28
Be like this valley. Accepting sunlight. Accepting rain. Accepting sages and villains. Do this and the Dao will always be with you. Know darkness in this valley. Know the sunlight. The Dao is strong in you. Your tools are from a block of wood. Keep to the block.
29
The grasses are green in this valley. The clouds are white. The sky is blue and the water will always be wet. That is how they are and there is nothing you can do about it. So stop thinking.
30
Wake up. Do your work. Rest. Believe in yourself and leave it at that. The planets are in their orbits. The falcon will feed on the rodent. Accept this and the Dao will accept you.
31
Value peace above all. Opposing armies are filled with your children and your elders. Violence is to be detested.
32
Look into a microscope and the Dao is there. Look into the sky and it is filled with the Dao. Do not label what is in the lens. Do not label what is above. All waters will flow into the sea, so why think more on it?
33
Knowledge from a book is intelligence. Sipping the tea is wisdom. You already have all you need.
34
The Dao is like the river behind you. It creates life where it travels, but does not take credit. It nourishes the fish that swim in it, but doesn't possess them. Man and beast take refreshment and sustenance from it and it never ends. It is therefore great. But it doesn't think so.
35
When you look into a deep well, you see nothing. Put your ear to it and you hear nothing. Try to smell it and again there is nothing. It would seem a useless thing. Until you use it.
36
A river can penetrate the toughest rock. A glacier can create the tallest mountain. It is not the work that we admire, but the result.
37
The Dao has no agenda. So at the end of the day, everything is done. The man that lives in this lives in a peaceful and harmonious home.
38
The blossoms of a plum tree greatly please the eye, but do not feed the stomach. The cover of a book does not tell the story. If you do nothing, you leave nothing undone. Live simply in the now. Illusions are for the lost.
39
The lake is peaceful and clear. Jump into it and the water ripples, muck stirs, fish scatter. Step lightly into it and all will remain. Have compassion and practice modesty.
40
Return to the simple. Yield like the tree in the wind. In the words of Lao Tzu, "All things are born of being. Being is born of all things." Your children are born of your love. Love is realized in your children.
41
Be as a child and encompass the greatest wisdom. Do not seek, as the Dao is nowhere to be found. The river nourishes all things.
42
Nothing begot One. The One begot Two and the Two begot Three. The Three gives birth to the ten thousand things. Within the ten thousand things are yin and yang. One will lose by gaining, and will gain by losing. You are always one with the Dao.
43
A silent parent can give wisdom unto his child. Without a gesture, the child can understand.
44
Fortune or glory? Which is better? Answer and I will strike you. All you need is already within you. Leave things alone and you will be full.
45
The true wisdom is found within a child. The oldest tree bends to the wind. The perfect art is an un-carved block. Nature has done her work. Let the Dao speak through it.
46
Fear is an illusion. An illusion is a lie to the truth. In line with the Dao, plant flowers. Out of line, plant bodies.
47
Sip tea and achieve. Read books to gain and deteriorate. You need not journey ten thousand miles to see the world. You need not follow a river to know its source.
48
The knowledgeable have volumes of great works. The wise walk in the tall grasses. The knowledgeable have more research to do; their work is never complete. The wise have nothing to do. The day unfolds on its' own.
49
The wolf dare not take on a bear alone. It is the pack, acting as one, that gets the job done. Nature tends to those who hunt, and those who are hunted. The sage lives in the world, among his people. He merges his mind with theirs.
50
When drinking tea, don't talk of coffee. When drinking coffee, don't talk of tea. Wholly give yourself up. Have no illusion about death, your mind or your body. Flow like the oceans waves. Rest after your work is complete.
51
Everything is a perfect expression of the Dao. In harmony, things take their own course. The ten thousand things are of the Dao. Yet the Dao does not possess any of them. Your nature is to love yourself, and in doing so, loving the Dao, which is all things.
52
Before the illusion of time existed, there was the Dao. From it, everything comes and everything goes. Judging goes against the Dao. Do so and you will never have peace. Be clear like the undisturbed lake. Be strong like the yielding tree.
53
The exciting path that runs through the woods is not necessarily the one to be on. It is the easy route that will lead to the Way. The path that promises illusions delivers sadness. In the false, the rich enjoy exotic foods while the poor scramble for scraps.
54
Look at yourself in a mirror. When you see yourself smile, you feel good. When you smile at others, they feel good. Be true to your nature and you will true to the Dao. It will reflect on your children and your neighbors and spread like the sun.
55
Do you want the secret of an old age? Do not let yourself become disappointed. Be as effortless as a floating cloud. Go where the winds will take you. Expect nothing. Never be disappointed. Grow old.
56
Say there are two sages in the village. One openly talking of knowledge and one in silent meditation. The loud one talks to preach his understanding of the Dao. The quiet one does not question it and is content. For he knows all there is to know of the Dao.
57
Lead by not leading. Do not script laws and concepts. Rid yourself of weapons and fears. Let go of desire and stop valuing items. Your belly will be full and the grass will be green.
58
People ruled with an iron fist are depressed and plan revolt. People who live among a charitable leader have no fears. Live, as you would want your country to live.
59
If a tree stands firm to the wind, it will not be around long. Be free from your thoughts. Travel without destination. Make do with what you have, and then let go.
60
Lead and live in union with the Dao and evil has no room. When there are no enemies there will be plenty of food for everyone.
61
When you err, admit it, and then correct it. Hide in your error and you have created the ultimate enemy. Everything you need is within your bounds.
62
You cannot achieve the Dao. Nor can you possess it. It equally accepts the good and the bad. When you make a mistake, you are forgiven.
63
Do not strive for fame and fortune and have it all. When facing an obstacle, walk around it.
64
You have heard that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step and that the mightiest tree was once a seed. Do not dream of the future. Be calm, take a breath and live now. In the end, it will be a job well done, and you can rest. Do not desire; and forget something each day. Soon, all will be of the Dao.
65
A clever man is not a good father. The simple man holds the key to the Universe.
66
A true leader walks with his people. Be no greater than the poorest person and they will respect you.
67
Lao Tzu had just three things to teach: simplicity, patience and compassion. Look into these words and don't know them, but live them.
68
To be in harmony with the Dao, be like the child playing sports. Not in it for fame or fortune. Not in it to win. They play to enjoy.
69
If you are unable to bend, you will break. If you think your enemy as evil, you destroy your three treasures. The greatest victory is when there is no battle.
70
Try to practice what was said here and you might as well pour your entire vessel of water into the teacup. These words are garbage. Forget them. Look in your heart to understand.
71
True knowledge is not from a book or even from a wise sage. These are all illusions. Destroy your illusions and don't know. Then you will be whole.
72
Try to teach and you will confuse your family. Give them nothing to learn and they will learn everything.
73
The Dao does not speak and it cannot be spoken. It has no design and is nowhere. Yet everywhere is it found and its work is always complete.
74
You cannot move a mountain with your bare hands nor can you control the flow of a river. The future is quite like this. Things will always change. The river will always flow. Your work will come to an end. Accept things as they are and achieve anything.
75
Do away with rules of the home. The family will fall into harmony and there will be no struggle lead by not leading.
76
The tiny goldfish that stands up to a shark will be a tasty dinner. The tiny goldfish that swims around the danger will see another day.
77
The rich have too much and the poor do not have enough. Balance the scales, but don't take the credit.
78
A quiet voice of reason is louder than weapons of war.
79
If you shatter someone's teapot, offer to replace it.
80
Live a long and healthy life. Be content with your home and your village. Your travels need not leave your home.
81
And finally, in the parting words of Lao Tzu, "True words are not eloquent; eloquent words are not true." Listen to the silent sage, and then forget.
English_Lau_TTK
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
Chinese - English by
D.C. Lau, 1963
1
The way that can be spoken of
Is not the constant way;
The name that can be named
Is not the constant name.
The nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth;
The named was the mother of the myriad creatures.
Hence always rid yourself of desires in order to observe its secrets;
But always allow yourself to have desires in order to observe its manifestations.
These two are the same
But diverge in name as they issue forth.
Being the same they are called mysteries,
Mystery upon mystery -
The gateway of the manifold secrets.
2
The whole world recognizes the beautiful as the beautiful, yet thisis only the ugly;
the whole world recognizes the good as the good, yet this is only thebad.
Thus Something and Nothing produce each other;
The difficult and the easy complement each other;
The long and the short off-set each other;
The high and the low incline towards each other;
Note and sound harmonize with each other;
Before and after follow each other.
Therefore the sage keeps to the deed that consists in taking no actionand practises the teaching that uses no words.
The myriad creatures rise from it yet it claims no authority;
It gives them life yet claims no possession;
It benefits them yet exacts no gratitude;
It accomplishes its task yet lays claim to no merit.
It is because it lays claim to no merit
That its merit never deserts it.
3
Not to honor men of worth will keep the people from contention;
not to value goods which are hard to come by will keep them from theft;
not to display what is desirable will keep them from being unsettledof mind.
Therefore in governing the people, the sage empties their minds butfills their bellies, weakens their wills but strengthens their bones.
He always keeps them innocent of knowledge and free from desire, andensures that the clever never dare to act.
Do that which consists in taking no action, and order will prevail.
4
The way is empty, yet use will not drain it.
Deep, it is like the ancestor of the myriad creatures.
Blunt the sharpness;
Untangle the knots;
Soften the glare;
Let your wheels move only along old ruts.
Darkly visible, it only seems as if it were there.
I know not whose son it is.
It images the forefather of God.
5
Heaven and earth are ruthless, and treat the myriad creatures as strawdogs;
the sage is ruthless, and treats the people as straw dogs.
Is not the space between heaven and earth like a bellows?
It is empty without being exhausted:
The more it works the more comes out.
Much speech leads inevitably to silence.
Better to hold fast to the void.
6
The spirit of the valley never dies.
This is called the mysterious female.
The gateway of the mysterious female
Is called the root of heaven and earth.
Dimly visible, it seems as if it were there,
Yet use will never drain it.
7
Heaven and earth are enduring.
The reason why heaven and earth can be enduring is that they do notgive themselves life.
Hence they are able to be long-lived.
Therefore the sage puts his person last and it comes first,
Treats it as extraneous to himself and it is preserved.
Is it not because he is without thought of self that he is able to accomplishhis private ends?
8
Highest good is like water.
Because water excels in benefiting the myriad creatures without contendingwith them and settles where none would like to be, it comes close to theway.
In a home it is the site that matters;
In quality of mind it is depth that matters;
In an ally it is benevolence that matters;
In speech it is good faith that matters;
In government it is order that matters;
In affairs it is ability that matters;
In action it is timeliness that matters.
It is because it does not contend that it is never at fault.
9
Rather than fill it to the brim by keeping it upright
Better to have stopped in time;
Hammer it to a point
And the sharpness cannot be preserved for ever;
There may be gold and jade to fill a hall
But there is none who can keep them.
To be overbearing when one has wealth and position
Is to bring calamity upon oneself.
To retire when the task is accomplished
Is the way of heaven.
10
When carrying on your head your perplexed bodily soul
Can you embrace in your arms the One and not let go?
In concentrating your breath can you become as supple
As a babe?
Can you polish your mysterious mirror
And leave no blemish?
