Who can discern the reason?
Even the very wise person must chose their line of action.
Universal TAO strives in neither direction, but is sure in all its action. It utters no sounds, but is sure in its response.
It does not call, but all come to It by themselves.
It does not plan, but is certain in all its works.
The net of the Universe is vast and widely meshed, yet nothing is ever lost from it.
"Imitating The Universe."
A good warrior is not warlike.
A good fighter is not wrathful.
A good conqueror is not grasping.
A good leader is not overbearing.
This is called the Virtue of non-striving.
This is the capacity of leading people.
This is being the equal companion of The Universe - the highest ideal of all the ages.
"Avoiding a Fall."
Avoid glory as you avoid shame.
Regard great trouble as you regard your body.
What is meant by: "Avoid glory as you avoid shame"?
The one connotes the other.
Obtain glory and you fear the loss of it.
Lose it and you fear the shame.
Fear is thus inseparable both from glory and from shame.
What is meant by: "Regard great trouble as you regard your body"?
We meet trouble because we have a body; if we had no body, how would trouble reach us?
So, those who love the nation as they care for their own body, may be trusted with the nation.
"Learning to be Still."
Which is more dear to you, your good name or your body?
Which do you treasure more, your body or your wealth?
Which makes you more unhappy, to profit or to lose?
We must sacrifice much to gain great love.
We must suffer great loss to obtain much treasure.
To know contentment is to fear no shame.
To know how to be still is to avoid destruction.
So doing, we long endure.
"The Danger of Strength."
A person at birth is soft and tender; but is rigid and hard at death.
It is the same with everything.
In growth, trees and plants are pliant and tender; but in death they are withered and tough.
So the hard and the strong have affinity with death; but the soft and tender are companions of life.
Therefore those who rely solely on strength will not conquer; a powerful tree invites the ax.
The place of great strength is below, but gentle softness dwells above.
"The Value Set on Life."
People come forth into life; people return with death.
Three out of ten follow the way of life; three out of ten follow the way of death. While again,
there are three out of ten who live as people but pass on to the place of death.
And why is this so?
Because they strive too much to perpetuate life.
What a very wise person are they, therefore, who take hold of the Inner Life and know the secret of its hidden springs.
In journeying, they fear no danger.
In strife, they fears no weapon of war.
No power can strike the Inner Life; no power can hold it; no power can penetrate.
What a very wise person are they, therefore, who into the realms of death can bring the Inner Life.
"The Manifestation of Simplicity."
True words may not be pleasant; pleasant words may not be true.
The man of TAO does not dispute; they who dispute are not of TAO.
Those who know TAO are not "learned."Those who are "learned"do not know TAO.
The wise person does not lay up treasure; their riches are within.
The more they spend resources for others, the more they increase their own store.
The more they give to others, the more they have of their own.
The TAO of The Universe is all-pervading, but is hurtful to no one.
This is the way of the very wise person, who acts but does not strive.
"Placing Oneself Last."
The Great River and Sea, because they hold a lower place, are lords of a hundred streams.
This is the reason of their lordship.
This is why the very wise person, when wishing to elevate people, places their position below them.
So, though they dwell above, the people follow them with ease; though they are placed before them, they do not bar their progress.
Therefore, people exalt them with gladness, and never tire in their service.
And because they do not strive, no one in the world can strive against them.
"The Nurturing of Teh."
By Tao all things are produced; by Teh they are nourished. So each being receives its Form, its inward urge towards perfection. That is why all things reverence Tao and extol Teh; its outward manifestation.
The venerating of Tao!
The extolling of Teh!
No Enlightened One has decreed it, but spontaneously it is proclaimed. Tao brings all things into being; Teh nurtures them and makes them grow. Teh sustains them completes them, matures them, ripens them, and gives them protection.
To quicken, but not to own;
To actuate, but not to act;
To raise, but not to rule;
This is called the Mysterious Teh.
"Emptiness and Nothingness."
Those who are one with Tao, will do all things in Tao.
Those who are one with Teh will do all things by Teh.
Those who are one with failure, will fail in all their works.
Being one with Tao, joyfully they accept all the gifts of Tao.
Being one with Teh, gladly they receives all that comes by Teh.
Being one with failure, they invite failure in all their deeds.
For, if their faith is lacking, they inspire no confidence.
"The Benevolence of Teh."
Hold fast to the Great Idea and all people will come to you of themselves.
They will come and receive no hurt, finding rest and peace in the great calm.
Music and dainties may detain the passing guest.
But Tao, when coming to the lips, how tasteless It is! It has no flavor.
When coming before the eyes, It does not impress the sight.
When listened by the ears, It is not to be heard.
So, Tao is as nothing, yet in Its applications It can never be exhausted.
"The Profoundness of Teh."
Of old those who were a Servant of Tao, did not use It to make people more brilliant, but to make them more simple and kind.
If people are difficult to govern it is because they are too worldly wise.
This worldly wisdom invites the ruin of a state.
Those who rule with simpleness are blessed.
To know these two ways is to be a model as of old, and to be a model for all is called Profundity of Teh.
Profound Teh is deep and far-reaching; reacting upon all things, forever tending perfect harmony.
"The Three Treasures."
As the servant of Tao, the world calls me great, but I am not equal to my greatness.
It is through the greatness of That Which I serve that I continue to appear so small.
But I have three treasures which I prize and hold fast.
The first is called Compassion.
The second is called Economy.
The third is called Humility.
Through Compassion I exhibit courage; through Economy I can freely give; through Humility I become a vessel of the highest honor.
But people forsake Compassion and seek courage; they forsake Economy and seek profusion; they forsake Humility and seek precedence.
The end of it all is death.
Compassion overcomes all opposition and is sure in its defence.
Therefore, when the Universe would preserve people it enfolds them with Compassion.
"Increasing the Evidence of Tao."
If I should attain wisdom to follow Supreme Tao, I should fear nothing save to be unworthy of it.
Supreme Tao is very straight, but how much people love the by-paths.
The palace may be all-splendid, but the land may be uncultured and the store-house empty and bare.
We may adorn ourselves with fair raiment and gird ourselves with swords; we may fill ourselves with food and drink, and display our wealth of useless things.
This is the glorification of possession, assuredly it is not of Tao.
"The Possible."
By blending heart and mind in united singleness of purpose, it is possible to reach the Indivisible.By restraining the passions and letting gentleness have sway, it is possible to become as a little child.By purging the mind of fantasy, it is possible attain to clear vision.
By loving people with inner service, it is possible to remain unknown.
By going in and out of the Gates of the Universe, it is possible to become as the Mother-bird.By pure transparency in all directions it is possible to know and yet remain unknown.
To quicken and to give birth;
To give birth and to nourish;
To nourish but not to own;
To actuate but not to rule;
To rule but not to excel;
This is called Profound Teh.
"Overflowing Teh."
Esteem your highest attainment as incomplete, its utility remains unimpaired.
Esteem your greatest fullness as emptiness, it will never be depleted.
Count your extreme uprightness as that which is crooked.
Know your highest wisdom as foolishness.
Deem your finest eloquence as stammering words.
And you will find that, even as movement overcomes cold, as stillness overcomes heat, so they who have purity and serenity become a model of the world.
"The Mysterious Seal."
Those who possess Teh in its fullness are like little children.
Poisonous insects will not sting them; wild beasts will not seize them; birds of prey will not strike them,Though their bones are soft and their muscles weak, their grasp is firm and sure.
Though Unconscious of their creative power they are fully virile and reach maturity.
Though all day they sing and speak their voice is smooth, and their perfect harmony shows.
Knowledge of harmony is eternal.
Knowledge of the Eternal is illumination.
But increase of life is not always a blessing. The impulse to live is strong, but vigor at its height approaches its decay.
This is not Tao.
And what is not Tao will quickly pass away.
"The Nature of Teh."
The highest virtue assumes no excellence; thus it is the very essence of Teh.
But excellence is assumed by the lower virtue, and since it fears to lose it, it is not of the real essence of Teh.
The activity of the highest excellence is inward (Wu Wei): it acts without being seen; but the activity of the lower excellence is outward: it cannot act without being seen.
The highest benevolence is ever active, but not subject to necessity.
The highest justice takes action and its action inevitably continues.
The highest order is always operative, and asserts itself when there is no response.
So, when Tao is not seen, Teh appears.
When Teh is not seen, benevolence appears.
When benevolence is not seen, justice appears.
When justice is not seen, order and expediency appear.
But expediency is the mere shadow of right and truth; it is the beginning of disorder.
False knowledge is the perverted semblance of Tao: it is the source of all delusion.
That is why the Enlightened One abides in stability and dwells not in passing shadows.
The Enlightened One holds on to the real and ignores superficialities.
"The Serene Nature."
The highest excellence is like water, it benefits those in the most inaccessible places without striving. It occupies the lowest level, which people avoid. Therefore, it is analogous to Tao.
It has the virtue of gravity, that finds its own place.
It has the virtue of the heart, that knows the silent deeps.
It has the virtue of the kind,that bestows the fullest gifts.
It has the virtue of the words that speak the greatest truths.
It has the virtue of the service that uses the highest skill.
It has the virtue of the rhythm that is unfailing in its timeliness.
"The Dignity of Teh."
Heaviness is the foundation of lightness.
Stillness is the master of motion.
Therefore, the wise person, in their daily life, does not depart from inner repose.
Though they enter a glorious palace, they remain serene and unattached.
Though they are the commander of a myriad forces, they behave naturally before the nation.Lack of composure loses credibility.
"The Falling Away."
It is only when Supreme Tao is not contemplated that people meditate on benevolence and justice.
It is only when thoughts of prudence and shrewdness appear that people fall into deception.
It is only when the bonds of kinship are loosened that people turn to filial piety and paternal affection.
It is only when the nation degenerates that loyalty and allegiance need cultivation.
"Pristine Innocence."
In the first age people did not know that there was government.
In the next age people loved and praised government.
In the third age people were afraid of government.
In the next age, government was despised.
It is said: "If you lack trust, you will inspire no confidence.
How cautious the Enlightened One is; how sparing in words! For with the task accomplished, and the affairs of people in order, the Enlightened One hears the people say: "We have become autonomous!"
"Reverting to Innocence."
Cast off self-righteousness, rid yourself of cleverness, and all people will benefit a hundredfold.
Cease to assume benevolence;
Cease your claims to justice;
And all people will revert on their own to paternal love and filial devotion.
Renounce all scheming, abandon all gains, and stealing and theft will cease to appear.
The meaning of these three principles is that outward show is for nothing; seek early innocence;
Hold fast to that which endures;
Show ourselves simple, preserve the inner light;
Restrain ambition and curb selfish desires.
"Trust in Teh."
The heart of the Enlightened One is not their own; they attract the hearts of people by expanding theirs.
To the person who is kind, they give kindness.
To the person without kindness, they are kind.
This is the kindness of Teh.
To the person who is trustworthy, they give trust.
To the person without trust, they give trust.
This is the faith of Teh.
The Enlightened One dwells in the world with patience, adjusting their heart to the hearts of people.
The ears and the eyes of all are towards them; the Enlightened One sees them all as children in their care.
