The more sophisticated the people, the harder it is to control and rule them.
It follows also that a clever ruler can be a scourge to his nation.
Therefore it is a blessing to the nation and the people if the rulers and the people alike are simple,
unsophisticated, and full of the virtue of the Tao.
To know these two things is to have a rule and a model to guide oneself, and to guide the nation.
And to understand the rule and the model is to be practicing the mystical virtue.
This deep and profound mystical virtue is so far reaching;
it causes all things to return to the source of harmony.
66
The great rivers and streams all pour their tribute of the world onto the seas.
The seas gain this tribute and are called high and mighty because they lie low, humility gives the sea its power.
It is for this reason that the followers of Tao humble themselves before mankind.
They speak in tones of humility and lowborn status.
They do not attempt to lead, but learn to follow, and find themselves leading the people from behind.
In this way the wise sovereign will rule over the people, but they will not feel his weight.
He will lead the people, but they will not feel slighted or displeased.
The people will gladly uphold and support such a one as this.
The master does not strive, in this way no one can strive against him.
67
Many in the world acknowledge the greatness of Tao,
but since it is so vast and far-reaching its greatness is difficult to comprehend.
But as it has been examined and studied for so long, if it were not so great it would long ago have seemed smaller.
I have three great treasures that I cherish and hold fast to.
The first is compassion.
The second is simplicity,
And the third is not trying to be first in anything.
Having compassion I can demonstrate the noblest of courage.
With simple thinking and methods I am able to easily see the heart of things.
And daring to not be first in anything, I can develop my abilities to the situation and accomplish much.
But courage without compassion leads to death,
looking deep into matters without simplicity will bog one down,
and developing ones abilities without taking the time to allow them to adequately mature will result in immature actions.
But all who exhibit compassion in all matters will find their way guarded by the Tao.
Even the mighty warrior will find compassion to be his greatest ally.
Those whom heaven wishes to help are naturally provided with compassion, this is your greatest treasure.
68
The best warrior does not give free reign to violence.
The most skillful fighter will not let anger cloud his mind.
The skilful tactician wins without a battle.
A great commander overcomes men by placing himself below them.
This is known as the 'virtue of not striving'.
It is also called the ability to manage others.
This is regarded as the earthly embodiment of the way of Heaven.
69
The military veteran has a saying, "rather then rushing in, it is better to wait to see what they will do".
They also say: "Rather than advancing an inch at great cost, it is better to retreat a foot and spare life".
This is advancing without wasting energy, effort and life.
It is like pushing back without using force.
Its semblance is that of engaging the enemy without actually invading them.
Surely there is no greater calamity in war than that of thinking too little of your enemy.
Underestimating him can lead to disaster and the loss of the three treasures of compassion,
economy and the desire not to be first.
When opposing armies clash in the field, the victory will go to the one with compassion for the people,
both his and the enemy's.
He who has the greatest economy in the use of all things will be able to better maintain the expenses of marches and provisions.
The desire not to be first will result in calculating actions, and the deferral of reckless abandon.
70
My words are very easy to understand.
My teachings are very simple to put into everyday practice.
Yet no one who is tied to the world can understand them.
And if you are chained to the world, you cannot apply them in your life.
My doctrine comes from the source of Nature, my actions have a purpose in accord with the Law.
If you cannot understand this; you cannot understand me.
Because I cannot be understood I am a greater treasure than you know.
This is why the sage wears simple unpretentious clothes,
but his treasures are kept close to him, in his heart.
71
To know that you do not know is the wisest and healthiest thing.
To think you know when you do not can be likened to an illness.
First you must rid yourself of the thought that you know, and then you are on the way to healing.
The sage does not have this sickness, he realizes that he does not know; therefore his sickness has vanished.
72
When the people have no more fear of oppression; that is when oppressive forces will overtake them.
Do not restrict the people in their dwellings.
Do not oppress the people with heavy taxes and burdens.
If you do not wear the people out, they will not weary of you.
Therefore it is that sages know themselves well, but this self-knowledge is not displayed for all to see.
The sage respects himself, but does not try to become admired.
He will choose self-knowledge and love, and set conceit and opinion aside.
73
The brave who value daring and killing will kill.
The brave who value life and virtue will let live.
Of these two kinds of bravery, Heaven sees one as good, and the other as bad, but why?
Even the sage has difficulty with such a question.
Who can understand the ways of Heaven?
The Way of heaven does not strive and yet it skillfully achieves victory.
It says nothing yet responds fully.
It does not summon, but all things come to it of their own accord.
It does not make a plan, but accomplishes all things perfectly.
The net of Heaven is wide and covers all. The mesh is widely woven, yet nothing slips through.
74
When the people are no longer afraid of death, why threaten them with the executioner?
If the people feared death, and execution was imposed as a penalty; who would dare transgress The Law?
Heaven is the Master Executioner.
Whoever tries to take Heavens place is like an amateur trying to use the master carpenters' tools to hew wood,
if he tries to use the tools he will likely hew himself.
75
When the nation is in want of food, it can be seen that the government officials are eating too much of the grain in excessive taxes.
And why are the people restive and hard to govern?
They are in a state of near rebellion due to the intrusive machinations of the government.
The people learn to make light of death when they strive to obtain goods and extravagant items.
They are relentlessly working to acquire more, and look to death as a release from pursuit of material gain.
In this wise it is easy to not place too high a price on life.
76
At birth a person is soft and supple; at their deaths they are firm and strong.
All creatures, plants and trees are born tender and flexible,
when they are dead they become brittle and dried.
Thus it is that people who are stiff and hard are companions of death.
The soft and yielding are the followers of life.
It can be seen that a great inflexible army will fall under it's own weight,
just as a stiff unyielding tree will break in the wind.
Dwelling in an inflexible unyielding manner will bring downfall.
The pliant and supple will survive.
77
The way of nature is much like the drawing of a bow.
That which is high is lowered, and that which is low is brought up.
The excess is removed, and where there is deficiency more is added.
The way of nature is to reduce the excesses and spread them to where there is deficiency.
The way of the world is otherwise, Mans way is to take from those who have little, and give to those who have much.
Who is it that can offer more to the world, and have still more to offer? Only the person of the Tao.
Therefore the sage acts without laying claim to the act.
He can accomplish without boasting.
He has no wish to appear superior.
78
There is nothing more flexible and yielding than water.
And yet there is nothing better for attacking the hard and rigid, there is nothing that can do what it can do.
So it is that the rigid can be overcome by the flexible, and the haughty by the humble.
Yet even knowing this; still no one will put this into adequate practice.
For this reason it is said that the ones who accept the humiliation of the country are fit to be its rulers.
Those who take the sins of the people onto themselves are able to act as King.
This is the paradox of truth!
79
When conflicts and disputes are reconciled, there is certain to be some lingering ill-will and resentments.
How can this be rectified?
Consider this: The wise man will keep his part of the bargain, and not insist on fulfillment by the other party.
Thus it is that the good fulfill their end of obligations, while the ungood work hard to avoid payment.
While even though the way of Heaven is impartial, it smiles with favor on the good.
80
I see a small country of small population.
A simple folk, who even if highly skilled work simply and easily.
Tools are seldom used. They do not bother to invent time-saving appliances.
They would dearly love life, and would take care to avoid death.
Since they would love their homes and land, they would not care to wander.
Even with their horses, boats and carts, they do not wish to travel about.
Though they may have armor and weapons, these are kept out of sight.
These people would return to simple techniques for record keeping.
Their food would be tasty but simple; their clothing would be unpretentious.
They would be content with their simple homes, and the simple pleasures and customs of a simple people.
And even though there might be a neighboring land within sight,
so that the crowing of roosters and the barking of dogs can be heard from it;
these people will have lived their entire life without ever having gone to that country.
81
Truth is not spoken with rhetoric;
rhetoric does not embrace truth.
The good do not quarrel; those who quarrel are not good.
Those who know are not widely learned, those who are widely learned do not know.
The sage does not hoard for himself. The more he does to help others, the more he can do.
The more he gives to others the more his own treasures increase.
The way of Heaven is to cause benefit, not harm.
Therefore the sage observes this and imitates it.
He acts, serves, and does without relentless striving.
English_Donohue_TTK
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
English interpretation by
Brian Donohue, 2005
Vorwort/Foreword
There are many translations, renderings, variations, and adaptations of Lao Tzu's classic, the Tao Te Ching, extant in the literary world. This one makes no claim to scholastic erudition, sinological authority, or any global artistic merit. It arose from a personal experience with the Tao Te Ching, helped by an ancient Chinese oracle text known as the I Ching (which was certainly well known to Lao Tzu himself), combined with my own love of Lao Tzu's poetry and the fresh energy given to it by a new verbatim translation by Jonathan Star (see my Introduction and Bibliography for a more detailed reference to Star抯 work). Since this version began as a purely personal learning experience, it is offered here as a catalyst for each reader's unique experiencing of Lao Tzu's poetic voice. Therefore, I have written commentary only to those verses that seemed to call for background discussion, either because of their content or the presentation that they received here. An Introduction is also offered, particularly for those who are relatively unacquainted with the historical and philosophical legends that have grown around the Tao Te Ching, as well as to present some of the peculiar characteristics of this version.
The commentaries and the Introduction were, like the translations of the poems themselves, written to inspire each reader's independent exploration of Lao Tzu's work. Still, I would encourage readers to skip the Introduction and Commentaries in their first encounter with this book, and simply experience the poems for themselves, hearing and feeling them uniquely through at least one reading. Then it will be possible to read the prose at either end of the poems and consider what additional reflection or personal insight it may inspire. After all, the insight of great poetry is not the product or property of any person or group, but comes directly from a direct encounter between the voice of the poet and the heart of the reader, mediated by the teaching energy of the universe that Lao Tzu called 揟he Sage? and which resides equally within each of us.
1
The Cosmic Consciousness described
Is not quite the timeless Origin.
The Name that one puts into words
Fails to hold the Essence.
Beyond the empty division of heaven and earth,
The Nameless is-
The living ground of being.
The Nameless bears the Essence;
The names reveal the functions
Of all the numberless compressions of Being,
Born of the vast and silent Mother.
Release your attachment to appearances,
And the Tao will be there.
The manifest and the immanent
Are of the same Cosmic Origin-
The living, teeming darkness.
Eternal, shimmering darkness,
Reflecting itself in transformation,
Beyond all form and name-
Through the gateway of your heart.
This poem speaks of the relationships between names梩he words we give to things, events, actions, and of course ourselves梐nd the nameless essence from which we derive our life, and to which we return in death. Lao Tzu does not want us to think that our words are hopelessly inadequate to understanding the Cosmic Consciousness (this is an interpretation frequently placed on this poem in particular); rather, he'd like us to realize the natural limitations of our words. Words and language have limitations, just as our bodies, our planet and its natural resources, and our mental faculties have limitations. Words and names "fail to hold the essence" because, as Lao Tzu says in the final stanza, the essence can only be held in our hearts. But words, properly used, are capable of revealing the possibility of deep understanding, through describing the functions梬hat each thing does, and how it relates to the Whole. Lao Tzu is simply asking us to remember that function and action represent the manifestation, and not the immanence, of the Tao. If we can keep this in mind, that the manifestation varies and transforms; that what a thing does is not everything it is (for example, you are not your occupation, your family role, your gender, your race, your religion, etc.梟ot even the combination of these things); then we are not likely to make the mistake of reifying, or fixing, our ideas and descriptions of the operations of the Cosmos. When we are successful in avoiding this error, we have taken a vast step in furthering the natural order of the Cosmos and of human society. For in this clarity, this awareness of the limitations of language, we remove our feet from the concrete of religious, political, and ideological position-taking that is at the root of so much of the prejudice, conflict, injustice, and slaughter common to mankind over the past 3,000 or so years.
