Compassion makes me brave frugality generous modesty a carrier of the eternal.
Today the inconsiderate is called brave the spendthrift generous the go-getter progressive ....
They are progressing away from the essential thing toward decay toward death while the compassionate conquer through gentleness remaining in existence through non-resistance.
Heaven fills with compassion those it wants to preserve.
68
A good manager manages without force a god fighter wins without fighting a good conqueror conquers without struggle a good user of men controls without constraint.
Such is the virtue of non-resistance such is the art of resolving through moderation.
Such is: being like heaven the highest goal of all times.
69
A man experienced in the struggle for life knows:
Better it is to yield thoughtfully than to provoke thoughtlessly.
Better it is to retreat a foot than to advance an inch.
That is what I call:
To go forward without pushing forward.
To capture without taking.
To hold without keeping.
To conquer without defeating.
He acts disastrously who attacks wantonly since it is easy to tackle and overcome a man who is an advocate of force.
Where two clash the more thoughtful is the victor.
70
My words are easy to understand still easier to practice and yet they are seldom understood still more seldom practiced.
My words originate in the primordial source and follow the primordial law.
One who does not know this misjudges me.
It is to my honor that few there are who recognize me and understand me.
An awakened man does not shine outside but inside he is Light.
71
Recognizing one's ignorance is wisdom Not recognizing it and believing that one knows is sickness.
To be tired of this sickness means to be rid of it.
The Sage is free from sickness because he is tired of ignorance.
Therein lies his freedom.
72
Where reverence disappears among men fear is growing.
Let them therefore self-conscious live in themselves.
Let them awake to their essence strive for the inner life.
Then they will move from the narrowness of the ego into the wide expanse of the Self.
Likewise the Awakened Man:
He knows the Self and puts his ego in the second place.
He loves the Self and thinks little of his ego.
Because he does not hold his ego in high esteem he is upheld by the Highest the Self.
73
Courage that swells to arrogance and recklessness ends in death.
Courage that wells up from humbleness and gentleness leads to life.
One brings disaster the other liberation.
Yet who pays attention to how heaven evaluates him?
The Sage considers the consequences and follows the way of the TAO.
TAO rules without force commands without commands calls without calls acts without deeds.
Its net of destiny is wide-meshed yet all-embracing and nothing slips through
74
When people are not afraid of death why threaten them with death?
And when an evil deed is threatened with death who would judge and put to death?
Only one decides about life and death.
He who judges and kills in his place resembles a blind man who wields a hatchet in place of the carpenter and wounds himself.
75
The people are worn out and wasting away because the authorities use and consume too much.
Therefore the misery of the people.
The people are undisciplined and unruly because the authorities are disciplining and ruling too much.
Therefore the unruliness of the people.
The people take death lightly because the authorities make life hard for them.
Therefore the indifference of the people.
He will guide more wisely and easily who orders and administers less letting the inner order of life prevail.
76
Man is soft and supple when he is born rigid hard and stiff when he dies.
Grasses and trees are pliant yielding and tender while they are growing dry hard and strong when they disbecome.
That is why rigidity and strength pertain to death softness and tenderness, to life.
One who relies on strength does not conquer.
A strong tree is cut down first.
The strong and hard go down the soft and tender rise.
77
The way of heaven is like that of an archer:
Without tension he draws his bow so that above approaches below.
He avoids what is unnecessary the ego-effort.
Releasing the arrow he lets the Tao-power take over.
Likeness of heaven whose equanimity equalizes all things.
The way of men is different:
Greedily they increase want and lock abundance out.
The Sage instead possessing Tao accomplishes his work bringing completion to all.
Because he does not hold and retain anything he become a vessel of abundance.
Because he wants to be only a mediator he becomes the center of everything.
78
Nothing in the world is softer nothing more yielding than water and yet it overcomes the hard and rigid.
Nothing equals it in that.
Everybody knows:
The soft overcomes the hard the yielding, the rigid and strong.
Yet no one acts accordingly.
A Sage, however, knows and proves it:
He who takes upon himself the suffering of others is their leader.
He who saves others from trouble is the one who is saved.
Truth lies in the paradox.
79
When a great feud is settled a grudge often remains.
How can it be disspelled?
By putting helping before demanding.
The Sage respects the rights of others practicing putting-up-with getting-along-with, and sharing.
An unwise man knows only demanding and insists on treaties and advantages.
Yet the Tao of heaven knows no favorites forever it gives to the kind man.
80
A country does well to remain small with few inhabitants who are provided with everything yet need little who love life and do not long to roam afar who have armor and weapons but do not use them who possess culture and scholarship yet prefer the usage and wisdom of the ancients.
Their food is natural yet tasty.
Their clothes are plain yet beautiful.
Their dwellings are simple yet comfortable and peaceful.
Their way of life is free and tolerant and a source of unity and contentment.
Though the neighboring State lies within reach and the effervescence of its life is calling temptingly to them they remain self-sufficient and serene and they grow old in peace free from the desire to stray afar.
81
True word is not fine fine word is not true.
He who has Tao does not quarrel.
He who has wisdom does not look for learning.
He who looks for learning has no wisdom.
The Sage does not hoard and yet has plenty.
The more he gives to others the more is bestowed on him.
The greater his sacrifice the greater his Self-possession.
That is the nature of heaven: to help without demanding.
That is the nature of the Sage: to accomplish without laboring.
English_Seddon_TTK
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
Chinese - English by
Keith H. Seddon
1
The Tao that can be put in words is not the ever-abiding Tao;
The name that can be named is not the ever-abiding name.
The Nameless gives rise to Heaven and Earth.
The Named is the Mother of the Ten Thousand Things.?br>
Therefore:
It is always so that without desires you can behold its mystery;
Always so that having desires you can behold its manifestations.
These two?are one and the same, and differ only in name.
This being so is profound, mysterious, and dark:
The threshold to all secrets.
1. i.e. all things in existence.
2. i.e. the Nameless and the Named.
2
When all beneath Heaven?know beauty as beauty
There is ugliness.
When all know good as good
There is evil.
Thus being and non-being arise together;
Easy and difficult rely upon each other;
Long and short are dependent upon each other;
High and low contrast with each other;
Music and voice harmonise together.
Before and after follow each other.
Therefore the Sage acts by doing nothing and teaches without speaking.
The Ten Thousand Things arise, but he doesn抰 cause them to come.
They come into being, yet he claims no possession over them.
He works for their benefit, yet requires no gratitude.
He accomplishes his tasks, yet claims no merit.
Because he claims no merit, his merit does not leave him.
1. 態eneath Heaven?refers to the phenomenal world of everyday experience.
3
Do not exalt the gifted, and the people will not be jealous.
Do not prize rare treasures, and the people will not steal them.
Do not display desirable things, and the hearts of the people will not be distracted.
Therefore the wise ruler:
Empties their hearts and fills their bellies;
Weakens their ambitions and strengthens their bones.
He keeps the people without knowledge and free from desire
So that those who know dare not act.
He acts without acting and everything is kept in order.
4
The Tao is like an empty vessel, yet may be drawn from without ever needing to be filled.?br> In its unfathomable depths arise the Ten Thousand Things.
It blunts sharp edges,
Unties all tangles;
It softens the glare
And blends with the dust.?br> Hidden in the depths, perhaps it just seems to exist.
Its origin is a mystery to me.
It seems to be older than Heaven.
1. Waley (1977, 146) observes, 慏ust is the Taoist symbol for the noise and fuss of everyday life.?The Tao exists everywhere ?even in ch抏n, dust.
5
Heaven and Earth are not benevolent;
They regard the Ten Thousand Things as straw dogs.?br> The Sage is not benevolent;
He regards the Hundred Families?as straw dogs.
The space between Heaven and Earth is like a bellows:
It is empty, yet not exhausted;
The more it is used, the more it produces.
Many words exhaust themselves.
It is better to watch over what is within.?
1. Straw dogs were made to be sacrificial offerings at religious ceremonies. Afterwards, having served their purpose, they would be thrown away and trampled under foot in the street or burned as fuel. (See Ch抏n Ku-ying 1977, 70, P. J. Lin 1977, 12, Wilhelm 1985, 65, Welch 1966, 42, and Wieger 1988, 88.)
2. i.e. all people.
3. presumably, the Tao. But the 慹mpty centre?may well be alluding to the bellows simile already introduced; if this is so, the 慹mpty centre?of the bellows should be likened to the space between Heaven and Earth. This space is where mankind dwells, and this line may be an exhortation discouraging people from presuming too much, or taking on tasks beyond their capacity. This interpretation at least accords with the general philosophy of the Tao Te Ching. Cf. Welch (1966, 44?) for an illuminating analysis of this chapter.
6
The Spirit of the Valley never dies.
It is called the Mysterious Female.?br> The gate of the Mysterious Female is the source of Heaven and Earth.
Ever-abiding, always existing,
It can be used, but never exhausted.
1. presumably, the Mother of the Ten Thousand Things (which is the Tao itself). This chapter is obscure. Lau (1963, xxxviii杋x) suggests it echoes a primitive creation myth.
7
Heaven is eternal and Earth everlasting.
They are eternal and everlasting because they do not exist for themselves,
And thus they last forever.
This is why the Sage puts himself last, yet stays out ahead;
He forgets himself and is thus preserved.
Is this not because being selfless, he will thereby be fulfilled?
8
The superior man is like water.
Water benefits the Ten Thousand Things, but does not compete with them.
It stays in the places which people despise,
And thus is close to Tao.
For his dwelling he chooses good ground;
he has a mind that loves the profound;
is benevolent when dealing with others;
is sincere when he speaks;
preserves order when ruling;
shows competence in business;
and takes action at the proper time.
Because he does not compete, he is beyond reproach.
9
Rather than fill the cup to the brim, it is better to stop in time.
The finely honed blade will soon lose its sharpness.
Fill the hall with gold and jade, and no one can guard it.
Those who take pride in their wealth and honours, attract their own downfall.
To stop when the task is finished is the Way of Heaven.
10
Can you embrace the oneness of everything with body and soul
Without being distracted?
When concentrating your breath to bring about softness,
Can you be like a baby?
Can you clean your profound mirror and make it free from blemish br> Can you love the people and rule the country
Yet be without knowledge?
When the gates of Heaven open and close?br> Can you keep to the role of the female br> When your intelligence has penetrated to the four corners
Can you refrain from acting?
To produce things and nourish them;
To bring them forth without possessing them;
To benefit them without reward,
And lead without imposing,
Is called profound Virtue.
1. this may allude to a meditation technique. The 憄rofound mirror?is a simile for the mind; making it 慺ree from blemish?is to avoid making emotional responses to the events and circumstances of the everyday world.
2. perhaps, simply, 憌hen things happen?
3. i.e. remain passive and refrain from acting.
11
Thirty spokes are fixed to the hub;
It is the hole in the hub which makes the wheel useful.
Clay can be shaped into a vessel;
But it is the space inside which gives it its usefulness.
Doors and windows are cut out to make a room;
The room is useful only because of the holes.
Therefore, gain from what does exist,
And make use of what doesn抰 exist.
12
The five colours blind the eyes;?br> The five notes deafen the ears;?br> The five tastes spoil the palate;?br> Riding and hunting madden the mind;
Rare treasure will distract one from the path.
Therefore the Sage provides for his inner needs, and not for his eyes.
Thus he rejects one and chooses the other.
1. The five primary colours are: red, yellow, green or blue, black and white.
2. The five notes of the Chinese pentatonic scale are: C, D, E, G and A.
