Pushing ahead may succeed,
but staying put brings endurance.
Die without perishing, and find the eternal.
34
The Tao is like an overflowing river.
It rises to the left and to the right.
The ten thousand things arise from it, but do not depart from it.
The Tao acts, but cannot be defined.
It clothes and nourishes all beings, but does not rule over them.
It endures without desire and without seeming "big."
The ten thousand things find their home in it, and yet it does not exercise lordship over them.
The Tao is very great, but it does not show its greatness.
Therefore, it is truly great.
35
Kapitel nicht vorhanden / chapter not available
36
To shrink, you must first expand.
To weaken, you must first strengthen.
To knock down, you must first raise up.
To receive, you must first give.
This is the way things are.
Soft overcomes hard. Slow overcomes fast.
Fish cannot live out of the water.
A nation's best weapons should not be displayed.
37
The Tao never acts, yet through it everything gets done.
If rulers could reside in the Tao,
everything would fall into place all by itself.
Action is restrained by the Tao.
Action restrained, no desire.
No desire: tranquillity.
All things at peace.
38
The Tao朚aster does not cling to power
and is therefore truly powerful.
The lesser man clings to power and thus has none.
The truly powerful man does nothing [i.e., he practices non朼do (wu杦ei)]
and thus leaves nothing undone.
The lesser man is awhirl with activity
and thus gets nothing accomplished.
The virtuous man does what is good as an end in itself.
The moral man has a need to do what is good.
The man of propriety (li) makes doing good into a ritual,
and if people do not follow him willingly,
he forces them into line.
Thus, when the Tao is lost, virtue arises.
When virtue is lost, morality arises.
When morality is lost, justice arises.
When justice is lost, propriety arises.
Propriety is merely a shadow of justice, morality, and virtue;
it is the beginning of chaos . . . .
Therefore, the Tao朚aster stays with the Tao.
He does not live on the surface of things.
He looks to the fruit, not to the flower.
He accepts this [Tao] and rejects that [non朤ao].
39
In archaic times, by attaining the One,
Heaven became clear;
Earth became stable;
spirit became transcendent;
valleys became full;
the ten thousand things became alive;
rulers made the country ordered and secure.
This implies that
If Heaven lacked clarity, it would be divided;
If the Earth lacked stability, it would be shaky;
If spirit lacked transcendence, it would be used up;
If valleys lacked fullness, they would be depleted;
If the ten thousand things lacked life, they would fade away;
and if rulers lacked nobility, they would fall,
and the country would be collapse into chaos.
Therefore, the humble is be root of the noble;
the lowly is the foundation of the high;
rulers call themselves "orphans," "widows," and "worthless."
This is taking the humble and the lowly as the root and foundation,
is it not?
You can have all the parts of a chariot without having a chariot.
Better to rumble like rocks than to tinkle like jade.
40
Reversal is the motion of the Tao.
Yielding is the way of the Tao.
All things emerge from being.
Being emerges from non朾eing.
41
When a thoughtful man hears of the Tao, he tries to follow it.
When an average man hears of the Tao,
he wonders about it, but then tends to forget it.
When a fool hears of the Tao, he makes fun of it.
If someone didn't make fun of it, it wouldn't be the Tao.
Therefore, when seeking the Tao,
light seems dark,
advancing feels like retreating,
the simple appears difficult,
power is like weakness,
purity seems tarnished,
true virtue seems deficient and unsteady,
and the clear seems obscure.
The true square has no corners.
The true vessel never sails.
The true sound is hard to hear.
The true form has no shape.
The Tao is hidden, beyond definition; but it alone fulfills.
42
Out of Tao, One.
Out of One, Two.
Out of Two, Three.
Out of Three, all things.
All things carry Yin and face Yang.
Out of the union of Yin and Yang, harmony.
No one wants to be "orphaned," " widowed," or "unworthy."
But kings and princes use these words as titles for themselves.
You win by losing. You lose by winning.
It has been said, and I agree, "A violent man dies violently."
43
The softest thing overcomes the hardest thing.
That which has no substance can enter where there is no space.
This shows the value of non朼do.
Teaching without words; doing without ado: hard to accomplish.
44
Fame or self: which matters more?
Self or possessions: which is more valuable?
Loss or gain: which is worse?
Attachment to things brings suffering.
Much hoarded, much to be lost.
Know when enough is enough. Avoid disgrace.
Know when to stop. Avoid danger.
This is how to endure.
45
The perfect seems flawed, but its usefulness is unlimited.
Full seems empty, but it is inexhaustible.
Straight seems bent.
Intelligent seems stupid.
Eloquent seems tongue杢ied.
Motion defeats the cold.
Stillness defeats the heat.
The Tao朚aster remains calm as a guide for all things.
46
When the kingdom is in harmony with the Tao,
the horses haul manure.
When the kingdom departs from the Tao,
war杊orses are bred in the land.
There is no greater curse than wanting more than enough.
There is no greater sin than greed.
He who knows when enough is enough always has enough.
47
You can know the whole world without going out the door,
You can know the Way of Heaven without looking out the window.
The further afield you go, the less you know.
The Tao朚aster knows without going out;
understands without looking;
achieves without ado.
48
Pursue learning, gain daily.
Follow the Tao, lose daily.
By losing day朾y杁ay, you arrive at non朼do.
Nothing done, nothing left undone.
Master the world by letting things be,
by letting them take their own course.
The world can't be conquered.
49
The Tao朚aster does not have his heart set on anything in particular.
He wants to understand the hearts of the people.
He is good to people who are good.
He is also good to people who aren't good.
This is true goodness.
He trusts people who are trustworthy.
He also trusts people who aren't trustworthy.
This is true trust.
The Tao朚aster radiates peace and harmony.
Through him, the hearts of the people are made one.
Are the people his children, or is he their child?
50
Come into life, go into death.
Three out of ten have a lust for life.
Three out of ten have a lust for death.
Three out of ten just pass from birth to death
without appreciating either life or death.
Why is this?
Because none of them appreciates both life and death.
But there are those [one out of ten?]
who appreciate both life and death.
When they travel the country, they are not attacked by rhinos and tigers.
When they go into battle, they are not wounded.
The rhino finds nothing to gore.
The tiger finds nothing to claw.
Weapons find nothing to pierce.
Why? Because such people have gone beyond death.
51
Tao gives birth to the ten thousand things. Te nurtures them.
They are formed from matter and completed by environment.
Therefore, the ten thousand things honor Tao and respect Te,
not in response to commandments, but just naturally.
Tao gives birth to the ten thousand things,
and Te nurtures, rears, develops, shelters, and protects them.
But Tao and Te do not try to own or rule the ten thousand things,
nor do they seek to make them dependent.
This is true power.
52
The world's Source, the Mother of all things.
Knowing the Mother, we know her children.
Knowing the children, but holding on to the Mother,
we are free from the fear of death.
Stop talking, withdraw from the rat杛ace, and life is full.
Blab on, lose yourself in busy杗ess, and life is lost.
Seeing the small requires good vision.
Yielding is strength.
Turn to the Inner Light, and find the eternal.
53
If I had any sense, I would walk on the main road [the Tao],
and I would fear leaving it.
Keeping to the main road [the Tao] is so easy,
and yet people love to stray from it as they seek shortcuts.
Look! The royal palace is magnificent,
but the fields are full of weeds, and the granaries are empty.
Some are beautifully dressed and bejeweled,
wearing flashy weapons on their belts,
eating and drinking until they burst.
These people梩hese state杝anctioned crooks?br> have far more than they need.
Surely, this isn't the Tao!
54
Kapitel nicht vorhanden / chapter not available
55
Kapitel nicht vorhanden / chapter not available
56
Those who know do not tell. Those who tell do not know.
Stop talking, withdraw from the rat杛ace, calm your spirit,
untangle yourself, soften your glare.
Be one with the dust of the earth.
This is primal union.
Achieving union with the Tao places one beyond
attraction and repulsion, benefit and harm, honor and disgrace.
This is the highest state of being.
57
In governing, employ no surprises.
In waging war, employ only surprises.
Win the world with non朼do.
How do I know this? Like this!
The more rules and regulations there are,
the poorer the people become.
The more experts there are, the more confusion there is.
The more skillful and clever technicians there are,
the more horrifying inventions are produced.
The more "law and order" there is, the higher the crime杛ate.
Therefore, the Tao朚aster says,
I do nothing, and the people govern themselves.
I practice keeping quiet, and the people find justice.
I seek emptiness, and the people prosper.
I have no desires, and the people return
to a natural and simple life.
58
When the government is restrained,
the people are happy and satisfied.
When the government meddles in everything,
the people are disgruntled and miserable.
Happiness eclipses misery.
Misery eclipses happiness.
Which will it be?
The straight becomes crooked.
Good becomes evil.
The people remain bewildered.
Thus, the Tao朚aster is sharp but not cutting, incisive but not biting,
straight but not controlling, bright but not glaring.
59
In governing the country and serving Heaven, show restraint.
Showing restraint is submission to the Tao.
Submission to the Tao will fill you with Te.
Being filled with Te, there will be no limit to your power,
and there will be nothing you cannot overcome.
When there is nothing you cannot overcome,
you will be a true ruler indeed.
You will be one with the country.
You will be the Mother of the country.
Being the Mother of the country,
you will have deep roots and a firm base.
Your reign will be long杔asting.
This is the Tao of long life and eternal vision.
60
Rule a large country as you would cook a small fish.
Follow the Tao, and evil will be subdued.
Evil will still be there, but it won't be able to do much harm.
The Tao朚aster does no harm.
If no harm is done, then the power of the Tao can flow on.
61
A great country is like a sea into which all streams flow,
the Female of the world.
The Female overcomes the Male with stillness.
The woman overcomes the man by lying underneath him.
Therefore, a great country dominates a small country by submitting to it;
and a small country can dominate a great country by submitting to it.
Yield and conquer.
A great country wants to unite and shelter people.
A small country wants to come in and be sheltered.
Each gets what it wants.
Thus, the great country should yield.
62
The Tao is the source of all things,
the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge.
You can buy beautiful words.
You can build your reputation with good deeds.
But even bad people can use beautiful words and perform good deeds.
So when the new emperor is crowned
(and the three ministers of state are installed),
do not send gifts of jade and four杊orse chariots.
Instead, be still, and offer the Tao.
The ancients treasured the Tao because, when you seek it, you find it;
through the Tao, even sinners receive forgiveness.
That is why everybody loves the Tao.
63
Act without ado; work without effort.
Taste the tasteless; treat the small as large and the few as many.
Reward evil with goodness.
Take on the difficult while it is still easy, the large while it is still small.
Difficult always begins as easy; large always begins as small.
Therefore, the Tao朚aster never tries to be great.
As a result, he accomplishes great things.
Big promises produce little trust.
Treating something as quite easy makes it very difficult.
The Tao朚aster regards everything as difficult,
which means that, for him, everything is easy.
64
That which is lying still is easy to pick up.
That which has not yet happened is easy to prevent.
That which is brittle is easily shattered.
That which is small is easily scattered.
Deal with things before they become problems.
Straighten things out before they become confused.
