Understand glory, keep to humility.
Be the valley for the world.
Innate nature completed, return to original uniqueness.
When original uniqueness is divided,
It then becomes the instrumentalities.
The Sage employs them,
They then become the officers,
Thus, subtle governance shapes not.
29
If one strives to be the ruler of the world, I do not see how they can succeed.
The world is a vessel for the spirit which cannot be acted upon.
Those who act upon it destroy it.
Those who try to hold on to it lose it.
Therefore, things either move forward or fall behind,
Puff strongly or weakly, grow powerful or become weak,
Persevere or fall.
And therefore, the enlightened do away with excess, extravagances and extremes.
30
Those who use Tao to help the ruler never use arms to force the world.
Such affairs tend to easily rebound.
Brambles grow where an army camps.
Famine is sure to follow a war.
Subtly arrange the outcome and nothing more.
Dare not use force.
After the outcome do not be complacent. A
fter the outcome do not be smug.
After the outcome do not be conceited.
Overcome only because there is no choice.
Overcome but do not force.
When things have matured, they are old.
This is not Tao.
That which runs counter to the Tao is soon finished.
31
The finest weapons are still instruments of misfortune.
Everything hates them, therefore, those who follow the Tao avoid them.
In peacetime, the nobleman regards the left side of the host as the place of honour.
In wartime, he regards the right side of the commander as the place of honour.
Since weapons are inauspicious instruments, they are not the instruments of a noble man.
He uses them only when necessary, for peace and quiet are what he holds highest.
To him even a victory is not worthy of celebration.
Those who celebrate it take pleasure in the slaughter of men.
Those that take pleasure in the slaughter of men consequently cannot have their way in the world.
On auspicious occasions, the place of honour is to the left of the host;
On inauspicious occasions the place of honour is to the right of the commander.
In the military the lesser commander stand on the left, while the commander in chief stands on the right, the same as in the etiquette of funerary rites.
When many people have been killed there is mourning, grief and tears.
Hence, even victory is treated according to funerary rites.
32
Tao is always without a name.
Small as it may be in its original uniqueness,
It is inferior to no power in the world.
If a ruler can cleave to it,
All beings will pay homage to him.
Heaven and earth mingle in harmony and a sweet liquor rains down.
Without command from above peace and order spread among the people.
With the genesis of the world, names appeared.
There are so many names, is it not time to stop?
Knowing when to stop is to be free from danger.
Tao is to the world as a valley or brook is to a river or ocean.
33
One who knows others is intelligent;
One who knows himself is enlightened.
One who conquers men is strong;
One who conquers himself has strength.
One who knows sufficiency is rich.
One who pursues his objective with steadfastness has willpower.
One who does not lose what he has gained is durable.
One who dies yet still remains has longevity.
34
The great Tao is so all pervasive, how can we tell where its right or left is?
All things depend on it for growth, and it requires nothing from them.
It accomplishes its work, but makes no claim for itself.
It clothes and feeds all, but it does not control them.
Everlasting Non-desire is called "the lesser."
That all things return to it and yet it does not control them is called "the greater."
Because it never insists on its greatness, Its greatness becomes a reality.
35
The world moves toward the possessor of the great image.
Moving toward him there is no harm, only peace and order.
The passing guest pauses for sweetmeats and music.
The Tao that can be uttered seems bland, even flavourless.
It does not appear noteworthy. It does not sound worth listening to.
It has unlimited uses.
36
That which should be reduced, must first be enlarged.
That which should be weakened, must first be strengthened.
That which should be abolished, must first be established.
That which should be taken away, must first be given.
Softness and suppleness overcome hardness and strength.
Fish cannot leave the depths.
The sharpest weapons of the state must not be displayed.
37
Tao never makes a name for itself,
Yet there is nothing it does not do.
If a ruler can cleave to it,
All beings will eventually change by themselves.
After this change, when they desire to act,
He will keep them in their places with original uniqueness of the Nameless.
Eventually there will be Non-desire.
If no desire arises, then serenity,
And eventually the world will settle by itself.
38
Superior Te does not reveal its Te, thereby retaining it.
Inferior Te cannot rid itself of the appearance of Te, and thereby loses te.
Superior Te practices Non-action and has no private ends to serve.
Inferior Te both acts and has private ends to serve.
Superior humanism acts but has no private ends to serve.
Superior justice both acts and has private ends to serve.
Superior etiquette not only acts but, getting no response, tries to enforce its will with raised fists.
Thus, if Tao is lost, Te appears.
If Te is lost, humanism appears.
If humanism is lost, justice appears.
If justice is lost, etiquette appears.
When conscience and honesty wear thin,
Etiquette is the beginning of strife.
As to prescience, it is merely a blossom of Tao, and the beginning of stupidity.
That is why the truly cultivated man takes generosity for his location, and does not dwell on the meanness;
Focuses on the fruit, and does not dwell on the blossom.
So he avoids the one and chooses the other.
39
In times past, Oneness appeared in the following pattern:
The heavens attained Oneness and became clear;
The earth attained Oneness and settled;
The spirits attained Oneness and became numinous;
Valleys attained Oneness and became reproductive;
All things attained Oneness and became alive;
Kings and queens attained Oneness and became the orthodox of the world.
In the heavens, that which is not clear eventually settles.
On the earth, that does not settle dissipates.
Spirits which are not luminous disappear.
Valleys not filled will dry up.
Creatures that do not reproduce become extinct.
Kings and officials, if not honoured and esteemed, will fail.
Hence the honourable takes the as its trunk.
The high takes the low as its foundation.
That is why the officials call themselves the lonely, the hubless.
This is taking the humble for the trunk, is it not?
Therefore, it is better to consider the vacancy of the vehicle rather than its appearances.
Do not desire to be as shiny and attractive as fine jade.
Be as ordinary as stone.
40
Tao moves in cycles;
Tao functions through softness.
All is born of nothing.
Something is born of nothing.
41
When a superior scholar hears the Tao he tirelessly practices it.
When a middling scholar hears the Tao sometimes he follows it and sometimes he forgets it.
When a piddling scholar hears the Tao he laughs loudly at it.
Without his laughter it would not be worthy of being Tao,
Hence the sayings:
"One who understands the Tao seems benighted;
One who progresses towards the Tao seems to regress;
One who is in accord with the Tao seems tied in knots."
Great Te seems like a valley.
The completely immaculate seems disgraced.
The thoroughly virtuous seems insufficient.
Established morality seems a conspiracy.
True characteristics seem submerged.
A great square has no corners.
A great instrument is completed late.
A great sound comes from a small noise.
A great form has no shape.
Tao is hidden and nameless.
Yet wonderfully, Tao guarantees that all things are fulfilled.
42
Tao gives birth to unity, unity gives birth to duality, duality gives
birth to trinity, and trinity gives birth to all things.
All things are wrapped by yin and contain yang, and their pulsing ch'is marry.
That which men abominate, the lonely, the hubless, their leaders take as names.
Thus one does not either benefit from a loss or lose from a benefit.
What other people teach, I also teach.
"The end of a strong one is an untimely death."
I will take this as a precept to teach proper behaviour.
43
The softest in the world overcomes the strongest, just as a rider controls his galloping steed.
The insubstantial can penetrate where there is no opening.
Because of that I know the benefit of Non-action.
Few in the world attain wordless teaching and the benefit of Non-action.
44
Which is dearer, fame or health?
Which is worth more, health or wealth?
Which is more beautiful, gain or loss?
Hence excessive love finally exacts its price.
The certain consequence of proud ownership is ruin.
To know sufficiency is to be blameless.
Knowing when to stop avoids danger.
Thereby one can be durable.
45
The greatest accomplishment seems unfinished, yet its applications are endless.
The greatest fullness seems crude.
The greatest eloquence seems stuttering.
Activity overcomes cold.
Tranquillity overcomes heat.
Peace and quiet is the true path in the world.
46
When Tao prevails in the world, stray horses are kept away from tilled fields.
When Tao does not prevail in the world, warhorses breed in fields grown wild.
No disaster is greater than not knowing what is sufficient.
No crime is greater than avarice.
No defect is worse than the desire to achieve.
One who knows sufficiency will always have enough.
47
Without leaving his door one can understand the world.
Without glancing out the window one can see the Tao of heaven.
The further one travels the less one knows.
That is why the Sage does not travel and yet understands.
Does not look and yet names.
Does not act and yet completes.
48
In pursuing knowledge, one accumulates daily.
In practicing Tao, one loses daily.
Lose and lose and lose, until one reaches Non-action.
Non-action, yet there is nothing left undone.
To win the world one must not act for gain.
If one acts for gain, one will not be able to win the world.
49
The Sage is without a set mind.
He makes the mind of the people his own.
I am kind.
I am also kind to the unkind.
Thus kindness is attained.
I believe those who believe.
I believe also those who do not believe.
Thus faith is attained.
The Sage, when in the midst of the worldly, does it calmly and slowly, and his mind merges with the world.
The Sage treats everyone as his children.
50
In circumstances of life and death, the chances of living are three out of ten, the chances of dying are three out of ten.
In ordinary conditions, where activity is the province of death, the chances are also three out in ten.
Why is this so?
Because of the propagative force of the life principle.
It is said that those who cultivate the life principle can travel without encountering a tiger or wild buffalo.
In battle, no weapon can penetrate their armour.
The wild buffalo's horns find nothing to gore, the tigers claws nothing to flay, and weapons find no place for their points to penetrate.
Why is this so?
Because for them, there is no province of death.
51
Tao propagates life; Te provides fecundity; species shapes life; affinity brings to completion.
That is why all living things revere Tao and kneel down to Te.
Tao inspires reverence and Te inspires awe because they give no commands and yet nature continues on and on.
Thus Tao creates life, and Te conceives, grows, fosters, shelters, comforts, nurtures and protects it.
Producing but not possessing,
Acting but not controlling,
Growing but not slaughtering,
These are Mysterious Te.
52
The beginning of the world may be called the Mother of the world.
Once we discover the Mother, we can know the children.
Once we know the children, we should return and cleave to the mother.
Even though the body may die, there is no danger.
Close the mouth, t the door, and to the end of life do not strain.
Open the mouth, increase involvements, and be helpless to the end of life.
To value the lesser is enlightenment.
To cleave to the gentle is steadfastness.
Use bright intellect, but return to enlightenment.
Do not ask for trouble. This is "practicing longevity."
53
I have cause to know that, though I possess great wisdom, to preach it while traveling on the highway is dangerous. Though the highway is smooth and straight,
The common people prefer the byways.
The ruler's court is well tended, but the fields are neglected.
The granaries are empty, but garments are gorgeous.
Men carry sharp swords, but food and drink satiate them.
There is a surplus of money and merchandise, "temptation for bandits"
Alas, it is not Tao.
54
The well established cannot be uprooted.
The well embraced cannot be lost.
Descendants will continue ancestral sacrifices for generations without end.
Cultivate in yourself, and its Te will become real.
Cultivate in the family, and its Te will become abundant.
Cultivate in the community, and Te will have an enduring effect.
Cultivate in the nation, and Te will flourish.
Cultivate in the world, and Te will become ubiquitous.
