One who knows does not speak
t the mouth
Close the gates
Blunt the sharpness
Loosen the knots
Tempe the glare
Become one with the dust of the world
This is called 揟he Secret Embrace?br> One who knows this secret is not moved by attachment or aversion, swayed by profit or loss, nor touched by honour or disgrace
He is far beyond the cares of men yet comes to hold the dearest place in their hearts
57
To rule the state have a known plan
To win a battle, have an unknown plan
To gain the universe, have no plan at all
Let the universe itself reveal to you its splendour
How do I know this should be so?
Because of this ?br> The more restrictions, the more poverty
The more weapons, the more fear in the land
The more cleverness, the more strange events
The more laws, the more law breakers
Thus the Sages say,
Act with a pure heart and the people will be transformed
Love your own life and the people will be uplifted
Give without conditions and the people will prosper
Want nothing and the people will find everything
58
When the ruler knows his own heart the people are simple and pure
When he meddles with their lives they become restless and disturbed
Bad fortune, yes ?it rests upon good fortune
Good fortune, yes ?it hides within bad fortune
Oh the things that Heaven sends ?br> Who can know their final aim?
Who can tell of their endless ways?
Today the righteous turn to trickery
Tomorrow the good turn to darkness
Oh what delusion abounds and every day it grows worse!
But the Sage is here upon the Earth to gently guide us back
He cuts but does not harm
He straightens but does not disrupt
He illumines but does not dazzle
59
Rule the people and serve Heaven yet hold nothing more dear than the Mother抯 harvest
Let every thought and every breath be the fruit of your offering ?br> Do it now
Let her power run thick in your blood
There will be no obstacle you cannot overcome
No limit you cannot surpass
No empire you cannot rule
Ah, but in all your glory never lose sight of the Mother
Without her your empire will crumble your power will waste away
For the Mother brings the harvest
She alone causes all things to endure
We call this 揇eep roots and a solid trunk?揟he way of long life and lasting insight?br>
60
Govern the nation as you would fry a small fish
When Tao is present in the empire dark spirits lose their power
It抯 not that they have no power it抯 that their power can抰 harm anyone
When Tao is present the people enjoy the blessing of Heaven
They find unity
They find peace
What抯 this about spirits doing harm?
The Sage is approaching and they are rushing in to sweep his path!
61
A great state is like a river basin that receives everything flowing into it
It is the place where all things come to rest where all the world is welcomed
The low is greater than the high
The still is greater than the restless
The low country wins over its neighbour
The still female wins over the male
The Sage wants to uplift the people
The people want to follow the Sage only by being low does this come to be
The Sage bows to the people
The people bow to the Sage
And when they lift up their heads only greatness remains
62
Tao is the treasure-house the true nature the secret source of everything
It is the great wealth of those who are awake the great protector of those still sleeping
If a person seems wicked do not cast him away ?br> Awaken him with your words
Elevate him with your deeds
Recite his injury with your kindness
Do not cast him away cast away his wickedness
When the emperor is crowned or the three ministers installed they receive a gift of jade and horses
But how can this compare to sitting still and gaining the treasure of Tao
This is why the ancient masters honoured the inward path of Tao
Did they not say 揝eek and you will find? 揈rr and you will be forgiven?
Within, within
This is where the world抯 treasure has always been
63
Act without acting
Give without giving
Taste without tasting
Tao alone becomes all things great and all things small
It is the One in many
It is the many in One
Let Tao become all your actions then your wants will become your treasure your injury will become your blessing
Take on difficulties while they are still easy
Do great things while they are still small
Step by step the world抯 burden is lifted
Piece by piece the world抯 treasure is amassed
So the Sage stays with his daily task and accomplishes the greatest thing
Beware of those who promise a quick and easy way for much ease brings many difficulties
Follow your path to the end
Accept difficulty as an opportunity
This is the sure way to end up with no difficulties at all
64
A still mind can easily hold the truth
The difficulties yet to come can easily be avoided
The feeble are easily broken
The small are easily scattered
Begin your task before it becomes a burden
Put your things in order before they get out of hand
Remember,
A tree that fills a man抯 embrace grows from a single seedling
A tower nine stories high starts with one brick
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
Act and it抯 ruined
Grab and it抯 gone
People on the verge of success often lose patience and fail in their undertakings
Be steady from the beginning to the end and you won抰 bring on failure
The Sage desires that which has no desires and teaches that which cannot be taught
He does not value the objects held by a few but only that which is held by everyone
He guides men back to their own treasure and helps all things come to know the truth they have forgotten
All this he does without a stir
65
The ancient ones were simple-hearted and blended with the common people
They did not shine forth
They did not rule with cleverness
So the nation was blessed
Now the rulers are filled with clever ideas and the lives of people are filled with hardship
So the nation is cursed
He who knows the play of Tao and Te knows the nature of the universe
Tao brings forth Te from its own being
Te expands in all directions filling every corner of the world becoming the splendour of all creation
Yet at every moment Te seeks Tao
This is the movement that guides the universe
This is the impulse that leads all things back home
66
Why do the hundred rivers turn and rush toward the sea?
Because it naturally stays below them
He who wishes to rule over people must speak as if below them
He who wishes to lead the people must walk as if behind them
So the Sage rules over the people but he does not weigh them down
He leads the people but he does not block their way
The Sage stays low so the world never tires of exalting him
He remains a servant so the world never tires of making him its king
67
All the world talks about my Tao with such familiarity ?br> What folly!
Tao is not something found at the marketplace or passe don from father to son
It is not something to be gained by knowing or lost by forgetting
If Tao were like this
It would have been lost and forgotten long ago
I have three treasures that I hold dear the first is love the second is moderation the third is humility
With love one in fearless
With moderation one in abundant
With humility one can fill the highest position
Now if one is fearless but has no love abundant but has no moderation rises up but has no humility
Surely he is doomed
Love vanquishes all attackers
It is impregnable in defense
When Heaven wants to protect someone does it send an army?
No, it protects him with love
68
The best warrior leads without haste fights without anger overcomes without confrontation
He puts himself below and brings out the highest in his men
This is the virtue of not confronting of working with the abilities you have of complying with the laws of Heaven
This is the ancient path that leads to perfection
69
The great warriors have a saying, 揑 dare not act as host but would rather be a guest I dare not advance an inch but would rather retreat a foot?br> So advance but do not use your feet
Seize but do not use your arms
Cut but do not use your sword
Fight but do not use your own power
There is no greater misfortune than feeling 揑 have an enemy?br> For when 揑?and 揺nemy?exist together there is no room left for my treasure
Thus, when two opponents meet the one without an enemy will surely triumph
70
My teachings are very easy to understand and very easy to practice
Yet so few in this world understand and so few are able to practice
My words arise from that ancient source
My actions are those of the universe itself
If people do not know these how can they know me?
Those who follow my ways are rare and so I treasure them
Even if they wear the clothes of a beggar they carry a priceless gem within
71
Knowing what cannot be known ?what a lofty aim!
Not knowing what needs to be known ?what a terrible result!
Only when your sickness becomes sick will your sickness disappear
The Sage抯 illness has become ill his renunciation has been renounced
Now he is free
And every place in the world is the perfect place to be
72
When the people do not fear worldly power a greater power will arrive
Don抰 limit the view of yourself
Don抰 despise the conditions of your birth
Don抰 resist the natural course of your life
In this way you will never weary of this world
The Sage knows himself, but not as himself he loves himself, but not as himself he honours himself, but not as himself
Thus, he discards the view of his own self and chooses the view of the universe
73
Bold action against others leads to death
Bold action in harmony with Tao leads to life
Good fortune, bad fortune
One seems to bring benefit the other to cause harm
But Heaven rejects them both
Both, in the end, tether men to this world
Who can know the reasons of Heaven?
Who can know its endless ways?
Not even the Sage has an answer to this one
Heaven抯 way does not strive yet it always overcomes
It does not speak, yet it responds
It is not summoned, yet it appears
It does not hurry, yet it completes everything on time
The net of Heaven spans the universe yet not the slightest thing ever slips by
74
Kapitel nicht vorhanden / chapter not available
75
Why are the peole starving? ?br> Because their grain is being eaten up by taxes
That抯 why they抮e starving
Why are the people rebellious? ?br> Because those above them meddle intheir lives
That抯 why they抮e rebellious
Why do peole regard death so lightly? ?br> Because they are so involved with their own living
That抯 why they regard death so lightly
In the end,
The treasure of life is missed by those who hold on and gained by those who let go
76
When life begins we are tender and weal
When life ends we are stiff and rigid
All things, including the grass and trees, are soft and pliable in life dry and brittle in death
So the soft and supple are the companions of life
While the stiff and unyielding are the companions of death
An army that cannot yield will be defeated
A treee that cannot bend will crack in the wind
Thus by Nature抯 own decree the hard and strong are defeated while the soft and gentle are triumphant
77
Heaven operates like the bending of a bow - the high it pulls down the low it brings up
It takes from that which has too much
And gives to that which has too little
The way of man is otherwise - he takes from that which is depleted and gives to that which has too much
Who can offer an abundance to the world? ?br> One who has Tao
Such a one can give like the heavens
The Sage gives without relying on his own effort
He completes without waiting for a reward
He illumines wihtout stepping from the shadow
78
Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water
Yet for attacking the hard and strong none can triumph so easily
It is weak, yet none can equal it
It is soft, yet none can damage it
It is yielding, yet none can wear it away
Everyone knows that the soft overcomes the hard and the yielding triumphs over the rigid
Why then so little faith?
Why can no one practice it?
So the Sages say, fulfill even the lowest position love even the weakest creature
Then you will be called 揕ord of every offering King of all below Heaven?br>
79
After settling a great dispute some resentment is sure to remain
Being content with what you have is always best in the end
The Sage always assumes the debt as if holding the left side of a contract
He gives and gives, and wants nothing in return
One with true virtue always seeks a way to give
One who lacks true virtue always seeks a way to get
To the giver comes the fullness of life to the taker just an empty hand
Though the Tao of Heaven has no favourites it always sides with the one who has a pure heart
80
Let every state be simple like a small village with few people
There may be tools to speed things up ten or a hundred times yet no one will care to use them
There may be boats and carriages yet they will remain without riders
There may be armour and weaponry yet they will sit collecting dust
The people must take death seriously and not waste their lives in distant lands
Let them return to the knotting of cord
Let them enjoy their food and care for their clothing
Let them be content in their homes and joyful in the way they live
Neigbouring villages are within sight of each other
Roosters and dogs can be heard in the distance
Should a man grow old and die without ever leaving his village let him feel as though there was nothing he missed
