The space between heaven and earth is like a (blacksmith's) bellows. Hollow as it seems, nothing is lacking. If it is moved, more will it bring forth.
He who talks more is sooner exhausted: It is better to keep what is within himself.
6
'The Valley and the Spirit never die.' They form what is called the Mystic Mother,.
From whose gate comes the origin of heaven and earth.
'The Valley and the Spirit never die.' They form what is called the Mystic Mother, From whose gate comes the origin of heaven and earth. This (the origin) seems ever to endure. In use it can never be exhausted.
7
Heaven is lasting and earth enduring.
The reason why they are lasting and enduring is that they do not live for themselves; Therefore they live long.
In the same way the Sage keeps himself behind and he is in the front;
He forgets himself and he is preserved.
Is it not because he is not self-interested That his self-interest is established?
8
The highest goodness is like water. Water is beneficent to all things but does not contend. It stays in places which others despise. Therefore it is near Tao.
In dwelling, think it a good place to live; In feeling, make the heart deep; In friendship, keep on good terms with men; In words, have confidence;
In ruling, abide by good order; In business, take things easy; In motion, make use of the opportunity.
Since there is no contention, there is no blame.
9
Holding and keeping a thing to the very full - it is better to leave it alone;
Handling and sharpening a blade - it cannot be long sustained;
When gold and jade fill the hall, no one can protect them;
Wealth and honour with pride bring with them destruction;
To have accomplished merit and acquired fame, then to retire - This is the Tao of heaven.
10
Can you keep the soul always concentrated from straying?
Can you regulate the breath and become soft and pliant like an infant?
Can you clear and get rid of the unforeseen and be free from fault?
Can you love the people and govern the state by non-action?
Can you open and t the gates of nature like a female?
Can you become enlightened and penetrate everywhere without knowledge?
11
Thirty spokes unite in one nave, And because of the part where nothing exists we have the use of a carriage wheel.
Clay is moulded into vessels, And because of the space where nothing exists we are able to use them as vessels.
Doors and windows are cut out in the walls of a house, And because they are empty spaces, we are able to use them.
Therefore, on the one hand we have the benefit of existence, and on the other, we make use of non-existence.
12
The five colours will blind a man's sight. The five sounds will deaden a man's hearing. The five tastes will spoil a man's palate.
Chasing and hunting will drive a man wild Things hard to get will do harm to a man's conduct.
Therefore the Sage makes provision for the stomach and not for the eye. He rejects the latter and chooses the former.
13
'Favour and disgrace are like fear; fortune and disaster are like our body.'
What does it mean by 'Favour and disgrace are like fear'? Favour is in a higher place, and disgrace in a lower place. When you win them you are like being in fear, and when you lose them you are also like being in fear. So favour and disgrace are like fear.
What does it mean by 'Fortune and disaster are like our body'? We have fortune and disaster because we have a body. When we have no body, how can fortune or disaster befall us?
Therefore he who regards the world as he does the fortune of his own body can govern the world. He who loves the world as be does his own body can be entrusted with the world.
14
That which we look at and cannot see is called plainness. That which we listen to and cannot hear is called rareness. That which we grope for and cannot get is called minuteness.
These three cannot be closely examined; So they blend into One.
Revealed, it is not dazzling; Hidden, it is not dark. Infinite, it cannot be defined. It goes back to non-existence.
It is called the form of the formless, And the image of non~existence. it is called mystery. Meet it, you cannot see its face; Follow it, you cannot see its back.
By adhering to the Tao of the past You will master the existence of the present And be able to know the origin of the past. This is called the clue of Tao.
15
In old times the perfect man of Tao was subtle, penetrating and so profound that he can hardly be understood.
Because he cannot be understood, I shall endeavour to picture him: He is cautious, like one who crosses a stream in winter; He is hesitating, like one who fears his neighbours; He is modest, like one who is a guest;
He is yielding, like ice that is going to melt; He is simple, like wood that is not yet wrought; He is vacant, like valleys that are hollow; He is dim, like water that is turbid.
Who is able to purify the dark till it becomes slowly light? Who is able to calm the turbid till it slowly clears? Who is able to quicken the stagnant till it slowly makes progress?
He who follows these principles does not desire fullness. Because he is not full, therefore when he becomes decayed he can renew.
16
Attain to the goal of absolute vacuity; Keep to the state of perfect peace.
All things come into existence, And thence we see them return. Look at the things that have been flourishing; Each goes back to its origin.
Going back to the origin is called peace; It means reversion to destiny. Reversion to destiny is called eternity. He who knows eternity is called enlightened. He who does not know eternity is running blindly into miseries.
Knowing eternity he is all-embracing. Being all~embracing he can attain magnanimity. Being magnanimous he can attain omnipresence. Being omnipresent he can attain supremacy. Being supreme he can attain Tao.
He who attains Tao is everlasting. Though his body may decay he never perishes.
17
The great rulers - the people do not notice their existence; The lesser ones - they attach to and praise them; The still lesser ones - they fear them; The still lesser ones - they despise them.
For where faith is lacking, It cannot be met by faith.
Now how much importance must be attributed to words!
18
When the great Tao is lost, spring forth benevolence and righteousness.
When wisdom and sagacity arise, there are great hypocrites.
When family relations are no longer harmonious, we have filial children and devoted parents.
When a nation is in confusion and disorder, patriots are recognized. Where Tao is, equilibrium is. When Tao is lost, out come all the differences of things.
19
Do away with sageness and eject wisdom, and the people will be more benefited a hundred times.
Do away with learning, and grief will not be known. Do away with benevolence and eject righteousness, and the people will return to filial duty and parental love.
Do away with artifice and eject gains, and there will be no robbers and thieves.
These four, if we consider them as culture, are not sufficient.
Therefore let there be what the people can resort to: Appear in plainness and hold to simplicity; Restrain selfishness and curtail desires.
20
Between yea and nay, how much difference is there? Between good and evil, how much difference is there?
What are feared by others we must fear; Vastly are they unlimited!
The people in general are as happy as if enjoying a great feast. Or, as going up a tower in spring. I alone am tranquil, and have made no signs, Like a baby who is yet unable to smile; Forlorn as if I had no home to go to.
Others all have more than enough, And I alone seem to be in want. Possibly mine is the mind of a fool, Which is so ignorant!
The vulgar are bright, And I alone seem to be dull. The vulgar are discriminative, and I alone seem blunt. I am negligent as if being obscure; Drifting, as if being attached to nothing.
The people in general all have something to do, And I alone seem to be impractical and awkward. I alone am different from others. But I value seeking sustenance from the Mother. To know the eternal is to be enlightened. Not to know the eternal is to act blindly and court disaster.
21
The great virtue as manifested is but following Tao.
Tao is a thing that is both invisible and intangible. Intangible and invisible, yet there are forms in it; Invisible and intangible, yet there is substance in it; Subtle and obscure, there is essence in it; This essence being invariably true, there is faith in it.
From of old till now, it has never lost its (nameless) name, Through which the origin of all things has passed.
How do I know that it is so with the origin of all things? By this (Tao).
22
'Be humble, and you will remain entire.' Be bent, and you will remain straight. Be vacant, and you will remain full. Be worn, and you will remain new. He who has little will receive. He who has much will be embarrassed.
Therefore the Sage keeps to One and becomes the standard for the world.
He does not display himself; therefore he shines. He does not approve himself; therefore he is noted. He does not praise himself; therefore he has merit. He does not glory in himself; therefore he excels.
And because he does not compete; therefore no one in the world can compete with him.
The ancient saying 'Be humble and you will remain entire'- Can this be regarded as mere empty words? Indeed he shall return home entire.
23
To be sparing of words is natural. A violent wind cannot last a whole morning; pelting rain cannot last a whole day.
Who have made these things but heaven and earth? Inasmuch as heaven and earth cannot last forever, how can man?
He who engages himself in Tao is identified with Tao. He who engages himself in virtue is identified with virtue. He who engages himself in abandonment is identified with abandonment.
Identified with Tao he will be well received by Tao. Identified with virtue he will be well received by virtue. Identified with abandonment he will be well received by abandonment.
24
A man on tiptoe cannot stand firm; A man astride cannot walk on;
A man who displays himself cannot shine; A man who approves himself cannot be noted;
A man who praises himself cannot have merit; A man who glories in himself cannot excel:
These, when compared with Tao, are-called; 'Excess in food and overdoing action.' Even in other things, mostly, they are rejected; Therefore the man of Tao does not stay with them.
25
There is a thing inherent and natural, Which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone - and never changes; It pervades everywhere and never becomes exhausted. It may be regarded as the Mother of the Universe.
I do not know its name. If I am forced to give it a name, I call it Tao, and I name it as supreme.
Supreme means going on; Going on means going far; Going far means returning.
Therefore Tao is supreme; heaven is supreme; earth is supreme; and man is also supreme; There are in the universe four things supreme, and man is one of them.
Man follows the laws of earth; Earth follows the laws of heaven; Heaven follows the laws of Tao; Tao follows the laws of its intrinsic nature.
26
Heaviness is the basis of lightness; Calmness is the controlling power of hastiness.
Therefore the Sage, though traveling all day long, Never separates from his baggage-wagon; Though surrounded with magnificent sights, He lives in tranquillity.
How is it, then, that a king of ten thousand chariots Should conduct himself so lightly in the empire?
To be light is to lose the basis; To be hasty is to lose the controlling power.
27
A good traveler leaves no track; A good speaker leaves no error; A good reckoner needs no counter;
A good closer needs no bars or bolts, And yet it is impossible to open after him. A good fastener needs no cords or knots, And yet it is impossible to untie after him.
Even if men be bad, why should they be rejected? Therefore the Sage is always a good saviour of men, And no man is rejected; He is a good saviour of things, And nothing is rejected: This is called double enlightenment.
Therefore good men are had men's instructors, And bad men are good men's materials.
Those who do not esteem their instructors, And those who do not love their materials, Though expedient, are in fact greatly confused. This is essential subtlety.
28
He who knows the masculine and yet keeps to the feminine Will become a channel drawing all the world towards it; Being a channel of the world, he will not be severed from the eternal virtue, And then he can return again to the state of infancy.
He who knows the white and yet keeps to the black Will become the standard of the world; Being the standard of the world, with him eternal virtue will never falter, And then he can return again to the absolute.
He who knows honour and yet keeps to humility Will become a valley that receives all the world into it; Being a valley of the world, with him eternal virtue Will be complete, And then he can return again to wholeness.
Wholeness, when divided, will make vessels of utility; These when employed by the Sage will become officials and chiefs. However, for a great function no discrimination is needed.
29
When a man is to take the world over and shape it, I see that he must be obliged to do it.
For the world is a divine vessel: It cannot be shaped; Nor can it be insisted upon. He who shapes it damages it; He who insists upon it loses it.
Therefore the Sage does not shape it, so he does not damage it; 'He does not insist upon it, so be does not lose it. 'For, among all things, some go ahead, while others lag behind; Some keep their mouth t, while others give forth puffs; Some are strong, while others are weak; Some are on the cart, while others fall off.
Therefore the Sage avoids excess, extravagance and indulgence.
30
He who assists a ruler of men with Tao does not force the world with arms.
For the actions of arms will be well requited; where armies have been quartered brambles and thorns grow. Great wars are for certain followed by years of scarcity.
He aims only at carrying out relief, and does not venture to force his power upon others.
When relief is done, he will not be assuming, He will not be boastful; he will not be proud; And he will think that he was obliged to do it. So it comes that relief is done without resorting to force.
