Who would dare do this br>
It is the master executioner?who does the killing.
To assume the role of the master executioner and do the killing for oneself
Is like carving wood for oneself
Instead of leaving it to the master carpenter.
Those who carve wood for themselves
Instead of leaving it to the master carpenter
Rarely escape without cutting their own hands.
1. There is an ambiguity here between 慦ho would dare break the law and 慦ho would dare put to death the law-breakers In the light of 74c, the latter interpretation seems to make more sense.
2. i.e. Heaven.
75
If the people go hungry
It is because the rulers take too much in taxes.
This is why they go hungry.
If the people prove difficult to rule
It is because the rulers interfere too much.?br> This is why they prove difficult to rule.
If the people take death too lightly
It is because they are engrossed in seeking life抯 pleasures.
This is why the people take death too lightly.
It is only by ceasing to seek after life抯 pleasures that one will find life pleasurable.
1. i.e. they are trying to do too many things, and are not following the Taoist way of non-action.
76
When living, a man is supple and soft;
But dead, he is hard and stiff.
The myriad creatures, including grass and trees, when living, are pliant and frail;
But dead, they are withered and dry.
Therefore the hard and the stiff are disciples of death,
Whilst the supple and the soft are disciples of life.
An inflexible army cannot win.
A tree that cannot bend will break.
The hard and inflexible take the lower position.
The soft and weak take the higher position.?
1. i.e. hard and inflexible is inferior to soft and weak.
77
The Way of Heaven is like the drawing of a bow.
What is high is brought lower, and what is low is brought higher.?br> What is too long is shortened;
What is too short is lengthened.?br>
The Way of Heaven is to take away from what is excessive
And to replenish what is deficient.
But the Way of Man is different:
It takes away from those who have little,
And gives to those who already have plenty.
Who is able to offer the world whatever he has in excess?
Only the man of Tao.
Therefore the Sage works without claiming reward,
Accomplishes without taking credit.
He has no desire to display his excellence.
1. i.e. when the string of a bow is drawn back, the top of the bow, as it bends, is pulled down (to some extent) and the bottom of the bow is pulled up. This simile is meant to illustrate the way Heaven makes things equal, and evens things out.
2. The simile is continued by referring to the string of the bow. If it is too long it must be shortened, and vice versa.
78
Under Heaven, nothing is softer and weaker than water.
Yet nothing is better for attacking the hard and the strong.
There is no better substitute.
All under Heaven know that the weak overcomes the strong
And the soft overcomes the hard.
Yet there are none who practise this.
Therefore the Sage says:
He who takes upon himself the disgrace of the country
Is fit to be lord of the land.
He who takes upon himself the misfortunes of the country
Is fit to be king of the empire.
True words seem paradoxical.
79
When a bad grudge is settled,
Some enmity is bound to remain.
How can this be considered acceptable?
Therefore the Sage keeps to his side of the contract
But does not hold the other party to their promise.
He who has Virtue will honour the contract,
Whilst he who is without Virtue expects others to meet their obligations.
It is the Way of Heaven to be impartial;
It stays always with the good man.
80
The smaller the country, the fewer the people.?br> Even though they have machines which can do the work of ten, or a hundred men, they are never used.
The people take death seriously, so do not travel far.?br> Even though they have boats and carriages, no one rides in them.
Even though they have armour and weapons, no one displays them.
Let the people return to knotting cords.?br> Let them find their plain food sweet,
their simple clothes fine,
their modest dwellings secure;
And they would be happy with their lifestyle.
Although the two peoples of the neighbouring countries are so close
That they can see each other, and hear each other抯 cocks crowing and dogs barking,
They will leave each other alone and grow old and die
Without ever having visited each other.
1. In this chapter, Lao Tzu describes an ideal society.
2. i.e. the more one travels, the more one risks accident and injury. Besides, in an ideal society, affairs would be conducted in such a way that need for travel becomes redundant.
3. historically, a practice prior to, and more simple than, writing.
81
True words are not beautiful;
Beautiful words are not true.
Those who are good do not argue;
Those who argue are not good.
Those who are wise are not learned;
Those who are learned are not wise.
The Sage does not store up possessions.
The more he helps others, the more he fulfils himself.
The more he gives to others, the more he has for himself.
The Way of Heaven is to benefit others whilst harming no one.
The Way of the Sage is to accomplish without striving.
English_Sheets_TTK
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
Chinese - English by
Alan Sheets & Barbara Tovey, ~ 2002
Vorwort/Foreword
"The Way of the Action of the Soul"
(title translation by Sheets/Tovey)
The Tao Te Ching is an ancient Chinese document purportedly written about 2500 years ago. It is an important piece of Taoist literature which has been translated by many different people because of its age and spiritual nature. It is extensively studied throughout the world in a variety of translations.
The author of the Tao Te Ching is "Lao Tzu" which means "the grand old master." Hence, the author's birth name is not known, and there is no recorded history of the author's life. The document is typically divided into eighty-one chapters and contains more than 5,000 Chinese characters.
Alan Sheets and Barbara Tovey made an unexpected correlation between the Tao Te Ching and the nine soultype families; they discovered that the Tao Te Ching was written about the nine soultypes. Alan and Barbara discovered that by organizing the Tao Te Ching according to the table below, every ninth chapter addresses the nature of the same soultype, creating nine groups of nine chapters (see chart).
The Tao Te Ching represents the first historical writing found by Alan and Barbara that directly addresses the soultype families. Until their discovery, Alan and Barbara were solely responsible for documentation about this subject.
Excited about their finding, Alan and Barbara have made an entirely new translation of the Tao Te Ching, because it cannot be effectively understood without awareness of the differences between the nine soul families. Alan and Barbara believe that the Tao Te Ching is specifically a manual to teach people of each of the nine soul families how to express the soul. It teaches people both where they need to go to live from soul, and the pitfalls that get in the way.
Alan and Barbara did not need to rewrite, reinterpret, or intuit meaning as they worked on their translation. Of the possible definitions for each Chinese character, they chose the definition that best communicated insight about the soultype family being addressed. The translation is literal. They made minor grammatical adjustments to account for the shift from the Chinese way of expressing ideas to the English style.
Although Alan and Barbara are not scholars of Chinese literature or Taoism, they have extensive knowledge of the unique nature of soul-to-soul connections with people from each soultype family. This gave them a foundation to add context that had not been previously integrated into the Tao Te Ching translations. The soultype-specific nuances bring each chapter alive. This new translation forms a powerful spiritual document that has a new flavor.
1
The Tao is the unobstructed breath.
The Tao holds the opposing forces of the eternal Tao.
The Name* is the unobstructed breath.
The Name holds the opposing forces of the eternal Name.
Heaven and Earth were without names (consciousness) in the beginning.
The names of the ten-thousand things (everything) arose through its mother.
If you are eternally without deep-seated desires, then you perceive its mystery.
If you have deep-seated desires, then you perceive its outer form.
These both (the essence and outer form) have the same origin but have different names.
Oneness (the Source) is called the mystery.
The mystery will always be mysterious.
All people are at the door of this mysterious One.
* The Name: The universe becoming conscious of itself through its human form.
2
In Heaven below (the sacred body) everyone recognizes beauty as beauty when ugly-heartedness ends.
Everyone recognizes virtue as virtue when lack of virtue ends.
Being and not being, together they give life.
Difficult and easy, together they complete.
Long and short, together they compare.
High and low, together they support.
Tone and voice, together they harmonize.
Front and back, together they follow each other.
The sages stay without action in their activities.
They practice silence in their teachings.
Ten-thousand things (everything) arise and they do not refuse.
They give life and do not hold onto it.
They achieve and do not take credit.
What is achieved continues on its own merit.
The masters agree not to dwell on their achievements.
Their accomplishments never cease.
3
Do not exalt one whose virtue, talent, power, and action exceeds others, so people will not compete.
Do not prize difficult-to-obtain goods, so that people will not commit robbery.
Do not display deep-seated desires, so that people抯 minds are untroubled.
The sages' way of ruling is by:
- freeing the mind,
- reinforcing the soul,
- making gentle their ambitions,
- and strengthening their bones.
It is a constant that when the mind is free, people are free of deep seated desires.
The master knows this and does not presume to act!
Act without action (wu wei), then all is in order.
4
The Tao creates union that is never draining.
The Deep! It is like the ten-thousand things (everything) of the Source.
It blunts sharpness.
It unravels knots.
It harmonizes the light and it becomes one with the dust of the Earth.
Deep! It is enduring.
I do not know who its ruler is.
It came before the creation of images.
5
Heaven and Earth do not have human sentiments.
Ten-thousand things (everything) have the importance of a straw dog.*
The sages are not sentimental, thus they act toward the hundred families (everyone) as if they are straw dogs.
The space between Heaven and Earth is like the space inside of a flute!
It is hollow, yet does not get exhausted.
The more active it is, the more it produces.
Too many words bring about exhaustion.
It is better to hold your center.
* Straw dog: A sacrificial straw sculpture in the shape of a dog that was carefully maintained until it was used and then it was discarded.
6
The valley of the divine never dies so says the mysterious female.
The mysterious female of the gate speaks of Heaven and Earth's origin.
Soft, silky, and barely visible, her divine center is inexhaustible.
7
Heaven is eternal, the Earth is enduring.
There is a reason why Heaven and Earth are eternal and enduring.
It is because they do not live for themselves.
Thus, they give life everlasting.
The sage puts their own life second, and their body first.
They reject their self, and the body remains.
Surely, there is no self-interest.
Power and accomplishment are self-interest.
8
Supreme goodness follows the natural laws of the earth like water.
This goodness benefits the ten-thousand things (everything), yet it does not struggle.
It rejects the lowest place that people go.
This is why nature can be compared with the Tao.
The Earth is a good place to live with its profound good heart.
It is best to deal with others humanely.
Sincere speech is best.
A just government is best.
Competent service to others is best.
There is a proper timing for best actions.
The masters do not compete, therefore they will be without fault.
9
It is better to stop than to hold and overfill a cup.
A blade hammered to a sharp edge does not long endure.
If you fill your house with gold and jade, no one can guard this wealth, honor, and pride.
What follows is your downfall.
Withdraw when your work is done.
This is Heaven抯 Tao.
10
Hold and manage the soul of the body.
Embrace the One (the Source) with the power of not-separation!
Concentrate your chi (vital force) to attain the gentle power of a newborn infant!
Cleanse and purify your deep (inner) perception so it can be without flaws!
Cherish the people.
Govern the country with the power of emptiness!
As heaven抯 gate opens and closes (as life changes) retain the ability to act like a mother bird caring for her young!
Illuminate the purity of the four directions.
Open up to the power of not doing* (wu wei)!
It gives life from the Source.
It gives life and does not posses.
It acts and does not presume.
It increases and does not rule.
This speaks of the mysterious action of the soul.
* Not doing is the practice of letting your soul lead your actions by stepping back and not interfering.
11
Thirty spokes unite one hub.
Because of its emptiness, the wheel is useful.
Mold the clay and make a vessel.
Because of its emptiness, the vessel is useful.
Cut out windows and doors to build a room.
Because of its emptiness, the room is useful.
Benefits emerge.
