Yet as a lesson
These three are incomplete.
The essential part to be added is this:
Become plain and simple
Like uncut wood.
Restrain your ambitions,
Restrict your desires.
20
Give up studying and you will have no distress.
Is there a difference between "yes" and "no"?
The good and the evil - are they alike?
Ought I to fear what others fear?
Confusion reigns; it is without end.
All around, people make merry
As if holding a festival in spring,
As if about to gorge at a feast.
I alone remain still and reveal nothing
Like an infant yet unable to smile.
I am forlorn, with no place to go.
Others possess enough to spare,
I alone seem to have nothing.
I seem like a fool; I'm utterly confused.
Other people are bright; so bright.
I alone am dark; so dark.
Other people are smart; so smart,
I alone am dull; so dull.
Ever drifting like the restless ocean,
Blown about like the ceaseless storm.
Other people pursue their goals,
I alone seem foolish and aimless.
Only I am a stranger; I'm unlike the others.
I take nourishment only from the mother.
21
It is the mark of great virtue to follow Tao alone.
What can one say of Tao?
It is elusive; it's like a shadow,
It is intangible; it is like haze.
Elusive like a shadow, yet it holds ideas within.
Intangible like haze, yet it holds entities within.
Mysterious and dim, yet it holds spirit within.
Throughout all time
Its name has been retained.
Thus we can view the origin of all things.
How do I know the origin of all things?
I do because of what's within me.
22
Be broken and you'll become whole.
Be fallen and you will stand tall.
Be empty and you will fill up.
Be worn and you'll become new.
Have little and you will gain.
Have much and you'll be confused.
Therefore the sage clings to the One
And serves as a guide for the world.
He does not flaunt himself, so he shines bright.
He does not insist on being right, so he is renowned.
He does not brag, so he succeeds.
He does not boast, so he lasts long.
He contends with no one,
So no one can contend with him.
The ancients used to say:
"Be broken and you抣l become whole."
Are these but hollow words?
If you are truly whole everything will come to you.
23
Nature is sparing of words:
High winds do not last all morning.
A cloudburst does not last all day.
What makes them happen?
Heaven and earth.
If heaven and earth cannot sustain their works
How can people sustain theirs?
Therefore if you follow Tao you become like Tao.
If you follow virtue you become like virtue.
If you forsake Tao you become forsaken.
Those who are like Tao
Are gladly welcomed by Tao.
Those who are like virtue
Are gladly welcomed by virtue.
Those who are forsaken
Are gladly welcomed by forsakenness.
Those who don't trust receive no trust.
24
Those who stand on tiptoe do not stand firm.
Those who walk in long strides do not walk well.
Those who flaunt themselves do not shine bright.
Those who insist on being right are not renowned.
Those who brag do not succeed.
Those who boast do not last long.
To the follower of Tao they're loathsome.
They're like leftover food or pointless pursuits.
The person of Tao turns away from them.
25
There is something, complete and embracing all,
Born before heaven and earth took form,
Soundless and void,
Standing alone, unchanging,
Moving ahead, unceasing.
It seems to be the mother of the universe.
I do not know its name so I call it Tao.
Compelled to give it a name, I would call it Great.
Being great, it reaches far.
Reaching far, it flows everywhere.
Flowing everywhere, it returns to its source.
Indeed, Tao is great.
Heaven is great.
Earth is great.
Mankind is great, too.
These four are great in the universe
And mankind is one of them.
Mankind follows the rules of the earth.
The earth follows the rules of heaven.
Heaven follows the rules of Tao.
Tao follows its own rules, too.
26
Being solid is the foundation of lightness.
Being calm is the ruler of haste.
Thus, the sage, when traveling all day,
Never parts with his luggage.
Seeing beautiful sights,
He remains unconcerned and calm.
Will the ruler of the myriad chariots
Let himself be frivolous?
If he's frivolous he will lose his foundations.
If he's rash he will lose rulership.
27
Those who are good at walking
Leave no tracks in the ground.
Those who are good at speaking
Speak without flaws.
Those who are good at counting
Require no tally.
Those who are good at tting
Use no locks
Yet whatever they close
Cannot be opened.
Those who are good at tying
Use no ropes
Yet whatever they tie
Cannot be untied.
Thus the sage is always good at taking care of people
And abandons no one.
He's always good at looking after things
And abandons nothing.
This is called
Following what's bright.
The good are the teachers of those who are not good.
Those who are not good are the raw material for the good.
Those who do not respect their teachers
And don't care for their resources
However clever they may be, they're utterly confused.
This is called the essence of mystery.
28
Be aware of what's masculine in you,
But preserve what is feminine in you,
And serve as a conduit for the world.
When you serve as a conduit for the world
Your true virtue will never be gone.
And you'll return again to the state of a newborn child.
Be aware of what is bright in you,
But preserve what is dark in you,
And serve as a guide for the world.
When you serve a guide for the world
Your true virtue will never falter,
And you'll return again to the state of boundlessness.
Be aware of what's praiseworthy in you,
But preserve what is base in you,
And serve as a valley for the world.
When you serve as a valley for the world
Your true virtue will grow ample enough,
And you'll return again to the simplicity of uncut wood.
Divided, the wood becomes a rod.
Used by a sage, the rod becomes a ruler's staff.
A great ruler keeps things whole; he does not divide.
29
Those who wish to conquer the world and act upon it
Do not achieve their goals - this is what I have found.
The world is a perfect vessel.
It cannot be acted upon.
Those who act on it destroy it.
Those who grab at it lose it.
Because with things:
Some lead and some follow,
Some blow hot and some blow cold,
Some grow in strength and some weaken,
Some expand and some collapse.
That is why the sage rejects the excessive,
Rejects the elaborate,
And rejects the superfluous.
30
When the follower of Tao assists the ruler,
He'll advise him
Not to conquer the world with the force of arms.
Such actions will certainly rebound.
Thistles spring up where armies camp.
Bad harvests follow in the wake of great wars.
Attain your goal, then stop
And do not abuse your force.
Attain your goal without boasting.
Attain your goal without bragging.
Attain your goal without pride.
Attain your goal without gain.
Attain your goal without violence.
What expands too much is bound to collapse.
This is not the way of Tao.
What goes against Tao soon declines.
31
Fine weapons are the portents of evil.
Creatures seem to detest them.
So the people of Tao keep away from them.
In times of peace the wise favor the left side.
In times of war they favor the right.
Weapons are the portents of evil.
Not the tools of the wise.
Compelled to use them,
They do so without zeal.
Winning a victory,
They do not relish in it.
Those who delight in victory
Delight in the slaughter of people.
Those who delight in slaughter
Cannot attain their goals.
On happy occasions the left is the place of honor.
On mournful occasions - the right.
The rites of war are like the funeral rites:
The generals stand on the left,
The commander-in-chief on the right.
When multitudes are killed the mourners should grieve.
A war victory should be celebrated like a funeral.
32
Tao is invariably nameless.
Simple like uncut wood, it seems insignificant
Yet no one in the world can command it.
If kings and lords could follow it
The myriad things would salute them,
Heaven and earth would unite
And soft dew would fall,
People would live in harmony
Without any need for laws.
Begin to cut, begin to rule
And names will appear.
When names abound dividing must stop.
The Tao of the world is like rivers flowing into the sea.
33
Those who know others are clever.
Those who know themselves are enlightened.
Those who conquer others have strength.
Those who conquer themselves are powerful.
Those who are contented have wealth.
Those who move ahead have purpose.
Those who don't run away from their posts endure.
Those who die but don't perish live on.
34
Great Tao flows like a flood.
It can go left and right.
The myriad things depend on it for life
And it does not forsake them.
It does its work but lays claim to no merit.
It shields and nourishes the myriad things
And does not act as their lord.
Always desireless it may seem insignificant,
Yet the myriad things return to it
And it does not act as their lord.
Thus it may seem to be great.
The sage, too, does not strive to be great
So he is able to achieve greatness.
35
Embrace the great idea
And the whole world will come to you.
It'll come to you and suffer no harm.
It'll find no peril but contentment and peace.
Travelers stop for food and for music
Yet it is said of Tao
That it is tasteless and bland.
When you look at it, there's not enough of it to see.
When you listen to it, there's not enough of it to hear.
Yet, when you use it, you can't use it up.
36
If you wish to make something small
You have to expand it.
If you wish to make something weak
You have to strengthen it.
If you wish to make something fall
You have to promote it.
If you wish to make something gone
You have to provide it.
This is called
Darkening what's bright.
What's soft and weak defeats what's hard and strong.
Fish should not be taken away from the ocean.
Sharp weapons of the state
Should not be shown to the people.
37
Tao invariably takes no action
Yet there is nothing left undone.
If kings and lords could follow it
The myriad things would transform by themselves.
And should they wish to take action once more
I'd quiet them
With nameless simplicity.
The nameless simplicity
Is like uncut wood:
It has no desires.
Without desires there is tranquility
And heaven and earth become stable by themselves.
38
Highest virtue does not follow virtue;
That is why it has virtue.
Lowest virtue does not stray from virtue;
That is why it lacks virtue.
Highest virtue takes no action
Yet it lacks reasons for doing so.
Lowest virtue takes action
Yet it has reasons for doing so.
Highest compassion takes action
Yet it lacks reasons for doing so.
Highest justice takes action
Yet it has reasons for doing so.
Highest ritual takes action
Yet if someone does not respond
It shows its fist to them and makes them comply.
When Tao is renounced there is virtue.
When virtue is renounced there is compassion.
When compassion is renounced there is justice.
When justice is renounced there is ritual.
Ritual is but a shadow of sincerity.
It's the beginning of confusion.
Foreknowledge is but a husk of Tao.
It's the beginning of ignorance.
Therefore those who are great
Dwell in the solid core and not in the shadow.
They dwell in the fruit, not in the husk.
It is the fruit they choose, the husk they spurn.
39
In days of old these became whole:
Having become whole, heaven became clear.
Having become whole, earth became stable.
Having become whole, spirits became vibrant.
Having become whole, valleys became full.
Having become whole, the myriad things became alive.
Having become whole, the nobles set the realm right.
This is what they achieved by becoming whole.
If heaven had not become clear
It would likely break open.
If earth had not become stable
It would likely collapse.
If spirits had not become vibrant
They would likely cease to exist.
If valleys had not become full
They would likely become exhausted.
If the myriad things had not become alive
They would likely die.
If the nobles had not become esteemed
They would likely fall.
Thus the nobles have the commoners as their root.
And the high rank has the low rank as its base.
And the high rank has the low rank as its base.
That is why "orphans," "lonely" and "worthless"
Are the names kings and lords use for themselves.
Do they not have the commoners as their root?
Too much honor is no honor.
They don't wish to glitter like gemstones.
They prefer to rumble like rocks.
