Yet within it are entities.
Shadowy it is and dim;
Yet within it there is a force,
Is none the less efficacious.
From the times of old till now
Its charge has not departed
But cheers onward the many warriors.
How do I know that the many warriors are so?
Through this.
22
揟o remain whole, be twisted!?br> To become straight, let yourself be bent.
To become full, be hollow.
Be tattered, that you may be renewed.
Those that have little, may get more,
Those that have much, are but perplexed.
Therefore the ; Sage
Clasps the Primal Unity,
Testing by it everything under heaven.
He does not show himself; therefore he seen everywhere.
He does not define himself, therefore he is distinct.
He does not boast of what he will do, therefore he succeeds.
He is not proud of his work, and therefore it endures.
He does not contend,
And for that very reason no one under heaven can contend with him.
So then we see that the ancient saying 揟o remain whole, be twisted!?was no idle word;
For true wholeness can only be achieved by return.
23
To be always talks is against nature.
For the same reason a hurricane never lasts a whole morning,
Nor a rainstorm all day.
Who is it that makes the wind and rain?
It is Heaven-and Earth.
And if even Heaven-and Earth cannot blow or pour for long,
How much less in his utterance should man?
Truly, if one uses the Way as one's instrument,
The results will be like the Way;
If one uses the 損ower?as instrument,
The results will be like the 損ower?
If one uses what is the reverse of the 損ower?
The results will be the reverse of the 損ower?
For to those who have conformed themselves to the Way,
The Way readily lends its power.
To those who have conformed themselves to the power,
The power readily, lends more power.
While to those who conform themselves to inefficacy,
Inefficacy readily lends its ineffectiveness.
揑t is by not believing in people that you turn them into liars.?br>
24
'He who stands on tip-toe, does not stand firm;
He who takes the longest strides, does not walk the fastest.?br> He who does his own looking sees little,
He who defines himself is not therefore distinct.
He who boasts of what he will do succeeds in nothing;
He who is proud of his work, achieves nothing that endures.
Of these, from the standpoint of the Way, it is said:
揚ass round superfluous dishes to those that have already had enough,
And no creature but will reject them in disgust.?br> That is why he that possesses Tao does not linger.
25
There was something formless yet complete,
That existed before heaven and earth;
Without sound, without substance,
Dependent on nothing, unchanging,
All pervading, unfailing.
One may think of it as the mother of all things under heaven.
Its true name we do not know;
Were I forced to say to what class of things it belongs
I should call it Great (ta)
Now ta also means passing on,
And passing on means going Far Away,
And going far away means returning.
Thus just as Tao has 搕his greatness?and as earth has it and as heaven has it,
So may the ruler also have it.
Thus 搘ithin the realm there are four portions of greatness?
And one belongs to the king.
The ways of men are conditioned by those of earth.
The ways of earth, by those of heaven.
The ways of heaven by those of Tao, and the ways of Tao by the Self-so.
26
As the heavy must be the foundation of the light,
So quietness is lord and master of activity.
Truly, 揂 man of consequence though he travels all day
Will not let himself be separated from his baggage-wagon,
However magnificent the view, he sits quiet and dispassionate?
How much less, then, must be the lord of ten thousand chariots
Allow himself to be lighter than these he rules!
If he is light, the foundation is lost;
If he is active, the lord and master is lost.
27
Perfect activity leaves no track behind it;
Perfect speech is like a jade-worker whose tool leaves no mark.
The perfect reckoner needs no counting-slips;
The perfect door has neither bolt nor bar,
Yet cannot be opened.
The perfect knot needs neither rope nor twine,
Yet cannot be united.
Therefore the Sage
Is all the time in the most perfect way helping men,
He certainly does not turn his back on men;
Is all the time in the most perfect way helping creatures,
He certainly does not turn his back on creatures.
This is called resorting to the Light.
Truly, 搕he perfect man is the teacher of the imperfect;
But the imperfect is the stock-in-trade of the perfect man?
He who does not respect his teacher,
He who does not take care of his stock-in-trade,
Much learning through he may possess, is far astray.
This is the essential secret.
28
揌e who knows the males, yet cleaves to what is female
Because like a ravine, receiving all things under heaven,?br> And being such a ravine
He knows all the time a power that he never calls upon in vain.
This is returning to the state of infancy.
He who knows the white, (yet cleaves to the black
Becomes the standard by which all things are tested;
And being such a standard
He has all the time a power that never errs,
He returns to the Limitless.
He who knows glory,) yet cleaves to ignominy
Become like a valley that receives into it all things under heaven,
And being such a valley
He has all the time a power that suffices;
He returns to the state of the Uncarved Block.
Now when a block is sawed up it is made into implements;
But when the Sage uses it, it becomes Chief of all Ministers.
Truly, 揟he greatest carver does the least cutting?
29
Those that would gain what is under heaven by tampering with it -
I have seen that they do not succeed.
For that which is under heaven is like a holy vessel, dangerous to tamper with.
Those that tamper with it, harm it.
Those that grab at it, lose it.
For among the creatures of the world some go in front, some follow;
Some blow hot when others would be blowing cold.
Some are feeling vigorous just when others are worn out.
Therefore the Sage 揹iscards the absolute, the all-inclusive, the extreme?
30
He who by Tao purposes to help a ruler of men
Will oppose all conquest by force of arms;
For such things are wont to rebound.
Where armies are, thorn and brambles grow.
The raising of a great host
Is followed by a year of dearth.
Therefore a good general effects his purpose and then stops; he does not take further advantage of his victory.
Fulfils his purpose and does not glory in what he has done;
Fulfils his purpose and does not boast of what he has done;
Fulfils his purpose, but takes no pride in what he has done;
Fulfils his purpose, but only as a step that could not be avoided.
Fulfils his purpose, but without violence;
For what has a time of vigour also has a time of decay.
This is against Tao,
And what is against Tao will soon perish.
31
Fine weapons are none the less ill-omened things.
(People despise them, therefore,
Those in possession of the Tao do not depend on them.)
That is why, among people of good birth,
In peace the left-hand side is the place of honour,
But in war this is reversed and the right-hand side is the place of honour.
(Weapons are ill-omened things, which the superior man should not depend on.
When he has no choice but to use them,
The best attitude is to retain tranquil and peaceful.)
The Quietist, even when he conquers, does not regard weapons as lovely things.
For to think them lovely means to delight in them,
And to delight in them means to delight in the slaughter of men.
And he who delights in the slaughter of men
Will never get what he looks for out of those that dwell under heaven.
(Thus in happy events,
The left-hand side is the place of honour, in grief and mourning,
The right-hand is the place of honour.
The lieutenant general stands on the left,
While the supreme general stands on the right,
Which is arranged on the rites of mourning.)
A host that has slain men is received with grief and mourning;
He that has conquered in battle is received with rites of mourning.
32
Tao is eternal, but has no fame (name);
The Uncarved Block, though seemingly of small account,
Is greater than anything that is under heaven.
If kings and barons would but possess themselves of it,
The ten thousand creatures would flock to do them homage;
Heaven-and-earth would conspire
To send Sweet Dew,
Without law or compulsion, men would dwell in harmony.
Once the block is carved, there will be names,
And so soon as there are names,
Know that it is time to stop.
Only by knowing when it is time to stop can danger be avoided.
To Tao all under heaven will come
As streams and torrents flow into a great river or sea.
33
To understand others is to have knowledge;
To understand oneself is to be illumined.
To conquer others needs strength;
To conquer oneself is harder still.
To be content with what one has is to be rich.
He that works through violence may get his way;
But only what stays in its place
Can endure.
When one dies one is not lost, there is no other longevity.
34
Great Tao is like a boat that drifts;
It can go this way; it can go that.
The ten thousand creatures owe their existence to it and it does not disown them;
Yet having produced them, it does not take possession of them.
Makes no claim to be master over them,
(And asks for nothing from them.)
Therefore it may be called the Lowly.
The ten thousand creatures obey it,
Though they know not that they have a master;
Therefore it is called the Great.
So too the Sage just because he never at any time makes a show of greatness
In fact achieves greatness.
35
He who holding the Great From goes about his work in the empire
Can go about his, yet do no harm.
All is peace, quietness and security.
Sound of music, smell of good dishes
Will make the passing stranger pause.
How difference the words that Tao gives forth!
So thin, so flavourless!
If one looks for Tao, there is nothing solid to see;
If one listens for it, there is nothing loud enough to hear.
Yet if one uses it, it is inexhaustible.
36
What is in the end to be shrunk
Must first be stretched.
Whatever is to be weakened
Must begin by being made strong.
What is to be overthrown
Must begin by being set up.
He who would be a taker
Must begin as a giver.
This is called 揹imming?one's light.
It is thus that the soft overcomes the hard
And the weak, the strong.
揑t is best to leave the fish down in his pool;
Best to leave the State's sharpest weapons wherenone can see them.?br>
37
Tao never does;
Yet through it all things are done.
If the barons and kings would but possess themselves of it,
The ten thousand creatures would at once be transformed.
And if having been transformed they should desire to act,
We must restrain them by the blankness of the Unnamed.
The blankness of the Unnamed
Brings dispassion;
To be dispassionate is to be still.
And so, of itself, the whole empire will be at rest.
38
The man of highest 損ower?does not reveal himself as a possessor of 損ower?
Therefore he keeps his 損ower?
The man of inferior 損ower?cannot rid it of the appearance of 損ower?
Therefore he is in truth without 損ower?
The man of highest 損ower?neither acts nor is there any who so regards him;
The man of inferior 損ower?both acts and is so regarded.
The man of highest humanity, though he acts, is not regarded;
Whereas a man of even the highest morality both acts and is so regarded;
While even he who is best versed in ritual not merely acts,
But if people fail to respond
Then he will pull up his sleeves and advance upon them.
That is why it is said:
揂fter Tao was lost, then came the 'power';
After the 'power' was lost, then came human kindness.?br> After human kindness was lost, then came morality,
After morality was lost, then came ritual.
Now ritual is the mere husk of loyalty and promise-keeping
And is indeed the first step towards brawling.?br> Foreknowledge may be the 揻lower of doctrine?
But it is the beginning of folly.
Therefore the full-grown man takes his stand upon the solid substance
And not upon the mere husk,
Upon the fruit and not upon the flower.
Truly, 揾e reject that and takes this?
39
As for the things that from of old have understood the Whole ?br> The sky through such understanding remains limpid,
Earth remains steady,
The spirits keep their holiness,
The abyss is replenished,
The ten thousand creatures bear their kind,
Barons and princes direct their people.
It is the Whole that causes it.
Were it not so limpid, the sky would soon get torn,
Were is not for steadiness, the earth would soon tip over,
Were it not for their holiness, the spirit would soon wither away.
Were it not for this replenishment, the abyss would soon go dry,
Were it not that ten thousand creatures can bear their kind,
They would soon become extinct.
Were the barons and princes no longer directors of their people
And for that reason honoured and exalted, they would soon be overthrown.
Truly ?the humble is the stem upon which the mighty grows,
The low is the foundation upon which the high is laid.?br> That is why barons and princes refer to themselves as 揟he Orphan?
揟he Needy? 揟he Ill-provided.
Is this not indeed a case of might rooting itself upon humility?
