That which has surplus being decreased
That which lacks enough being supplemented.
The tao of the heavens
Decreasing in the presence of surplus
Yet supplementing what lacks enough.
The tao of man, and then it lacks being so
Reducing what lacks enough
Coming to esteem the presence of surplus.
Who is able to come to esteem presence of surplus in the world?
Only those present with tao.
Appropriately it happens that sages
Act yet without relying
Are of outstanding service yet without dwellingtherein
They lack desire to display principles.
78
In the world nothing is supple and weak in relation to water
Yet of those things which attack the firm and unyielding
Nothing is able to do better
In what is absent, this easily happens.
Being supple conquers the unyielding
Being weak conquers the firm
In the world
Noone is without knowing it
Noone is able to practice it.
Appropriately it happens that sages say
He who accepts the disgrace of a nation
Is appropriately called lord of the grain shrine
He who accepts the misfortune of a nation
Is appropriately acting as the king of the world.
Correct words look like they turn back.
79
Harmonize great resentment
Seed the presence of a surplus of resentment
How can valuing actions happen peacefully?
Appropriately it happens that sages
Take hold of the left of a contract
Yet lack censure in relating to men.
Presence of ideal controls the agreement
Absence of ideal controls its resolution.
The tao of heaven is absent of favorites
It is entirely with the valuing man.
80
A tiny nation, few people
Suppose the presence of 10 or one hundred times too many tools
Yet they are unused
Suppose people heavy with death
Yet lack moving far.
Even present with boats and carriages
There is an absence of a place to be riding
Even present with armor and weapons
There is an absence of a place to be displayingthem.
Suppose men return to knotting cords and using them
What is eaten is sweet
What serves as clothing is beautiful
What is a home is peaceful
What is common is joyful.
Nearby nations overlook each other
Crowing, barking sounds are heard by each other
People reach old age and die
Without coming and going between each other.
81
Believed words lack embellishment
Embellished words lack belief.
Those who value lack argument
Those who argue lack valuing
Those who know lack learning
Those who learn lack knowing.
The sages are without accumulating
Grasping, it happens they act
Others later gain presence
Grasping, it happens they give
Others later gain abundance.
The tao of the heavens
Benefitting yet without spoiling
The tao of the sages
Acting yet without contending.
English_Ludd_TTK
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
English interpolation by
Ned Ludd
1
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The names that can be given are not the eternal names.
The Nameless is the origin of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of all things.
Therefore, without intentions, I see the Subtle Essence.
And with intentions, I see the Manifest Forms.
These two are the same, though each has many names.
Both may be called the Mystery.
2
When we recognize beauty, we find ugliness;
when we recognize good, we find evil.
Being and non-being produce each other;
difficult and easy complete each other;
long and short contrast each other;
high and low position each other;
front and rear accompany each other.
Thus the sage manages by non-interference, and teaches without words.
All things flourish without interruption;
They are created but no one possesses them;
work is done but no one expects a reward;
achievements are made but no one claims credit.
Since no one claims them, achievements are always there.
3
Do not exalt the Best, and allow the people to stop contending.
Prize no rare objects, and allow the people to stop stealing.
Display nothing of desire, and let the people's minds be undisturbed.
Thus the sage rules by:
Emptying their hearts and filling their bellies.
Weakening their ambitions and strengthening their bones;
freeing all from the struggle of knowing and demanding.
4
Tao is a hollow vessel; its use is inexhaustible.
Bottomless, it is the source of all things,
dulling its sharpness,
untying its tangles,
softening its brightness,
easing its stress.
It is a deep pool that never dries.
I do not know whose child it is,
an image of what existed before the beginning.
5
Nature is ruthless:
It treats everything indifferently.
The sage is ruthless:
He treats everyone indifferently.
How the universe is like a bellows;
empty, yet it gives a supply that never fails.
The more it is worked, the more it brings forth.
The force of words is soon spent;
Better to hold what is in the heart.
6
The spirit of the valley never dies;
it is called the Mystic Female.
The door to this mystery is the origin of the universe.
Unending, it always remains.
Drawn upon, it is never depleted.
7
The universe lasts because it does not live for itself.
Thus the sage puts himself behind, and finds himself in front;
excludes himself, and finds he is preserved.
Is it not through selflessness that the self is realized?
8
A good person is like water.
Water benefits all things, and does not compete with them.
It dwells in the lowly places that all disdain, thereby coming closeto Tao.
For a home, the sage prefers the earth.
In thoughts the sage prefers what is simple;
in companions, kindness;
in words, sincerity;
in government, peace;
in business, ability;
in actions, timeliness.
Always preferring what does not lead to strife,
Thus the sage is without reproach.
9
Fill a cup to its fullest, and you will wish you had stopped.
Temper a sword to its sharpest, and the edge will not last.
When gold and jade fill your house, it can no longer be guarded.
To be proud of wealth and honor invites misfortune.
When your work is done, withdraw; this is the way of nature.
10
Can you keep body and soul balanced, so they cannot be split?
By soft breathing and gentleness, can you become like a babe?
Can you polish your mind's mirror, till nothing is blurred?
Can you love all people, and govern without interfering?
Can you tend nature's gates, always as the female?
In comprehending all knowledge, can you renounce the mind?
Producing and nourishing, creating yet not possessing,
working without taking credit, leading without dominating.
This is called Secret power.
11
Thirty spokes are joined at the hub;
but it is the empty center that makes the wheel useful.
Mold clay into a vessel; the space it encloses makes it useful.
Walls make a room; but a doorway and windows make the room useful.
Thus, as we take advantage of what is, we see the usefulness of whatis not.
12
Colors blind the eye.
Tones deafen the ear.
Flavors dull the taste.
Racing and hunting madden the mind.
Precious things rob us of mobility.
So the sage feeds the belly, not the eye;
letting go of That, and accepting This.
13
Both favor and disgrace excite us.
Both gain and loss are within us.
Favor excites us when we get it, and excites us when we lose it.
We gain and lose because we have a self.
If I have no self, what can I lose?
Those who treasure the world as their self, may be entrusted with theworld.
If we see the world as our self, then within our self there is onlythe world.
14
Looked at, it cannot be seen; it is the Invisible.
Listened to, it cannot be heard; it is the Inaudible.
Grasped at, it cannot be held; it is the Intangible.
These three are one.
Above, it is not light; below it is not dark.
Infinite, boundless, nameless, it reverts to nothing.
Form of the formless; image of the imageless, it is elusive.
Approach it, and you do not see its front;
Follow it, you do not see its back.
Stay with the ancient Tao, and move with the present.
Knowing what was in the beginning,
This is the thread of Tao.
15
The old sages were subtle and wise and penetrating.
They kept their minds so deep they could never be fathomed.
Therefore I will draw you a picture:
Cautious, like crossing a frozen stream in winter;
Alert, like one fearing danger on all sides;
Reserved, like a guest;
yielding, like ice beginning to melt;
simple, like uncarved wood;
open-minded, like a valley;
easy-going, like muddy water.
Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?
Who can stay still until the moment of action?
One who abides in Tao never seeks the extreme.
By never seeking the extreme, one can remain in the old yet becomethe new.
16
Empty yourself of everything; be still and at peace.
In all things' coming to being, I see their return.
They grow and flourish, and then return to their source.
This is called Quietness, a return to one's destiny.
This is the eternal law; to know it is enlightenment.
Knowing this law, you are tolerant.
Being tolerant, you are impartial.
Being impartial, you are universal.
Being universal, you are at one with nature.
At one with nature, you are in accord with Tao.
In accord with Tao, you are eternal.
17
The best leaders are barely known.
The next best are loved and praised.
The next are feared; the last are despised.
It is by not believing people that you turn them into liars.
With work and sparse words, all things happen by themselves.
18
When the great Tao was lost, there arose kindness and justice.
When knowledge and cleverness appeared, there arose great hypocrisy.
When the family is not at peace, we hear of "dutiful children".
When a nation falls to chaos and rebellion, we hear of "loyal ministers".
19
Abandon wisdom, discard knowledge, and everyone will be better off.
Abandon kindness, discard justice, and let all return to love.
Abandon cleverness, discard profit, and robbers will disappear.
All these are frills; better to adorn yourself with:
Simplicity,
originality,
humility,
and Temperance.
20
Abandon learning, and grief ends.
How much difference between yes and no?
How much difference between good and evil?
Why must I fear what others fear?
The multitude is merry, as if on a holiday, or watching a parade.
I alone am inert, like an infant not yet a child.
Drifting, belonging nowhere.
Others have more than they need; I alone seem to have lost all.
I am a fool, yes, and confused.
Others are clear and bright; I am dull and dark.
Others are clever and assured; I am blunt and obscure,
Patient as the sea, drifting like the waves.
Everyone is busy, I alone am aimless and uncouth.
I am different; I take nourishment only from my mother.
21
All powers flow from Tao, elusive and intangible.
Intangible and elusive, yet in it are all images.
Elusive and intangible, yet in it are all things.
Dark and dim, yet in it is the essence.
The essence is real, and therein lies reality.
>From the beginning until now, the named of Tao have never ceased.
Through it, we see all the origins.
How do I know all the origins?
Through This!
22
To remain whole, be twisted.
Become bent, and be straightened.
Become hollow, and be filled.
Wear out, and be renewed.
Possess little, and have much.
Have much, and be confused.
So the sage identifies opposites as one,
And becomes a model for the world.
Shining forth with no display;
eminent by never asserting;
honored by never taking credit;
enduring by never boasting.
If you never quarrel, no one will ever quarrel with you.
Thus the ancients said:
To remain whole, be twisted.
23
Nature rarely talks in words.
High winds do not last all morning.
Heavy rain does not last all day.
These are nature's words.
If even nature cannot make them last,
How much less can man?
Following Tao, you are identified with Tao.
Following power, you are identified with power.
Abandoning Tao, you are identified with loss.
Identify with Tao, and Tao welcomes you.
Identify with power, and power welcomes you.
Identify with loss, and loss welcomes you.
If you don't trust enough, you won't be trusted.
24
Standing on tiptoe is not standing firm.
The longest strides will not carry you fastest.
To show off is not to shine.
These are all like too much food or excess baggage.
25
Before the beginning there was something formless, yet complete;
Silent and empty.
Independent, unchanging, pervasive, unfailing.
Mother of all things.
Tao.
If forced to name it, I would call it Great.
Being great, it flows far away.
Flowing far away, it returns.
Man follows earth.
Earth follows heaven.
Heaven follows Tao.
26
The weighty is the source of the light.
Stillness is the master of activity.
Truly, men of property travel all day, yet never leave their burdens.
Even with magnificent scenery, they sit quietly and aloof.
How can a ruler become less of a burden?
Through lightness, the source is lost.
Through activity, mastery is lost.
27
A good traveler leaves no trail.
A good speaker leaves no argument.
