when he is alive,
Whereas his body becomes hard and rigid after his death.
All things, grasses and trees have tender twigs and branches when they are alive,
Whereas they become dry and withered when they are dead.
Therefore the hard and strong belong to death,
Whereas the soft and weak belong to life.
Thus the armed forces will be shattered when they become strong,
And trees will be broken when they grow strong.
The hard and strong are in the inferior position,
And the soft and weak are in the superior position.
77
Does not he Way (Tao) of Heaven resemble drawing a bow (and aiming an arrow at the target)?
When it is high, it will be brought down;
When it is low, it will be raised up;
When it is overfull, it will be diminished;
And when it is not full, it will be supplemented.
It is the Way of Heaven to diminish the excessive, so as to supplement the deficient.
This is not so with the Way of man -
It takes away from those who have not enough so as to supply those who have superabundance.
Who can supply all the people under Heaven by diminishing the excessive?
Only the man who has "Tao."
Therefore the sage promotes all things, but does not think the effort as his own,
Achieves merit, but does not claim credit for himself,
And does not wish to parade his wisdom and ability.
78
Nothing under Heaven is softer and weaker than water,
But in attacking the hard and strong, no force can compare with it,
For nothing can take its place.
The reason why the weak can overcome the strong and the soft can overcome the heard is known to all the people under Heaven,
But none would follow and practice it.
Therefore the sage said:
He who bears humiliation of the whole state can be the sovereign of the country.
He who bears the disaster of the whole state can be the king of all under Heaven.
Positive words seem to be negative.
79
When an attempt has been made to reconcile two sides in a great enmity, and there is surely some enmity remaining,
How can this be a good thing?
So, although the sage hold the counterfoil of receipt,
He does not force the debtor to pay back.
The moral man is as calm and unhurried as a bookkeeper is,
And the immoral man is as calculating as a rent collector is (while he is collecting the rent).
The Tao of Heaven has no partiality for any reason, and always helps the good man.
80
Let the state be small, and let the population be sparse.
Though there are various kinds of instruments, let them not be used;
Let the people not risk their lives, not move to distant places;
Though there be boats and carriages,
There is no occasion to ride in them;
Though there are weapons and military equipment,
There is no occasion to display them.
Let the people return to the use of knotted cord sin recording events, delight in their food, dress in beauty, dwell in comfort, and enjoy their life.
The neighbouring states are within sight of each other, and the cries of roosters and dogs can be heard by one another,
But the people do not have any contact with each other until they die of old age.
81
Sincere words are not fine,
Fine words are not sincere.
A good man is not eloquent,
An eloquent man is not good.
He who knows does not show off his learning,
He who shows off his learning does not know.
The sage has nothing to reserve.
He gains more since he does his utmost to help others,
And gets richer since he gives all to others.
The Tao of Heaven is beneficial to all things, but not harmful.
The Tao of the sage is to compete against nobody in what he does.
English_Kline_TTK
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
English by
A. S. Kline, 2003
1
The Way - cannot be told.
TheName - cannot be named.
The nameless is the Way of Heaven and Earth.
The named is Matrix of the Myriad Creatures.
Eliminate desire to find the Way.
Embrace desire to know the Creature.
The two are identical,
But differ in name as they arise.
Identical they are called mysterious,
Mystery on mystery,
The gate of many secrets.
2
The world knows beauty as beauty,
So there is then ugliness.
The world knows good as good,
So there is then the bad.
As is and is-not create each other,
The hard and easy define each other,
The long and short delimit each other,
The high and low depend on each other,
Voice and music harmonise with each other,
Last and next follow each other.
So the wise adhere to action through non-action,
And communicate the teaching without words.
From the Way come the myriad creatures
Yet it imposes no authority.
