"The Cultivation of Insight."
Those who are planted in kindness shall not be uprooted.
That which is preserved in kindness shall not be taken away.
Their children of all generations shall be blessed forever.
Cultivate the Tao of your being, and your Teh shall become real.
Cultivate the Tao of your brethren, and your Teh shall overflow.
Cultivate the Tao of your abode, and your Teh shall ever endure.
Cultivate the Tao of your nation, and your Teh shall be all-prolific.
Cultivate the Tao of the world, and your Teh shall become universal.
Therefore, by one's person there is insight of real being: by one's brethren there is insight of real brotherhood; by one's abode there is insight of the real home; by one's country there is insight of the real nation; and by the world there is insight of the Universe.
How do I know that the Universe is real?
Because it is self-evident!
"The Discriminating Teh."
One who knows others is discerning.
One who knows their own self is enlightened.
One who conquers others has strength.
One who conquers their own self are potent.
One who knows contentment is rich.
One who knows persistency has a real object.
One who does not depart from their inner essence shall always endure; though the body dies, they do not perish, but enter Immortality.
"The Revealing of Teh."
The wise people of old approached the Mysteries with profound spiritual penetration.
How deep the fathomless!
How inscrutable and beyond understanding!
With no ordinary words can I describe them
They were cautious, as if fording a stream in the winter.
They were reluctant, as if fearing to give offense.
They were deferential, as if dealing with strangers.
They were self-effacing, like snow beneath the sun.
They were unpretentious, like unpolished wood.
They were lowly, like an expansive valley.
They were opaque, like water mixed with soil.
It is only by leaving the soil to settle, that the water becomes clear of itself.
It is only from unimpeded activity, that the condition of rest can ensue.
Those who follow the way of Tao, have no need to be replenished.
And because they are ever renewed, they can never be exhausted.
"Sameness and Difference."
When the person of higher wisdom hears Tao, diligently he follows it.
When the person of lower wisdom hears Tao, he both follows and departs from it.
When the person bereft of wisdom hears Tao, he but treats it with derision.
If it were not thus, It would be unworthy of the name of Tao.
Those who are enlightened by Tao seem wrapped in outer darkness.
Those who are advanced in Tao, seem backward.
Those who walk through Tao, seem to be on a rugged broken path.
The highest virtue appears the lowliest.
The whitest purity does not please the eyes.
The fullest Teh seems incomplete.
The deepest virtue seems unstable.
The surest truth seems uncertain.
The greatest square seems without corners.
The largest vessel seems unfinished.
The loudest sound seems inaudible.
The grandest form seems void of shape.
For in Tao alone can things begin: by Tao alone can they reach their destined end.
"Contrary to the Worldly."
Renounce vain learning; it withdraws from the Inner Life.
How slight is the difference between the yes and the no.
But how great is the distinction of the good and the bad.
What all people fear, is indeed to be feared.
How great is their desolation!
Alas! That the barrenness of the age has not yet reached its limit.
Yet the multitude of people seem happy; so happy, as though partaking of great feasts, as though mounted on a tower in the springtime.
I alone am still, and give as yet no sign of joy; like a new born babe that cannot smile at its mother.
I alone am forsaken, as one who has nowhere to lay their head.
Other people have enough and to spare, I alone seem as one who has lost all that he had.
How foolish and empty am I: so dull and so foolish.
Other people appear full of light. I alone seem wrapped in darkness.
Other people are all alert, I alone seem listless.
I am as homeless as the vast ocean, rolling on and never resting.
Other people all have their gifts, I alone seem without power and devoid of any merit.
Yet lonely though I am and unlike other people,
still I revere and seek the Mother-Deep, the All-sustaining Tao.
English_WorldPeace_TTK
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
English interpretation by
John WorldPeace, 1997
1
The infinity that can be conceived is not the
everlasting Infinity.
The infinity that can be described is not the
perpetual Infinity.
The inconceivable indescribable is the essence
of the all encompassing Infinite.
Conceiving and describing applies only to the
manifestations of Infinity.
Free from distinctions, experience the oneness of
Infinity.
Focus on distinctions and see only the
manifestations
of Infinity.
Yet distinction and non-distinction are one within
Infinity.
Potential within potential is
the essence of Infinity.
2
Only when one distinguishes beauty
does one create the unattractive.
Only when one distinguishes good
does one create evil.
Also by distinction,
Tangible and intangible create each other,
Difficult and easy define each other,
Long and short measure each other,
High and low determine each other,
Sound and silence echo each other,
Beginning and end follow each other.
Therefore, the sage goes about living in the
oneness of
all things,
teaching without speaking,
accepting and dismissing all things with
indifference,
creating without attachment,
working without credit.
Acts and deeds are completed and forgotten.
Because the sage is at one with Infinity,
she is immortal.
3
Exalting people creates the desire in others
to be exalted and therefore creates tension.
Overvaluing goods creates the desire for
ownership
and therefore creates the temptation to
steal.
When people do not distinguish things as valuable,
they remain focused on the oneness of all
things
and do not become confused in the material
world.
Therefore, harmonious leaders empty the people's
minds
but nourish their bodies.
They undermine desires
and improve endurance.
They keep the people focused on their oneness with
Infinity
and free them from attachments to material
things.
They redirect the energies of those
who would manipulate others.
If you remember your oneness with Infinity,
and flow with life by refusing to distinguish
good and bad,
you will flow in the peace and harmony
that is the essence of Infinity.
4
Infinity is an empty vessel enveloping all
manifestations,
yet it can never be filled.
It is the potential of all things tangible and
intangible.
It blunts the sharp and hones the blunt,
unravels knots and binds all things,
dulls the glare and shines the mundane,
manifests the dust and clears the air.
It is the essence of all things.
No one can comprehend its origin.
It is older than the concept of God.
5
Heaven and earth are indifferent.
All creatures are considered straw dogs;
not distinguished, not judged.
The sage is indifferent.
All people are one;
not distinguished, not judged.
Infinity is like a bellows,
empty yet encompassing the potential
of all things.
In time all potentials manifest.
Words are straw in the wind.
The more one talks, the less one says.
Keep focused on Infinity.
Remain centered in the oneness of
all things.
6
The manifestations of Infinity never cease
manifesting.
Infinity is the primal creator, the oneness of male
and female.
Infinity is the gate though which heaven
and earth manifested.
It is invisible to the senses,
yet totally permeates all things.
It is inexhaustible and eternally available
for any purpose.
7
Heaven and earth will pass away
but Infinity endures forever.
It had no beginning and so It can never end.
It is the inexhaustible essence of all things.
Because the sage remains behind
in her oneness with all things,
she anticipates all manifestations.
Being at one with Infinity,
she is indifferent.
Because she does not distinguish herself from
other beings,
she is completely fulfilled.
8
Water is like Infinity,
it gives itself to all things
without distinction or judgment
and settles into the lowest places
without deliberation.
In dwelling, live in harmony with the land.
In meditation, remember your oneness with the
Infinite.
In dealing with others, do not judge.
In communicating, relate the truth.
In governing, be fair.
In daily life, be in harmony with all things
and at peace with all people.
In action, be mindful that there is a time
and a season for all things.
Avoid judging and its legacy contention
and flow in the peace and harmony
of the oneness of humanity.
9
Fill anything to the brim and the contents will spill
out.
Hone a sharpened blade and it will become blunt.
Accumulate great wealth, but be aware that you
cannot keep it.
When a task is complete, move on.
Change is the harmony of Infinity.
10
Manifesting body, mind and spirit,
can you stay centered in the oneness of
Infinity?
Fully manifesting and remaining flexible,
can you experience all manifestations
as a newborn baby?
Can you maintain the Infinite vision of oneness
by ignoring distinctions.
Remaining centered in oneness and leading others,
can you avoid manifesting arrogance?
Entering and exiting the gates of manifestations,
can you harmonize with Infinity?
Realizing your oneness with Infinity,
can you flow in harmony with It
by indifferently allowing things to come and
go?
Can you create and sustain things,
and yet remain unattached to them?
Can you work in harmony with all things,
without desiring acknowledgment for your
deeds?
Exemplifying oneness,
flowing in peace and harmony,
not distinguishing, not judging,
is the nature of Infinity.
11
Thirty spokes converge on the wheel's hub.
But the center hole which receives the axle
makes it useful.
Clay is shaped into a pot.
But the inner space which receives whatever
one puts into it makes it useful.
Wood is cut and joined to build a house.
But the windows and doors which allow
things to enter and leave make it
useful.
The potential utility resides in the tangible.
But true usefulness is a manifestation of
the intangible.
12
The oneness of the five colors blind the eyes.
The oneness of the five tones deafens the ears.
The oneness of the five flavors dull the tongue.
Racing ahead of change
and pursuing the illusion of reality
promotes confusion.
Therefore, the sage is in harmony with what she is
and does not distinguish what she sees.
She chooses oneness and distinguishes nothing.
13
Accept disgrace indifferently.
Acknowledge misfortune as one of the human
conditions.
What does it mean to "accept disgrace
indifferently"?
Honor and disgrace are one in the Infinite.
Only by making distinctions does one
manifest disgrace.
Refusing to make distinctions
merges honor and disgrace into the
oneness of circumstances
which creates harmony.
What is meant by "acknowledging misfortune
as one of the human conditions"?
The body is a manifestation of Infinity
and the body is subject to being
affected by the other manifestations
of Infinity.
Misfortune is one of those other
manifestations.
However, as with disgrace,
refusing to distinguish misfortune and
fortune
creates indifference which keeps one
focused
on the oneness of Infinity
and creates peace in the self.
Stay centered in
your oneness with Infinity
and you can be entrusted with leadership.
See the world as yourself
and you will care for all things.
14
Look and see the manifestations of the Infinite
but not its essence.
Listen and hear the manifestations of the Infinite
but not its essence.
Reach out and touch the manifestations of the
Infinite
but not its essence.
These three are one in their inability to relate
the essence of Infinity.
Above it is not light.
Below it is not dark.
It is neither light nor dark.
Infinity is the potential manifestation of all
things
and the essence into which all
manifestations
disintegrate.
Yet it is inconceivable and indescribable;
intangible but the essence of all
manifestations.
You cannot confront what has no head
and you cannot follow what has no tail.
Remember your oneness,
flow in the peace and harmony of Infinity,
live in the now, changing and flowing with
change.
There was no beginning.
This is the mystery of Infinity.
15
Those who live in oneness manifest the Infinite
in simple ways.
Their awareness is the awareness of Infinity.
Their knowing cannot be described but only
experienced.
All that can be described is their acts and their
appearance and the perception of them.
They are;
alert when crossing unfamiliar space,
cautious in hostile lands,
humble as a guest,
