Is Death indeed.
Those fighting by means of motherly love
Are necessarily victorious
Because [their] defense is completely solid.
Heaven will help them
And
With motherly love
Protect them.
68
Those who are skilled at being warriors are not warlike.
Those who are skilled at fighting are not angry.
Those who are skilled at overcoming enemies do not engage [them].
Those who are skilled at managing people act humbly toward them.
This is called the virtue of non-contention.
This is called the power of managing people.
This is called merging with Heaven, the Oldest of Old.
69
[About] using soldiers, there exists a saying:
揥e dare not act as lords but rather as guests.
[We] do not dare to advance an inch but rather retreat a foot.?br>
This is called
Prevailing without prevailing
Repelling without an arm
Throwing [them] out without resisting [them]
Holding [them] without a fight.
There is no misfortune greater than trivializing an enemy.
[If we] trivialize an enemy, how many funerals [will be] our 搑eward?
Therefore
[When] opposing armies clash with each
Those who mourn are in fact the winners.
70
My words are very easy to understand.
Very easy to practice.
There are none in the world who can understand [them].
None who can practice [them].
Words have an ancestor.
Affairs have a sovereign.
Precisely because one does not understand [this]
Is the reason one does not understand me.
Those who understand me are rare.
Those who follow me are prized.
Therefore, the sages
Are covered in coarse cloth
[But carry in their] bosoms a jewel.
71
Knowing 搉o-knowing?is best.
Not to know [this] 搆nowing?is a fault.
Only those who take faults to be faults
Are therefore without fault.
The sages are without fault
For they take faults to be faults.
Only those who take faults to be faults
Are therefore without fault.
72
The people do not fear might
That imitates the Great Might to the extreme.
Do not disrespect their dwelling places.
Do not hate their homelands.
It is only because one does not hate
That one is therefore not hated.
Therefore, the sages
Know themselves but do not display themselves.
Are kind to themselves but do not prize themselves.
Thus, leave that and take up this.
73
The fearless in daring are necessarily killed.
The fearless in not-daring necessarily survive.
Those who are of these two [types]:
Some are benefited.
Some are harmed.
That which is detested by Heaven梬ho knows the reason?
The Tao of Heaven does not struggle but is good at winning.
Does not speak but is good at responding.
Is not summoned but returns of itself.
Is simple like this but is good at planning.
Heaven抯 net is immensely vast.
Lax.
But nothing slips through.
74
People do not fear death
[But] how can [one possibly] endure
[If one] uses death to frighten them?
Suppose the people are made ever to fear death
And that those who act out of the ordinary
I seize, detain, and kill.
Who would dare [to do this]?
Frequently, there those chief executioners who are killed.
Those who take the place of the chief executioners are [also] killed.
This is called usurping the Master Carpenter.
[Among] those who usurp the Master Carpenter
There are few who do not cut their hands.
75
The people抯 starving
Is because of their superior抯 consumption of too many taxes.
Thus the starvation.
The people抯 difficulty to govern
Is because of their superior抯 possessive governing.
Thus the difficulty to govern.
The people抯 reckless deaths
Are because of their seeking the thickness of life.
Thus the reckless deaths.
Only those who do not use life to contrive
Are indeed skilled at valuing life.
76
[At] a man抯 birth, he is flexible and weak.
[At] his death, he is firm and strong.
[At] the birth of trees and grasses, they are flexible and light.
[At] their death, they are dried out and withered.
Therefore, those who are firm and strong are followers of death.
Those who are flexible and weak are disciples of life.
Therefore
The strong army is necessarily destroyed.
The strong tree necessarily snaps.
The strong and large occupy the inferior position.
The flexible and weak occupy the superior position.
77
The Way of Heaven梚ts similarity to stretching a bow?
That which is high梉it] pulls it down.
That which is low梉it] lifts it up.
That which has excess梉it] reduces it.
That which is lacking梉it] adds to it.
The Way of Heaven
Takes away [where] there is excess
And adds to [where there is] lack.
The way of people
Necessarily different
Takes away [where there is] lack
In order to offer to [that which] has excess.
Who can have surplus by means of offering [it] to the world?
Only those who have the Tao.
Therefore, the sages
Act but do not presume
Achieve goals but do not dwell [on them].
They do not desire to be seen as praiseworthy or despicable.
78
There is nothing in the world as flexible and weak as water.
And [among] those things that work at the firm and the strong
There is nothing that can surpass it [in this]
For it is without means [for the hard and strong] to alter it.
The victory of the weak over the strong
The victory of the flexible over the firm
There are none in the world who do not know [of these].
None who cannot practice [them].
Therefore do the sages say:
揂ccepting the filth of the kingdom?br> This is called taking charge of the gods of soil and the gods of grain.
To accept the banes of the kingdom?br> This is to become the ruler of the world.?br>
Correct sayings seem contradictory.
79
[After] pacifying great hatred
Surely there exists remaining resentment.
How can [this] be considered good?
Therefore, the sages keep the left side [of an] agreement
And do not demand [the right side] from people.
Having virtue, [one] manages an agreement.
Lacking virtue, [one] manages to deprive.
The Heavenly Tao is not personal.
[It] always give[s] kindly to people.
80
The small kingdom [with] few people:
Causes them to have the equipment of ten noblemen but not to use it.
Causes the people to give weight to death and not to move far away.
Though having boats and carriages, they抳e no place to ride them.
Though having armor and weapons, they抳e no place to exhibit them.
Causes the people to return to knotting rope and using it.
Sweetens their meals
Beautifies their clothes
Pacifies their abodes
Gladdens [them in] their customs.
The neighboring kingdoms see each other in the distance
Hearing the sounds of each other抯 chickens and dogs.
The people arrive at old age [and eventually] die
Without going to or coming from each other.
81
Sincere speech is not pleasing.
Pleasing speech is not sincere.
Those who are good do not argue.
Those who argue are not good.
Those who understand are not broadly learned.
Those who are broadly learned do not understand.
The sages do not accumulate.
Already, by means of doing for people
They have more and more for themselves.
Already, by means of giving to people
They have more and more梩oo much梖or themselves.
The Way of Heaven is to benefit and not to harm.
The Way of sages is to do but not to struggle.
This translation or excerpts from it may be freely reproduced for non-commercial purposes.
?Aalar Fex, 2006
English_Gauthier_TTK
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
Chinese - English by
Andre Gauthier
1
The spirit one can talk about is not the eternal spirit, and what youcan name is not the eternal name. Nameless-Tao is the beginning of theheavens and the Earth. If you name it-it is no more than Matter.
Therefore: he who conceives of nature freely grasps this Spirit andhe who strives for material things is left with only the shell. Spiritand matter are both one in their origin, yet different in appearance. Thisunity is a mystery-truly the mystery of all mysteries, the gate to allspirituality.
2
Only when man recognizes beauty as such does ugliness become reality.Only when man recognizes goodness as such does evil become reality. Because:being and nothingness began as one. Weight and weightlessness cannot existalone. Distance and brevity prove each other and so do height and depth.Tune and voice abound together and past and present flow into one. Thereforethe Sage remains in serenity whatever happens and silently does his teaching.As matters proceed, the Sage is not irritated. He works but wants no possessions.He acts but does not linger at single things. He creates but does not hangon a single word and because he is not tied to It, he will never miss It.
3
Not to give preference to the high and mighty will deter the envy ofthe people in order. To demonstrate no desire will give them peace in theirhearts. Therefore, when the Sage governs, he frees his people of passionatewishes and offers serenity to their souls. The Sage weakens greedy curiosityand strengthens the backbone of the upright. So does he master true serenityin good government.
4
The Spirit is free of things yet inexhaustible in its impact. The Spiritis like the creator of all being. He dulls the sharp meanness that clarifiesall confusion. He unifies in kindness. He knows the oneness of man withall dust. The Spirit is eternal. I know not when it began. It almost seemedto have preceded the Lord Itself.
5
Heaven and earth know no preference. They look upon all beings as uponwooden animals. The sage knows no preference. He looks upon people as ifthey were made of wood. The space between heaven and earth is like an oceanof wind and the emptiness of which creation follows creation. Words cannotdescribe it. It must be perceived by one's inmost self.?br>
6
The Spirit of the deep never dies. It is the eternal mother: The gatewaythrough which wind The ever-protecting roots of heaven and earth. It iseternal becoming, effortless creation.?br>
7
Heaven and earth endure forever. Why do Heaven and earth endure eternally?Because they live not for themselves But for eternity. So does the Sagewithdraw In order that his inner Self may advance. He loses his Self topreserve his self. Is it not that he fulfills his Being by giving up hisbeing?
8
Generosity is like the Waters. It is a balm to all beings and rejectsnone. It dwells in places nned by the masses, and therefore close tothe Spirit. Generosity seeks out in dwellings the humble, in thinking depth,in giving love, in speaking truth, in ruling justice, in work knowledgein all our deeds the proper time. Generosity does not reject and thereforewill not be rejected.?br>
9
The full decanter if carried will spill over, The knife in use willlose its edge. Treasures of gold and gems are difficult to protect. Wealthand rank when joined by arrogance will now perish. To fulfill one's tasks,to find acceptance and then to retire to loneliness, is the true spiritualway.
10
Who finds union of mind and heart will reach immortality. Who mastershis passions and turns them to deeds of kindness, is greater than a King.Who cleanses and clears his soul becomes free of vice. Who governs in loveand justice is a benefactor even in mere contemplation. He is fearlessshould even the heavens come down. Who has insight in the depths of Times,may have not knowledge, yet supreme wisdom. To work and conserve, to workwithout greed for possessions, To work and let others use the produce,To encourage and not dominate, That I call deep virtue.
11
Thirty spikes run into one hub: yet in the emptiness of the wheel liesits essence. From clay a jar is formed: yet in its emptiness lies the essenceof the container. Rooms are made by cutting windows and doors into thewalls, yet in its emptiness lies the essence of the room. The visual mattercan be observed but it is the Invisible that constitutes its true being.
12
Fine colors blind eyes to true reality Fine Tones t out the othersounds. Fine spices deaden the taste. Races and hunts disturb a gentlesoul. Gems and gold seduce the heart. The Sage follows not the eyes butthe soul, Not the senses but the essence.?br>
13
Forgiveness is to be nned like a disgrace. Ambition for honors isa burden like the body. Forgiveness denigrates; one lives in hope to obtain,in fear of losing it. Ambition for honors is a burden like the body. Thebody is burdensome. If I had no body I would be burdenfree. Who honorsthe community as himself is worthy of her. Who loves the community as himselfmakes her his own.
14
We search for it yet see it not; it is the invisible. We listen forit, yet hear it not; it is the untouchable. Its trinity is inseparable.We recognize it only as one, innerbound.
Its distance is incomprehensible, its depth can not be fathomed. Eternallycreative, it can not be defined. It goes back to Nothingness. It can becalled: The incomprehensible Mysterious. You walk towards it and find noteven its Beginning. You follow it and there is no End. Who understandsthe Spirit of the old Sages masters his own time, and thru them the veryroot of all time. Such is the continuum of the Spirit.
15
The great sages of antiquity were wise and intuitive. It is difficultto comprehend their depth. They were cautious like men who are crossingan ice covered river, Cautious like people wary of certain neighbors. Reservedas only guests are. Relenting like melting ice, plain as uncut timber,open like a valley. Dark as deep water. Who can as they interpret the turbulentthru serenity? Who can as they thru their own lives revive the dead souls?Who is filled with serene thoughts desires no other fulfillment, Who desiresno other fulfillment is not attacked by novelties of the day. Such mancan be of simple status yet reach perfection.?br>
16
Who ascends the peak of Emptiness Will reach serenity. All Beings doI see arise and then return whence they came. To return to one's originmeans to acquiesce. To acquiesce means to have fulfilled one's destiny.To fulfill one's destiny means to have comprehended eternity. To comprehendeternity means to be enlightened. Not to comprehend eternity means to besubject of passions, and that is evil. Comprehending eternity makes onemagnanimous. Magnanimity makes one just. To be just is Kingly. The Kinglyis Heavenly. The Heavenly is the Spiritual. The Spirit is Immortal. Andthus the ephemerality of the body can not harm us.?br>
