however intelligent one may be.
This is call the Important Not Obvious .
28
Know the masculine,
Keep to the feminine,
And be the
Brook of the World.
To be the Brook of the World is
To move unchanging
in the path of Power
Without swerving from it,
And to return again to infancy.
Know the white,
Keep to the black,
And be the Pattern of the World.
To be the Pattern of the World is
To move unchanging in the path of Power
Without making a single wrong step, And to return again to the Infinite.
Know the glorious,
Keep to the lowly,
And be the Fountain of
the World.
To be the Fountain of
the World is
To live the
life of Virute (Power) ,
And to return again to
the First Simplicity.
When the First Simplicity
splits apart,
It becomes useful tools,
Then in the hands
of a Complete Thinker,
make them leaders.
"a great tailor does little cutting."
29
Does anyone want to take the world
and do what he wants with it?
I do not see how they can succeed.
The world
is a sacred vessel,
which must not be
tampered with
or grabbed after.
To tamper with it
is to spoil it,
and to grasp
is to lose it.
For all things
there is a time for going ahead,
and a time for following behind;
A time for slow-breathing
and a time for fast-breathing;
A time to grow in strength
and a time to decay;
time to be up
and a time to be down.
The Complete Thinker
avoids all extremes,
excesses
and luxuries.
Travels
the middle path.
30
Who knows how to guide a leader in the path of Tao (the Laws of theUniverse),
Does not try to conquer the world
with military force.
It is in the nature of a military force to turn against its user.
(Economic Force stregthens the Society)
Wherever armies are stationed,
thorny bushes grow.
After a great war,
bad years always follow.
(Over spending for military might only overtaxes the people)
Protect efficiently your own state,
But not to aim at selfishness.
After you have attained your purpose,
You must not show off your success,
You must not brag of your ability,
You must not feel proud,
You must rather regret that you had not been able to prevent the war.
You must never think of taking control of others by force.
To be over-developed is to quicken decay,
And this is against Tao (the Laws of the Universe),
And what is against Tao (the Laws of the Universe)
will soon end.
31
Soldiers of war predict destruction.
And are for use against Life.
A person of Tao (the Laws of the Universe)
does not set his heart upon them.( A person of Tao (the Laws of theUniverse)
does not build armies to fight and take control of others land.)
In ordinary life, a gentle person regards
the left side (omen of the future) as the place of honor:
In war, the right side (omen of the past) is the place of honor.
As soldiers are tools of destruction, They are not properly
a gentle person's tools;
On necessity will they will use them,
(having them and knowing their use).
With calm control.
Even winning is
no cause for rejoicing.
To rejoice over a war won is
to rejoice over the slaughter of humans!
So a person who rejoices
over the slaughter of humans
cannot expect to do well
in the world of humans.
On happy occasions the left side (omen of the future) is preferred:
On sad occasions the right side (omen of the past) .
In the army, the Lieutenant Commander stands on the left,
While the Commander-in-Chief stands on the right.
This means that war is treated as equal to a funeral service (rememberanceof the past).
Because many people have been killed,
it is only correct that living should be sad at the loss of them.
Hence, even in a victory is a funeral.
32
Tao (the Laws of the Universe) is always nameless.
Small as it is in its First Simplicity,
It is less than nothing in the world.
If only a leader could stick to it, Everything will give respect
to them.
Heaven and Earth
will be harmonized
And send down sweet dew.
Peace and order
will reign among the people
Without any command from above.
When once
the Primal Simplicity broke up,
(at the Time of the Big Bang,)
Different names appeared.
Are there not enough names now?
Is this not the time to stop?
To know where to stop is to preserve ourselves from danger.
The Tao (the Laws of the Universe) is to the world
what a great river or an ocean is to the streams and brooks.
The Tao is manifest into a shape, but then the shape is lost.
Do not be rigid about shapes, but only about ability to change.
33
Who knows people is clever;
Who knows self has enlightenment.
Who conquers a people has force;
Who conquers self is truly strong.
Who knows when they have enough are rich,
And who follows carefully
the path of Tao (the Laws of the Universe)
is a person of steady purpose.
Who stays
where they have found their true home
lasts long,
And who dies but is not forgotten enjoys real longevity.
34
The Great Tao (the Laws of the Universe)
is universal like a flood.
How can it be turned
to the right
or to the left?
All creatures depend on it,
and it denies nothing to anyone.
It does its work,
But it makes no claims for itself.
It clothes and feeds all,
But it does not rule them
: Thus, it may be called
"the Little."
All things return to it
as to their home,
But it does not rule them:
It may be called
"the Great."
It is just because it
does not wish to be great
That its greatness
is fully realized.
The Complete Thinker
would not control the world;
They are in harmony
with the world.
35
Who holds to the Great Pattern
will attract all things to them.
They go to them and
receive no harm,
in them they find
peace,
security and
happiness.
Music and
snacks can only
make a passing guest pause.
The words of Tao (the Laws of the Universe)
have lasting effects,
They are mild and
flavorless,
We look and see nothing.
We listen and hear nothing.
But if we use it,
It is without end.
36
What is in the end
to be shrunken,
Begins by being first
stretched out.
What is in the end
to be weakened,
Begins by being first
made strong.
What is in the end
to be thrown down,
Begins by being first
set on high.
What is in the end
to be raped,
Begins by being first
given riches.
Herein is the hidden
wisdom of life:
The soft and
weak
overcomes the
hard and strong.
Just as the fish
must not leave
the deeps,
The words of agression
should not be used.
37
Tao (the Laws of the Universe) never makes
any showiness,
And yet it
does everything.
If a ruler can
stick to it,
All things will
grow of themselves.
When they have
grown and
tend to make an excitement,
It is time to keep them
in their place
by the aid of
the nameless First Simplicity.
Which alone can
control the desires
of people.
When the desires
of people
are limited,
there will be peace,
And the world
will settle down
of its own agreement.
38
High Virtue (Power) is completely virtuous (powerful) without chasing after
virtue (power);
Therefore it has Virtue (Power).
Low Virtue (Power) is always chasing after virtue (power)
and never frees itself from the chase;
Therefore it is without Virtue (Power).
High Virtue (Power) is without problems and is without private goals to
serve:
Low Virtue (Power) not only makes problems but has private goals to serve.
High humanity makes problems but is without private goals to serve:
High morality not only makes problems but has private goals to serve.
High ceremony makes problems but is without response;
Then it raises its arms to show itself.
Losing Tao ( the Laws of the Universe ), man uses Virtue (Power).
Losing Virtue (Power), humans use humanity.
Losing humanity, people use morality.
Losing morality, humans use ceremony.
Ceremony is the shell of faith and loyalty;
It is the beginning of all,
not understanding and mix-up.
Knowing the future, is only, the
attractive without substance part, of the Tao ( the Laws of the Universe),
And the beginning of foolishness.
The full-grown human
Can enter the substance
rather than the shell;
Can enter totality
rather than the promise.
They prefer what is within
instead of appearance.
39
There are many things that have achieved Oneness.
The sky achieved Oneness and became clear;
The earth achieved Oneness and became calm;
The spirits achieved Oneness and became charged with powers;
The fountains achieved Oneness and became full;
All of the plants and animals achieved Oneness and became reproductive;
Leaders achieved Oneness and became the greatest rulers of the world.
All of them are what they are by virtue
( the power ) of Oneness.
If the sky were not clear, it would be likely to fall to pieces;
If the earth were not calm, it would be likely to burst into bits;
If the spirits were not charged with powers, they would be likely to cease
from being;
If the fountains were not full, they would be likely to dry up;
If all the plants and animals were not reproductive, they would be likely
to cease to exist;
If the leaders were not the greatest rulers, they would be likely to
stumble and fall.
Truly, humility is the root from which greatness springs,
The High must be built upon the foundation of the low.
That is why leaders describe themselves "The Helpless One," "The Little
One," and "The Worthless One."
To gain the peoples support.
They realize their
dependence upon the lowly.
Get honor
by not being honored.
It is not wise to
shine like jade and
sound like stone-chimes.
(The true leader
has substance
rather just appearance.)
40
The movement of the
Tao ( the Laws of the Universe )
consists of Returning.
(In science, for every physical action there is a physical reaction. Itis
the same in social order.)
The use of the
Tao ( the Laws of the Universe )
consists of perception.
(Understand the root cause and you will understand the process.)
All things
under heaven
are born
of the Visible;
The Visible
is born
of the Invisible.
(The principals that we do not directly perceive create what we see.
Chaos has a pattern if only we use our intuition.)
41
When a wise scholar hears the Tao ( the Laws of the Universe ),
They practice it without fail.
When a average scholar hears the
Tao ( the Laws of the Universe ),
They move between belief and unbelief.
When a worthless scholar hears the
Tao ( the Laws of the Universe ),
They laugh loudly at it.
If such a one does not laugh at it,
The Tao ( the Laws of the Universe ) would not be the Tao ( the Laws ofthe
Universe )!
To the untrained observer;
Who understands the Tao, seems foolish;
Who progresses in the Tao, seems to fail;
Who follows the Tao, seems to wander.
The wise people of old have truly said:
The bright Way looks dim.
The forward Way looks backward.
The smooth Way looks rough.
High Virtue (Power) looks low like a bottomless pit.
Great clearness looks spotted.
Unending Virtue (Power) looks like it is not enough.
Proved Virtue (Power) looks pitiful.
Solid Virtue (Power) looks as though melted.
Greatest space has no corners.
Great talents are slowly mastered.
Great music has the rarest sound.
Great Form is shapeless.
The Tao ( the Laws of the Universe ) is hidden and nameless;
It alone knows how to give help and to make whole.
42
Tao ( the Laws of the Universe )
gave birth to One,
( The Unified Field )
One gave birth to Two,
( Energy and Matter, E=MC2 )
Two gave birth to Three,
( Gravity, Nuclear and Electro-Magnetic Forces)
Three gave birth to all things.
All the things carry the
Yin (physical(matter)) on their backs and
hold the
Yang (spiritual(energy)) to their chest,
Getting their vital balance from the
proper blending of the two vital Breaths.
(Physical(matter) and Spiritual(energy))
What is more hated by men than to be "helpless( in need of help),"
"little( no desire to be superior )," and
"worthless ( no desire to be rich )"?
These are the very names the
true leaders call themselves.
You can gain by losing (putting ourselves in a position to gain),
And you can lose by gaining (receiving our hearts desire and feeling lost
).
What others have taught I repeat:
"A person who lives for destruction will attract destruction to themself."
(Destruction attracts destruction.
Construction attracts construction.
Weakness attracts destruction.
Virtue (power) attracts construction.)
I will make this chapter my most important teaching.
43
