In the world people always
make distinctions between good and bad
and become confused in judgment;
desire possessions
and become confused in wealth;
forget their oneness
and live in tension and conflict.
Refuse to make distinctions and refuse to pass
judgment
and war and defense succumb to peace and
harmony.
68
A warrior in harmony is not contemptuous of life.
A prize fighter in harmony is not angry.
A winner in harmony understands the
oneness of winning and losing.
An employer in harmony is at one with
his employees.
This is called non-distinction and indifference.
It is known as being at peace and in harmony
with others.
It is the manifestation of the ultimate peace
and harmony of Infinity.
69
There is a saying among generals,
It is better not to begin the battle
but to wait for the other side to begin.
It is better to retreat a foot
rather than advance an inch.
This is called advancing
while appearing to retreat,
preparing to fight
by concealing your power,
winning the battle
without engaging the enemy,
and brandishing non-existent weapons.
There is nothing worse than distinguishing others
as enemies.
By distinguishing others as enemies,
I lose sight of my oneness
and become confused in conflict and
war.
So when war seems imminent,
the victor refuses to embrace killing.
70
My words are easy to understand
and easy to put into practice,
but unfortunately few people understand
them or try to live by them.
My thoughts have always existed,
but since people are confused,
they do not embrace them.
Because people do not understand me,
they are confused in conflict and war
rather than living in peace and harmony.
Those that acknowledge their
oneness with Infinity are few.
Those that call me crazy
are applauded by others that are
confused.
Therefore, the sage is modest in her apparel,
but carries the priceless jewel
of peace and harmony in
her heart.
71
Acknowledging oneness manifests peace.
Acknowledging distinctions manifests confusion.
If one is in harmony with disharmony,
then one is at peace.
The sage is at peace because she is
not confused with the distinctions of
harmony and disharmony.
The sage is at one with Infinity.
72
When people are not in awe of the Infinite,
they are overwhelmed by confusion.
Do not violate another's space.
Do not interfere with another's livelihood.
If you do not violate their space
or interfere with their livelihood,
they will not separate
themselves
from you.
The sage acknowledges herself but
does not distinguish herself
from others.
She lives her reality
but does not try to foist it on others.
She makes her choices
but is indifferent and unattached
and therefore lives in peace and
harmony.
73
A distinguishing man in his righteousness
is prepared to kill or be killed in
the name of righteousness.
A non-distinguishing woman is indifferent
and refuses to even consider killing.
Both types of people occupy the world forever.
They are one
and undistinguished by Infinity.
Infinity does not contend
but through oneness overcomes all things.
It does not speak but is the
answer to all questions.
It does not summons
but all things are attracted to it.
It makes no plans and has no goals
but all things are manifested by it.
The net of Infinity is all encompassing.
The mesh is large
yet nothing slips through.
74
When people are at one with Infinity,
they have no fear of death
and so they are indifferent to threats.
When people are confused
with the distinction of life and death,
they fear death.
If death is the penalty for breaking the law,
the vast majority will be law abiding.
There are always official executioners
and they are at one with killing.
If you try to take their place,
it is the same as trying to cut wood
in place of the master carpenter.
If you try to take the master carpenter's place,
you will only succeed in cutting
your hands.
75
When the people of a nation are starving
and without the basic necessities,
it is because taxes are excessive.
When the people of a nation are rebellious,
it is because the laws are out of
harmony with the population.
When the leaders of a nation are oppressive
in their confusion,
the people remember their oneness
and become indifferent to death.
Those who remember the oneness of Infinity
are indifferent to life and death
and consequently live in peace
and harmony.
76
The human body is born soft and supple;
after death it is hard and stiff.
Plants and trees are pliant and limber
when they sprout,
after death they are inflexible and
rigid.
Therefore, hard and inflexible
are characteristics of death.
Pliant and flexible
are characteristics of life.
Thus, an army that is inflexible will be conquered
and a tree that does not yield to
the wind will snap.
The hard and inflexible will succumb.
The pliant and flexible will endure.
77
The harmony of Infinity functions like
a bow and its string.
The upper part bends down,
the lower part raises up.
If the string is too long, it is made shorter;
too short and it is lengthened.
The nature of Infinity is balance,
excess gravitates to what is lacking.
The tendency of people is toward confusion
because those who have much
take from those who have little.
Those who are at one with Infinity and
live in peace and harmony
are not confused.
They do not accumulate what
they do not need
and are like a reservoir to those
who
are impoverished.
The sage lives in harmony
giving without expecting,
completing her tasks with indifference,
and maintaining a oneness with all things.
78
Nothing in the world is more submissive and
yielding
than water.
Yet nothing can equal it in cutting the inflexible
and eroding the hard.
The weak can subdue the strong
and the flexible outlasts the rigid.
This is common knowledge,
yet only a very few can practice it.
Therefore, the sages say;
She who is at one with the
disgrace of a nation
is worthy to be queen.
He who is at one with the
misfortunes of nations
is worthy to be king of kings.
The truth frequently seems paradoxical.
79
Conflict almost always leaves some resentment
regardless of the nature of a peaceful
resolution.
How does one achieve peace and harmony?
The sage fulfills her commitments
but does not demand others to fulfill theirs.
Those who are confused
demand others to fulfill their commitments
but are unconcerned with fulfilling
their own.
Infinity is indifferent.
It is at one with all people.
80
A peaceful nation has few people and
flows in harmony and oneness.
They have weapons of war but they have no
inclination to use them.
They are indifferent to death and indifferent
to living elsewhere.
They have boats and carriages
but seldom use them.
They have weapons of war but
no one displays them.
They live a simple life:
their food is nourishing,
their clothes are adequate,
their dwellings are secure.
They are at peace and in harmony
with all things.
Even though they live within sight
of a neighboring nation
and hear the sounds of dogs and
children,
they grow old and perish
without ever desiring to go there.
81
Truthful words are seldom passionate.
Passionate words are seldom truthful.
Peaceful men do not quarrel.
Those who quarrel are confused.
He who is at one with all things
knows Infinity.
He who has knowledge
is always confused.
The sage is never confused by accumulating.
The more he does for others,
the more he flows in harmony.
The more he gives to others,
the more he experiences peace.
Infinity manifests, nourishes and disintegrates
forever.
The sage flows in the peace and harmony
of oneness with all things.
English_Wrigley_TTK
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
English interpretation by
Ted Wrigley
Thanks to Ted! Visit his site for his comments on his version
or send him an e-mail: twrigley@ea.oac.uci.edu
1
A path is just a path, a name is just a name
What is, is, without sense or differentiation
And only divides itself into things when we give names
Forget the names of things and you sense fit and flow
Use their names and you see uniqueness, significance
Each perspective is as true as the other
How can something be both fragmentary and complete?
There's a mystery here calling for a deeper perception
A perception from which all spirituality springs
2
Recognize beauty in the world and other things become ugly
Recognize goodness and other things become evil
Is and isn't create each other
Difficult and easy complete each other
Long and short form each other
High and low fill each other
Tone and word define each other
Front and back follow each other
All this is inescapable
Therefore the taoist acts without a plan, teaches without a text
She creates, but doesn't define
Nurtures, but doesn't lay claim
Accomplishes, but walks away
Because he walks away, what he does, lasts
3
Give rewards, and someone will fight for them
Prize rarities, and someone will try to steal them
Offer all that anyone could desire, and someone will be confused andangry
When one must lead, one must lead people back to themselves
Fill their needs but drain their compulsions
Harden their bones but soften their opinions
Where they feel the need to chase after fashion or stand for some cause
Be quiet and listen, so they will speak cautiously and hesitant toact
So long as they are cautious, all things will fall into place
4
The way is emptiness,
Yet practice it and it seems inexhaustible
Fathomless and still,
Yet all life seems to spring from it
It blunts sharp edges
Unravels knots
Softens glare
Settles the dust
It moves beneath all things, seen only in its effects
Where it came from no one can say
It was always there, the potential in nothingness
5
Nature is not well mannered
It watches creatures be born and die without comment
Nor is the taoist well mannered
People are born and they die, and that's as it should be
Life is like a fan
So long as it moves the breeze continues
But stop the one so you can master the other, and what's left to master?
Don't try to answer, you'll only frustrate yourself
Who can define life or death Knowing they are is enough.
6
Nature is perpetually fertile, like a river valley
This is the feminine principle, ever capable of producing
It expresses itself in the world in uncountable ways
It is the root of all life
Subtle, so subtle, who can see it come and go?
Yet it always renews itself.
7
Heaven and earth endure forever
They last, because they do not live for themselves
But to nurture the creatures of the world
Following this, the taoist effaces herself but finds that she is heard
Cares only for others but finds his own needs met
How else can you be nurtured by the tao
Except to give yourself up to it?
8
True goodness is like water
It gives itself to all without argument
It lives in the lowest places that most scorn
And therefore it is close to the tao
So...
Live modestly
Reason deeply
Give wholeheartedly
Speak sincerely
Govern modestly
Work skillfully
Move in rhythm with the flow of life
Be in these ways like water, and you can never go wrong
9
Fill a bowl to the rim;?will it spill?
Force something to fit;?will it break?
Amass great wealth;?will you be robbed?
Achieve fame and status;?will you be laughed at?
Better to avoid the questions:
Accomplish your ends, then walk away
Such is the road of peace
10
Feed your emotions, but balance them
Breathe fully and effortlessly, like a child
See who you are, without distortion
Love your nation and your people, without prejudgment
Live the feminine principle, so the tao possesses you
See the world as it is, without interpretation
Be a womb to things, and a breast
Give them life, but let them be
Nurture them without demands
This is virtue
11
We fire clay to make a cup,
But we use the empty space in the center
We build walls to make a room,
But we use the empty space they surround
We form a wheel to spin,
But we need the axle hole to use it
The point:
Having something is good only to the extent
That it makes nothingness usable
12
Brilliance and splendors blind the eye
Competition and the hunt for fulfillment madden the mind
Grasping wealth leaves the hand useless for all else
Louder, faster, brighter: these things drown the senses
The tao is subtle, quiet, soft
A thread easily lost in the tumult
Therefore a wise leader feeds the belly and not the senses
Brings the people back rather than driving them on
13
Status is a cold, damp wind to the spirit
