He who so acts fails.
He who so exerts control loses it.
For, of all creatures:
some lead, some follow;
some sigh, some complain;
some are strong, some are weak;
some suffer setbacks, some are already fallen.
Thus a wise ruler avoids extremes, extravagance, and excesses.
30
He who assists a ruler through Tao,
Disavows dominating the world by military force.
The effects of using force are immediate:
Wherever the army is stationed, briars and thorns will grow.
(After a big war, years of famine will surely follow.)
The best leader cares only about an accommodation, and
Dares not to gain dominance by force.
An accommodation reached without conceit, brag, or arrogance; but on account of no better alternative and
reluctance of using force.
Everything decays after its prime,
This (using force) would be counter to Tao.
Whoever acts counter to Tao leads to his early demise.
31
Weapons are tools of bad omen, everyone dislikes them,
Thus the follower of Tao keeps away from them.
A statesman normally honours his left;
But in war, he honours his right.
Weapons are tools of bad omen, and of no use to a statesman.
If forced to use them, it is best for him to be calm and restrained.
Glorify not the victory of war.
One who does, must be happy to kill!
He who is happy to kill must not succeed in the world.
Auspicious occasions honour the left,
Evil occasions honour the right.
When the deputy general stays on the left,
While the full general stays on the right,
Declare that a funeral ceremony is taking place.
Since so many people are slaughtered,
Let us weep with deep sorrow and grief, and
Treat a victory celebration as a funeral ceremony.
32
Tao is eternal and nameless.
Even though its singular building block is tiny,
None in the world can master over it.
If kings and barons keep faith in it,
All things spontaneously follow order.
When Heaven and Earth joined to make sweet dew,
It is evenly spread without the people抯 command.
Initiating regulations produces names.
Since names already proliferate, one must also know when to stop.
Knowing when to stop can avoid over regulation.
Tao to the world is like streams in valleys to the rivers and sea.
33
He who understands others is intelligent;
He who knows himself is wise.
He who wins over others is persuasive;
He who conquers himself is strong.
He who feels contented is rich;
He who acts forcefully is determined.
He who does not lose his center endures;
He who dies but is not forgotten enjoys long life.
34
How the great Tao flows everywhere!
All things depend on it for life and it never turns away from them;
It completes the work successfully without seeking recognition;
It protects and nurtures all things without becoming their master.
Always devoid of desire may be an insignificant accomplishment;
All things follow it without becoming their master has to be a great accomplishment.
Just because it has no desire to be great,
It can achieve greatness.
35
Whoever has a firm hold on the big form,
The entire world will follow him.
They will experience no harm,
But security, peace and comfort.
Having food and music,
Even passers-by stop.
Talking about Tao is tasteless and plain.
And it is:
Invisible by looking;
Inaudible by listening and
Inexhaustible by using.
36
In order to contract it, first allow it to expand.
In order to weaken it, first allow it to strengthen;
In order to eliminate it, first allow it to grow;
In order to take away from it, first allow it to receive.
These are called common sense which includes:
The soft and weak overcome the hard and strong;
A fish should not leave deep water;
State抯 sharp weapons should not be shown to others.
37
Tao forever takes no action but nothing is left undone.
If barons and kings were able to keep faith in it,
All things will transform spontaneously on their own.
Should selfish desires arise anew,
I shall counter them with natural goodness yet unnamed.
What the unnamed natural goodness brings,
Is but the riddance of selfish desires.
Riddance of selfish desires will bring forth tranquility,
Then peace would naturally prevail in the world.
38
The people of high virtue show no appearance of virtue, they are thus virtuous;
The people of low virtue lose no appearance of virtue, they are thus not virtuous.
The people of high virtue take no action, but with no ulterior motive;
The people of low virtue take actions and with ulterior motive.
The people of high humanity take actions, but with no ulterior motive.
The people of high justice take actions and with ulterior motives.
The people of high propriety take actions, upon receiving no response, they extend their arms to fight.
Therefore:
When Tao is lost, one is left with virtue;
When virtue is lost, one is left with humanity;
When humanity is lost, one is left with justice;
When justice is lost, one is left with propriety.
But propriety requires only superficial loyalty and trust, and is the cause for discords and violence.
These so-called prophecies represent the superficial Tao, and is the beginning of ignorance.
Therefore a person of substance:
Prefers depth to shallowness, and
Chooses substance over appearance.
And he takes this and discards the other.
39
Whichever has been endowed with the One:
Heaven becomes clear;
Earth becomes calm;
Spiritual beings become divine;
Valleys become full;
All things are striving;
Barons and kings are leaders of the world.
All these are due to the One. Otherwise:
Heaven would not be clear, and may disintegrate;
Earth would not be calm, and may quake;
Spiritual beings would not be divine, and may disappear;
Valleys would not be full, and may dry up;
All things would not be thriving, and may perish;
Barons and kings would not be noble and high, and may topple.
Therefore:
Humility is the basis for nobleness; and
Lowness the foundation for highness.
That is why barons and kings call themselves orphans, widowers and destitute beings.
Does it not prove humility being the basis for nobleness? Is it not?
Thus:
Strive for too many honours ends up with no honour.
Do not wish to be a shining jade, just be an ordinary rock.
40
Tao moves in cycles.
Tao uses the soft and weak to reveal the truth.
All things in the world are born from being, and
Being (the named) is born from non-being (the unnamed).
41
When Tao is heard by a man of high intellect,
He practices it with diligence.
When Tao is heard by a man of average intellect,
He follows it half-heartedly.
When Tao is heard by a man of no intellect,
He will have a hearty laugh at it.
And it would not be Tao without being laughed at.
Thus there is the accepted saying:
The bright way appears dark; the progressive way, regressive; and the smooth way, uneven.
The high virtue appears hollow; the purest white, tinted; the far-reaching virtue, inadequate; the firm virtue,
lax; and the real quality, wanting.
The greatest square appears cornerless; the great talent, the last to be recognized; the great music, devoid of
appealing sound; and the great image, formless.
Tao is hidden and nameless,
Yet only Tao is capable of helping all to succeed in life.
42
Tao created the One;
The One produced the Two;
The two produced the Three;
And the Three produced all things.
All things carry the Yin (female) and embrace the Yang (male),
Harmony is achieved through interaction of these prime energies.
People hate to be orphans, widowers, or being destitute,
Yet kings and barons call themselves by these terms.
Thus:
One my gain by losing first, and
One my lose by gaining first.
What people teach I can also teach.
揂 violent person would not die a natural death,?br> Shall be my first lesson.
43
The softest thing in the world is galloping inside of the hardest;
The invisible substance is entering media having no space.
I therefore learn the benefits of taking no action.
Lessons without words and the value of taking no action,
There are few rivals in the world.
44
Fame or life, which is more precious?
Life or wealth, which is more important?
Gain or loss, which is more harmful?
An obsession for possession is doomed to be costly;
An excessive hoarding for profits is sure to incur heavy losses.
He who is contented loses no honour;
He who knows when to stop encounters no danger;
He can thus long endure.
45
A perfect tool appears defective, but, it shows no impairment in operation.
A great abundance appears empty, but, it is inexhaustible in consumption.
A truly straight edge appears crooked,
A great cleverness appears clumsy,
A great orator appears tight tongued.
Vigorous exercise overcomes cold;
Calm quietude overcomes heat.
Clear heads and calm minds can right the world.
46
When Tao prevails in the world,
Horses walk in the field to fertilize.
When Tao is missing in the world,
Military horses give births in the suburbs.
No guilt is greater than insatiable desires;
No misfortune is greater than mindless discontent;
No sin is greater than uncontrollable greed.
Therefore,
He who knows the contentment of being contented,
Will always be contented.
47
Without stepping out of the door,
He knows what the world is like.
Without looking out of the window,
He understands the way of Heaven.
The farther he travels,
The less he learns.
So the Sage:
Knows without traveling;
Understands situations without seeing, and
Succeeds without taking action.
48
Pursuing learning, one needs to learn more every day.
Practicing Tao, one needs to do less every day.
Less and even less, one reaches a state of taking no action.
Taking no action but nothing is left undone.
Taking over an empire must always be a nonevent.
If eventful, it is unworthy of taking over the empire.
49
A wise ruler has no preconceived ideas,
He adopts the people抯 ideas as his own.
I treat good people with goodness,
I treat bad people also with goodness.
This is the virtue of goodness.
I deal with honest people with honesty,
I deal with dishonest people also with honesty.
This is the virtue of honesty.
For the benefit of the world, the wise ruler harmonizes all ideas.
(The people pay attention to him through ears and eyes,)
And he treats them all like his children.
50
From birth to death,
Three out of ten follow the path of life;
Three out of ten follow the path of death; also
Three out of ten who follow the path of life may move into path of death.
Why is that? Because they over strive in their lives.
I heard that he who excels in self-preservation:
Meets no tiger or rhinoceros while walking on land;
Escapes harm while fighting in wars.
And he encounters:
No rhinoceros butting its horn against him;
No tiger exerting its claws against him;
No soldier thrusting his knife against him.
Why is this so?
Because he is not on the path of death.
51
Tao creates all things,
Virtue nurtures them.
Matter gives them forms, and
Environment allows them to succeed.
Thus all things honour Tao and value Virtue.
Tao being honoured and Virtue being valued,
They always occurred naturally without being dictated by anyone.
Thus:
Tao creates all thing.
Virtue nurtures them:
They grow and develop;
Bear fruits and mature; and
Are cared for and protected.
To create, but not to possess;
To care for, but not to control;
To lead, but not to subjugate.
This is called the profound virtue.
52
The world had its beginning,
Which is known as the mother of the world.
Once the mother is known, her sons may be understood.
Once the sons are understood, still keep to the mother.
Then you will avoid mistakes all your life.
Close your apertures, t your doors,
You will live a life without toil;
Open your apertures, meddle in distractions,
You will live a life beyond salvation.
Capable of seeing details is called clear vision;
Capable of yielding is called strength.
Using the innate light, recover your clear vision.
Then you will not be exposed to hidden danger.
This is called following the nature.
53
Grant me the subtle wisdom, that
I will follow the broad way and be fearful of straying away.
The broad way is flat, yet people still indulge in shortcuts.
The palace is quite splendid, but
The fields are quite desolate, and
The granaries quite empty.
(The rulers are)
Wearing beautiful clothes,
Carrying sharp swords,
Bored of feasts, and
Accumulating excessive wealth and treasures.
These are chieftains of robbers, and
No behaving according to Tao!
54
A person who excels in building does not uproot;
A person who excels in embracing does not deviate;
And their descendants do not interrupt ancestral worship.\
Cultivate it in an individual, his virtue is genuine;
Cultivate it in a family, its virtue overflows;
Cultivate it in a community, its virtues multiply;
Cultivate it in a state, its virtue is abundant;
Cultivate it in the world, its virtue is universal.
Therefore, evaluate the virtue of:
An individual on the basis of the individual;
A family on the basis of the family;
A community o the basis of the community;
A state on the basis of the state;
