Be content and there will be no disgrace. Know to stop and there will be no danger. And you can last very long.
45
The greatest perfection will seem lacking in something but its usefulness never ends. The greatest solidity will seem Empty but its usefulness is inexhaustible. The greatest uprightness will seem compromised
the greatest ability will seem clumsy the greatest eloquence will seem tongue-tied.
"Agitation overcomes cold Stillness overcomes heat. "Purity and Stillness are the Norm of the World.
46
When the world has Tao, they have no use for saddle horses, using them to haul manure. When the world has no Tao, they raise war horses on sacred ground.
Nothing is more crime producing than desirable things nothing is a worse misfortune than not being content nothing makes for more guilt than desire for gain.
Yes: Be content with enough, and there will always be enough.
47
Understanding the world without going out the door. Understanding Heaven's Way without looking out the window. Traveling very widely, understanding very little.
And so the Wise Person: Knows without any going names without any looking accomplishes without any doing.
48
"Doing Learning, one profits everyday." Doing Tao, one suffers a loss everyday -
loses, and loses some more and so arrives at not doing anything. Doing nothing, nothing will remain not done. Taking over the world: only by not working.
A person who sets to working, doesn't have what it takes to take over the world.
49
The Wise Person is always a man without a mind - he takes the mind of the hundred clans as his mind.
Those who are good, I am good to them those who are not good, I am also good to them - Te is good.
Those who are honest, I am honest with them those who are not honest, I am also honest with them - Te is honest.
The Wise Person lives in the world all drawn in for the world's sake he keeps his mind muddled. The hundred clans all strain their eyes and ears toward him. The Wise Person treats them all as his children.
50
"Setting out to live is entering into death."
"Thirteen are the life givers thirteen are the death bringers." The thirteen body parts are also death spots in people's life and activity? Why? Because they live life so lavishly.
So we hear: One who Excels at fostering life "travels on land without meeting rhinoceros or tiger enters combat without armour or weapon."
The rhinoceros finds no place to jab its horn the tiger finds no place to lay its claws a weapon finds no place where its point can enter. Why? Because he has no death spot.
51
Tao produces them Te rears them events shape them talents complete their development. And so: Among the thousands of things there are none that do not honour Tao and treasure Te
This honouring Tao and treasuring Te - no one commands it, it always happens naturally. Tao produces them, Te rears them makes them grow, nurses them, settles them, heals them, sustains them, protects them.
Produces but does not possess works but does not rely on this presides but doesn't rule. This is mysterious Te.
52
The world has a Source, the Mother of the World.
Once you get the Mother then you understand the children. Once you understand the children turn back and watch over the Mother. As to destroying the self, there will be nothing to fear.
Close your eyes t your doors, till the end of your life you will not get tired.
Open your eyes carry on your business, till the end of your life you will not be safe.
Keeping your eyes on the Small Thing is called Clarity watching over Weakness is called strength.
Engage with the flashing things turn back to Clarity do not deliver yourself to disaster. This is cultivating Steadiness.
53
If I had the least bit of understanding I would walk on the great Way. Only display will be dangerous.
The great Way is very smooth but people love bypaths.
The court is very well kept the fields are very weedy the granaries very empty.
"Their clothes are fine and colourful on their belts are sharp swords, they are filled with food and drink" a superabundance of expensive goods. This is robbers boasting, certainly not the Way.
54
Excellently founded: it will not be uprooted Excellently embraced and cared for: it will not slip away so sons and grandsons will never cease to offer the sacrifices.
Cultivate It in your person, its Te will be pure cultivate It in the clan, its Te will be abundant cultivate It in the village, its Te will be lasting cultivate It in the state, its Te will be ample cultivate It in the empire, its Te will be all-embracing.
Yes: Judge a person taking that person as the measure judge a clan taking that clan as the measure judge a village taking that village as the measure judge a state taking that state as the measure judge the world taking the world as the measure.
How do I know the nature of the world? By this.
55
One who has an abundance of Te is like a newborn child: Poisonous bugs will not bite it fierce beasts will not snatch it birds of prey will not attack it. Its bones are Soft, its sinews Weak, but its grip is firm.
It has not known the union of man and woman, but its organs get aroused: Vital energy at its height.
It will scream all day without getting hoarse: Harmony at its height. To experience Harmony is called being Steady to experience Steadiness is called Clarity.
'Increasing life': ominous 'the mind controlling the ch'i': forcing.
Things are vigorous, then grow old: A case of 'not-Tao'. Not-Tao, soon gone.
56
Those who understand are not talkers talkers don't understand.
Close your eyes t your doors. Dampen the passion untie the tangles make the flashing things harmonious make the dust merge together. This is called the mysterious Merging.
Yes: You cannot get close you cannot stay away you cannot help It you cannot harm It you cannot treasure It you cannot look down on It. Yes: It is the Treasure of the World.
57
"Rule the kingdom by the norm wage war by the unexpected." Take over the world by Not Working. How do I know it is so? By this.
In the world: The more rules and restrictions there are the poorer the people will be. The people: The more 'sharp weapons' they have, the more disordered the state and the clans will be.
Men: The more clever and skillful they are, the more weird things will start to happen. The more you publicize rules and laws, the more robbers and thieves you will have.
Yes, the Wise Person says: I Do Nothing, and the people transform themselves. I love Stillness, and the people bring themselves to correctness.
I do No Work, and the people enrich themselves. I have no desires, and the people by themselves become Simple.
58
When the ruler is dull and incompetent, the people are pure and simple. When the ruler is sharp and alert, the people are a bad lot.
"Bad luck: good luck depends on it good luck: bad luck hides in it."
Who knows where this ends? There is no norm. What accords with the norm turns around and becomes weird what is excellent turns around and becomes ominous. "People's blindness - it has been going on so long now."
And so the Wise Person: Is square and honest but does not cut is pointed and exact but does not hurt is straight and direct but not tactless shines but does not dazzle.
59
"When it comes to governing the people and serving Heaven there's no one like a farmer."
Just being a farmer - this means getting dressed early. Getting dressed early means increasing one's store of Te increasing one's store of Te, then nothing is impossible nothing impossible, then no telling the limit no telling the limit, then one can possess the state.
One who possesses the Mother of the state can last a long time.
This means having deep roots and strong foundations, the Way of 'lasting life, good eyesight into old age'.
60
Governing a large state is like cooking a small fish.
Rule the world by Tao then ghosts will not take to haunting.
It is not that the ghosts will not haunt their haunting will cause no hurt to humankind. (It's not only that their haunting will not hurt humankind, the Wise Person also does not cause hurt to them.
These two do not hurt each other.) Yes, Te unifies and restores.
61
The great state is a low and easy woman for the world the one the Whole world unites with. Femininity always overcomes Masculinity, by Stillness, in Stillness it takes the low place.
Yes: A great state, by putting itself lower than the smaller state, will win out over the smaller state. A small state, by putting itself lower than the great state, will win out over the great state.
Yes: One puts itself lower so it will win out, if the other gets lower, then it will win.
(A great state has no further desire than to embrace and protect other states. A small state has no further desire than to enter and serve other states.
So both get what they want) The greatest should be the lowest.
62
Tao is the honoured center for the thousands of things. The treasure of the good what protects the not good.
Elegant words can buy and sell fine conduct gets people promoted. People who are not good, why are they rejected?
Yes: When they are enthroning the Son of Heaven or installing the Three Ministers - although they are presenting in tribute jade medallions out in front of four-horse teams, this cannot compare to sitting and setting forth this Tao.
What was the reason that the ancients treasured this Tao? is it not said: "By it the seeker obtains by it the guilty escapes." Yes: It is the Treasure of the World.
63
Be a Non Doer work at Not Working acquire a taste for that which has no taste.
Treat small things as though they were great treat few things as though they were many. "Reward what is injurious, with kind Te."
Plan difficult things focussing on the easy parts do great things focussing on the small details.
Difficult tasks in the world always begin from what is easy great tasks in the world always begin from what is small.
And so the Wise Person: Does not 'do great things' and so is able to fulfill his greatness.
Yes: Light agreement is never very trustworthy considering everything easy makes everything difficult.
And so the Wise Person: Treats things as difficult, and in the end has no difficulty.
64
When sitting still, they are easy to hold down no omens yet, it is easy to plan when fragile, they are easy to break when small, they are easy to scatter.
Work on it when it isn't yet put it in order when it is not yet disordered.
A tree you can barely get your arms around, grows from a tiny shoot a nine-story tower begins as a heap of earth a thousand-mile journey begins under your feet.
Working ruins, grasping loses. And so the Wise Person: Does not work, so does not ruin does not grasp, so does not lose.
Men often ruin their affairs on the eve of success, because they are not as prudent at the end as in the beginning. The wise man wills what others do not will, and values not things rare. He learns what others learn not, and gathers up what they despise.
And so the Wise Person: Desires to be desireless does not prize goods hard to come by learns to be un-leaned turns back to the place all others have gone on from. So as to help along the naturalness of the thousands of things with out presuming to be a Worker.
65
Those Excellent at doing Tao in ancient times - it was not to enlighten the people, but to keep them stupid.
The difficulty in governing the people - because of their knowledge. Yes: By "Knowledge!" govern the state - a crime against the state. By "Ignorance!" govern the state - a boon to the state.
Always: To understand these two lines, is also to understand the Ideal Pattern. Always: To understand the Ideal Pattern, is to have mysterious Te.
Mysterious Te is deep, far-reaching, in opposition to things - only afterward comes the Great Harmony.
66
The Yang-tze and the ocean: How are they able to be Kings of the hundred streams? Because they excel at being low - this is how they are able to be Kings of the hundred streams.
And so: Wishing to be high above the people, you must by your speech put yourself at the bottom Wishing to be out in front of the people, you must put your self in the last place.
And so, the Wise Person: Stands above, but the people are not weighed down stands out in front, but the people are not harmed and so the world delights in praising him, and does not tire.
Because of his not contending no one in the world can contend with him.
67
Everyone in the world says of me: 'great - but doesn't seem normal.' It's just 'greatness' - that's why it does not seem normal. If I were normal, I'd have been of little worth for a long time now.
I have three treasures, I protect and keep hold of them. The first is called 'gentleness' the second is called 'frugality' the third is called 'not presuming to act like leader of the world.'
Gentle, so able to be bold frugal, so able to be lavish not presuming to act like leader of the world, so able to become head of a government.
Now: To be bold without being gentle to be lavish without being frugal to act like leader without putting oneself last: This is death.
Yes, gentleness: "Attack with it and you will win defend with it and you will stand firm." When Heaven wants to rescue someone, it surrounds him with a wall of gentleness.
68
The best soldier is not warlike the best fighter shows no anger
the one best at defeating the enemy does not engage him the one best at managing people puts himself below them.
This is the Te of not contending this is the power to manage people. This is being the Counterpart of Heaven equalling the very best of the ancients.
69
Military men have a saying: "I do not presume to act as master, I act as guest I do not presume to advance an inch, I retreat a foot."
This is like "going forward without going forward rolling up the sleeves but baring no arm attacking without showing hostility drawing with no sword."
Nothing brings greater disaster than the motto: "The enemy is nothing." Thinking, "the enemy is nothing": close to losing my Treasure.
Yes, when they cross weapons and attack each other the one in mourning will win.
