The\u00a0Tao Te Ching<\/em>\u00a0was probably written about twenty-five hundred years ago, perhaps by a man called Lao Tzu, who may have lived at about the same time as Confucius. Nothing about it is certain except that it\u2019s Chinese, and very old, and speaks to people everywhere as if it had been written yesterday.<\/p>\n The first\u00a0Tao Te Ching<\/em>\u00a0I ever saw was the Paul Carus edition of 1898, bound in yellow cloth stamped with blue and red Chinese designs and characters. It was a venerable object of mystery, which I soon investigated, and found more fascinating inside than out. The book was my father\u2019s; he read in it often. Once I saw him making notes from it and asked what he was doing.<\/p>\n He said he was marking which chapters he\u2019d like to have read at his funeral.<\/p>\n We did read those chapters at his memorial service.<\/p>\n I have the book, now ninety-eight years old and further ornamented with red binding-tape to hold the back on, and have marked which chapters I\u2019d like to have read at my funeral. In the Notes, I explain why I was so lucky to discover Lao Tzu in that particular edition. Here I will only say that I was lucky to discover him so young, so that I could live with his book my whole life long.<\/p>\n I also discuss other aspects of my version in the Notes\u2014the how of it. Here I want to state very briefly the why of it.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Tao Te Ching<\/em>\u00a0is partly in prose, partly in verse; but as we define poetry now, not by rhyme and meter but as a patterned intensity of language, the whole thing is poetry. I wanted to catch that poetry, its terse, strange beauty. Most translations have caught meanings in their net, but prosily, letting the beauty slip through. And in poetry, beauty is no ornament; it is the meaning. It is the truth. We have that on good authority.<\/p>\n Scholarly translations of the\u00a0Tao Te Ching<\/em>\u00a0as a manual for rulers use a vocabulary that emphasizes the uniqueness of the Taoist \u201csage,\u201d his masculinity, his authority. This language is perpetuated, and degraded, in most popular versions. I wanted a Book of the Way accessible to a present-day, unwise, unpowerful, and perhaps unmale reader, not seeking esoteric secrets, but listening for a voice that speaks to the soul. I would like that reader to see why people have loved the book for twenty-five hundred years.<\/p>\n It is the most lovable of all the great religious texts, funny, keen, kind, modest, indestructibly outrageous, and inexhaustibly refreshing. Of all the deep springs, this is the purest water. To me, it is also the deepest spring.<\/p>\n \u2014Ursula K. Le Guin<\/em><\/p>\n The way you can go Heaven and earth So the unwanting soul Two things, one origin, Everybody on earth knowing Everybody knowing For being and nonbeing That\u2019s why the wise soul The things of this world To bear and not to own; Not praising the praiseworthy Not prizing rare treasures Not looking at the desirable So the wise soul When you do not-doing, The way is empty, Blunting edge, Quiet, Heaven and earth aren\u2019t humane. Wise souls aren\u2019t humane.[5]<\/a> Heaven and earth The valley spirit never dies. The mystery, Forever this endures, forever. Heaven will last, So wise souls True goodness It goes right For a house, No competition, Brim-fill the bowl, Nobody can protect Wealth, status, pride, Can you keep your soul in its body, Can you keep the deep water still and clear, Opening, closing the Gate of Heaven, To give birth, to nourish, Thirty spokes Hollowed out, Cut doors and windows So the profit in what is The five colors Racing, chasing, hunting, So the wise soul To be in favor or disgrace What does that mean, What does that mean, So people who set their bodily good Look at it: nothing to see. Triply undifferentiated, Never, oh! never Call it unthinkable thought. Holding fast to the old Way, Once upon a time Since they\u2019re inexplicable Who can by stillness, little by little To follow the Way Be completely empty. Be perfectly serene. The return to the root To know what endures True leaders To give no trust When the work\u2019s done right, In the degradation of the great way Stop being holy, forget being prudent, But even these three rules How much difference between yes and no? What the people fear Everybody\u2019s cheerful, Forlorn, forlorn. Ignorant, ignorant. Everybody has something to do. The greatest power is the gift How do I know Be broken to be whole. So wise souls hold to the one, Not showing themselves, What they used to say in the old days, Nature doesn\u2019t make long speeches. The people who work with Tao Give yourself to the Way You can\u2019t keep standing on tiptoe Such stuff is to the Tao There is something[17]<\/a> If it must be named, So they say: \u201cThe Way is great, People follow earth, Heavy is the root of light.[19]<\/a> So wise souls make their daily march Only when safe How can a lord of ten thousand chariots Good walkers leave no track. So wise souls are good at caring for people, Good people teach people who aren\u2019t good yet; Knowing man Knowing light Knowing glory Natural wood is cut up Those who think to win the world Under heaven some things lead, some follow, So the wise soul keeps away A Taoist wouldn\u2019t advise a ruler Where the army marched Things flourish then perish. Even the best weapon Weapons are unhappy tools, To enjoy using weapons It is right that the murder of many people The way goes on forever nameless. To order, to govern, The Way in the world Knowing other people is intelligence, Boldly pushing forward takes resolution. To live till you die The Great Way runs Doing its work, So the wise soul Hold fast to the great thought Walking around, we stop What seeks to shrink This is called the small dark light: Fish should stay underwater: The Way never does anything, In the unnamed, in the unshapen, Great power, not clinging to power, The good the truly good do So: when we lose the Way we find power; Obedience to law is the dry husk So great-minded people Those who of old got to be whole:<\/p>\n Heaven through its wholeness is pure; Without what makes it pure, heaven would disintegrate; The root of the noble is in the common, A multiplicity of riches Return is how the Way moves. Heaven and earth and the ten thousand things Thoughtful people hear about the Way So they say: The great square has no corners. The Way is hidden The Way bears one. People despise What others teach, I say too: What\u2019s softest in the world The immaterial So I know the good in not doing.<\/p>\n The wordless teaching, Which is nearer, All you grasp will be thrown away. Contentment keeps disgrace away. What\u2019s perfectly whole seems flawed, True straightness looks crooked. Real eloquence seems to stammer. When the world\u2019s on the Way, The greatest evil: wanting more. To know enough\u2019s enough You don\u2019t have to go out the door So the wise soul Studying and learning daily you grow larger. To run things, The wise have no mind of their own, They\u2019re good to good people They mingle their life with the world, To look for life So I\u2019ve heard The Way bears them; Their reverence for the Way To have without possessing, The beginning of everything Close the openings, Insight sees the insignificant. If my mind\u2019s modest, The great way is low and plain, The palace is full of splendor People wearing ornaments and fancy clothes, Well planted is not uprooted, To follow the way yourself is real power. So in myself I see what self is, How do I know the world is so? Being full of power To know harmony Who knows Then you can\u2019t be controlled by love Run the country by doing what\u2019s expected. The more restrictions and prohibitions in the world, the poorer people get. So a wise leader might say: When the government\u2019s dull and confused, The normal changes into the monstrous, And so the wise In looking after your life and following the way, Invulnerable, unlimited, Rule a big country If you keep control by following the Way, The polity of greatness By stillness the woman So a great country Lie low to be on top, The way is the hearth and home Fine words are for sale, So, at the coronation of the Son of Heaven Why was the Way honored Do without doing. Meet injury Study the hard while it\u2019s easy. So the wise soul, Now, since taking things too lightly makes them worthless, and taking things too easy makes them hard, It\u2019s easy to keep hold of what hasn\u2019t stirred, The tree you can\u2019t reach your arms around Do, and do wrong; That\u2019s why the wise Once upon a time People get hard to manage Mysterious power Lakes and rivers are lords of the hundred valleys. Just so, a wise soul, And so the wise soul Everybody says my way is great All greatness I have three treasures. But to be brave without compassion, Compassion wins the battle The best captain doesn\u2019t rush in front. The expert in warfare says: It\u2019s called marching without marching, So, when matched armies meet, My words are so easy to understand, Words come from an ancestry, In my obscurity To know without knowing is best. To be sick of sickness The wise aren\u2019t sick. When we don\u2019t fear what we should fear If we don\u2019t accept stupidity Brave daring leads to death. Who will interpret The way of heaven The net of heaven When normal, decent people don\u2019t fear death, People are starving. People rebel. People hold life cheap. But those who don\u2019t live for the sake of living Living people So hardness and stiffness And the hard sword fails, The Way of heaven Such is the Way of heaven, So the wise Nothing in the world So the wise say: Right words sound wrong.<\/p>\n After a great enmity is settled The Way of heaven plays no favorites.BOOK ONE<\/h2>\n
1. Taoing<\/h3>\n
\nisn\u2019t the real way.
\nThe name you can say
\nisn\u2019t the real name.<\/p>\n
\nbegin in the unnamed:
\nname\u2019s the mother
\nof the ten thousand things.<\/p>\n
\nsees what\u2019s hidden,
\nand the ever-wanting soul
\nsees only what it wants.<\/p>\n
\nbut different in name,
\nwhose identity is mystery.
\nMystery of all mysteries!
\nThe door to the hidden.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n2. Soul food<\/h3>\n
\nthat beauty is beautiful
\nmakes ugliness.<\/p>\n
\nthat goodness is good
\nmakes wickedness.<\/p>\n
\narise together;
\nhard and easy
\ncomplete each other;
\nlong and short
\nshape each other;
\nhigh and low
\ndepend on each other;
\nnote and voice
\nmake the music together;
\nbefore and after
\nfollow each other.<\/p>\n
\ndoes without doing,
\nteaches without talking.<\/p>\n
\nexist, they are;
\nyou can\u2019t refuse them.<\/p>\n
\nto act and not lay claim;
\nto do the work and let it go:
\nfor just letting it go
\nis what makes it stay.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n3. Hushing<\/h3>\n
\nkeeps people uncompetitive.<\/p>\n
\nkeeps people from stealing.<\/p>\n
\nkeeps the mind quiet.<\/p>\n
\ngoverning people
\nwould empty their minds,
\nfill their bellies,
\nweaken their wishes,
\nstrengthen their bones,
\nkeep people unknowing,
\nunwanting,
\nkeep the ones who do know
\nfrom doing anything.<\/p>\n
\nnothing\u2019s out of order.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n4. Sourceless<\/h3>\n
\nused, but not used up.
\nDeep, yes! ancestral
\nto the ten thousand things.<\/p>\n
\nloosing bond,
\ndimming light,
\nthe way is the dust of the way.<\/p>\n
\nyes, and likely to endure.
\nWhose child? born
\nbefore the gods.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n5. Useful emptiness<\/h3>\n
\nTo them the ten thousand things
\nare straw dogs.<\/p>\n
\nTo them the hundred families
\nare straw dogs.<\/p>\n
\nact as a bellows:
\nEmpty yet structured,
\nit moves, inexhaustibly giving.<\/p>\n6. What is complete<\/h3>\n
\nCall it the mystery, the woman.<\/p>\n
\nthe Door of the Woman,
\nis the root
\nof earth and heaven.<\/p>\n
\nAnd all its uses are easy.<\/p>\n7. Dim brightness<\/h3>\n
\nearth will endure.
\nHow can they last so long?
\nThey don\u2019t exist for themselves
\nand so can go on and on.<\/p>\n
\nleaving self behind
\nmove forward,
\nand setting self aside
\nstay centered.
\nWhy let the self go?
\nTo keep what the soul needs.<\/p>\n8. Easy by nature<\/h3>\n
\nis like water.[6]<\/a>
\nWater\u2019s good
\nfor everything.
\nIt doesn\u2019t compete.<\/p>\n
\nto the low loathsome places,
\nand so finds the way.<\/p>\n
\nthe good thing is level ground.
\nIn thinking,
\ndepth is good.
\nThe good of giving is magnanimity;
\nof speaking, honesty;
\nof government, order.
\nThe good of work is skill,
\nand of action, timing.<\/p>\n
\nso no blame.<\/p>\n9. Being quiet<\/h3>\n
\nit\u2019ll spill over.
\nKeep sharpening the blade,
\nyou\u2019ll soon blunt it.<\/p>\n
\na house full of gold and jade.<\/p>\n
\nare their own ruin.
\nTo do good, work well, and lie low
\nis the way of the blessing.<\/p>\n10. Techniques<\/h3>\n
\nhold fast to the one,
\nand so learn to be whole?
\nCan you center your energy,
\nbe soft, tender,
\nand so learn to be a baby?<\/p>\n
\nso it reflects without blurring?
\nCan you love people and run things,
\nand do so by not doing?<\/p>\n
\ncan you be like a bird with her nestlings?
\nPiercing bright through the cosmos,
\ncan you know by not knowing?<\/p>\n
\nto bear and not to own,
\nto act and not lay claim,
\nto lead and not to rule:
\nthis is mysterious power.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n11. The uses of not<\/h3>\n
\nmeet in the hub.
\nWhere the wheel isn\u2019t
\nis where it\u2019s useful.<\/p>\n
\nclay makes a pot.
\nWhere the pot\u2019s not
\nis where it\u2019s useful.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n
\nto make a room.
\nWhere the room isn\u2019t,
\nthere\u2019s room for you.<\/p>\n
\nis in the use of what isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n12. Not wanting<\/h3>\n
\nblind our eyes.
\nThe five notes
\ndeafen our ears.
\nThe five flavors
\ndull our taste.<\/p>\n
\ndrives people crazy.
\nTrying to get rich
\nties people in knots.<\/p>\n
\nwatches with the inner
\nnot the outward eye,
\nletting that go,
\nkeeping this.<\/p>\n13. Shameless<\/h3>\n
\nis to live in fear.
\nTo take the body seriously
\nis to admit one can suffer.<\/p>\n
\nto be in favor or disgrace
\nis to live in fear?
\nFavor debases:
\nwe fear to lose it,
\nfear to win it.
\nSo to be in favor or disgrace
\nis to live in fear.<\/p>\n
\nto take the body seriously
\nis to admit one can suffer?
\nI suffer because I\u2019m a body;
\nif I weren\u2019t a body,
\nhow could I suffer?<\/p>\n
\nbefore the public good
\ncould be entrusted with the commonwealth,
\nand people who treated the body politic
\nas gently as their own body
\nwould be worthy to govern the commonwealth.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n14. Celebrating mystery<\/h3>\n
\nCall it colorless.
\nListen to it: nothing to hear.
\nCall it soundless.
\nReach for it: nothing to hold.
\nCall it intangible.<\/p>\n
\nit merges into oneness,
\nnot bright above,
\nnot dark below.<\/p>\n
\ncan it be named.
\nIt reverts, it returns
\nto unbeing.
\nCall it the form of the unformed,
\nthe image of no image.<\/p>\n
\nFace it: no face.
\nFollow it: no end.<\/p>\n
\nwe can live in the present.
\nMindful of the ancient beginnings,
\nwe hold the thread of the Tao.<\/p>\n15. People of power<\/h3>\n
\npeople who knew the Way
\nwere subtle, spiritual, mysterious, penetrating,
\nunfathomable.<\/p>\n
\nI can only say what they seemed like:
\nCautious, oh yes, as if wading through a winter river.
\nAlert, as if afraid of the neighbors.
\nPolite and quiet, like houseguests.
\nElusive, like melting ice.
\nBlank, like uncut wood.
\nEmpty, like valleys.
\nMysterious, oh yes, they were like troubled water.[10]<\/a><\/p>\n
\nmake what is troubled grow clear?
\nWho can by movement, little by little
\nmake what is still grow quick?<\/p>\n
\nis not to need fulfillment.
\nUnfulfilled, one may live on
\nneeding no renewal.<\/p>\n16. Returning to the root<\/h3>\n
\nThe ten thousand things arise together;
\nin their arising is their return.
\nNow they flower,
\nand flowering
\nsink homeward,
\nreturning to the root.<\/p>\n
\nis peace.
\nPeace: to accept what must be,
\nto know what endures.
\nIn that knowledge is wisdom.
\nWithout it, ruin, disorder.<\/p>\n
\nis to be openhearted,
\nmagnanimous,
\nregal,
\nblessed,
\nfollowing the Tao,
\nthe way that endures forever.
\nThe body comes to its ending,
\nbut there is nothing to fear.[11]<\/a><\/p>\n17. Acting simply<\/h3>\n
\nare hardly known to their followers.
\nNext after them are the leaders
\nthe people know and admire;
\nafter them, those they fear;
\nafter them, those they despise.<\/p>\n
\nis to get no trust.<\/p>\n
\nwith no fuss or boasting,
\nordinary people say,
\nOh, we did it.[12]<\/a><\/p>\n18. Second bests<\/h3>\n
\ncome benevolence and righteousness.
\nWith the exaltation of learning and prudence
\ncomes immense hypocrisy.
\nThe disordered family
\nis full of dutiful children and parents.
\nThe disordered society
\nis full of loyal patriots.<\/p>\n19. Raw silk and uncut wood<\/h3>\n
\nit\u2019ll be a hundred times better for everyone.
\nStop being altruistic, forget being righteous,
\npeople will remember what family feeling is.
\nStop planning, forget making a profit,
\nthere won\u2019t be any thieves and robbers.<\/p>\n
\nneedn\u2019t be followed; what works reliably
\nis to know the raw silk,
\nhold the uncut wood.
\nNeed little,
\nwant less.
\nForget the rules.
\nBe untroubled.[13]<\/a><\/p>\n20. Being different<\/h3>\n
\nWhat difference between good and bad?[14]<\/a><\/p>\n
\nmust be feared.
\nO desolation!
\nNot yet, not yet has it reached its limit!<\/p>\n
\ncheerful as if at a party,
\nor climbing a tower in springtime.
\nAnd here I sit unmoved,
\nclueless, like a child,
\na baby too young to smile.<\/p>\n
\nLike a homeless person.
\nMost people have plenty.
\nI\u2019m the one that\u2019s poor,
\na fool right through.<\/p>\n
\nMost people are so bright.
\nI\u2019m the one that\u2019s dull.
\nMost people are so keen.
\nI don\u2019t have the answers.
\nOh, I\u2019m desolate, at sea,
\nadrift, without harbor.<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m the clumsy one, out of place.
\nI\u2019m the different one,
\nfor my food
\nis the milk of the mother.[15]<\/a><\/p>\n21. The empty heart<\/h3>\n
\nof following the Way alone.
\nHow the Way does things
\nis hard to grasp, elusive.
\nElusive, yes, hard to grasp,
\nyet there are thoughts in it.
\nHard to grasp, yes, elusive,
\nyet there are things in it.
\nHard to make out, yes, and obscure,
\nyet there is spirit in it,
\nveritable spirit.
\nThere is certainty in it.
\nFrom long, long ago till now
\nit has kept its name.
\nSo it saw
\nthe beginning of everything.<\/p>\n
\nanything about the beginning?
\nBy this.[16]<\/a><\/p>\n22. Growing downward<\/h3>\n
\nTwist to be straight.
\nBe empty to be full.
\nWear out to be renewed.
\nHave little and gain much.
\nHave much and get confused.<\/p>\n
\nand test all things against it.<\/p>\n
\nthey shine forth.
\nNot justifying themselves,
\nthey\u2019re self-evident.
\nNot praising themselves,
\nthey\u2019re accomplished.
\nNot competing,
\nthey have in all the world no competitor.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBe broken to be whole,\u201d
\nwas that mistaken?
\nTruly, to be whole
\nis to return.<\/p>\n23. Nothing and not<\/h3>\n
\nA whirlwind doesn\u2019t last all morning.
\nA cloudburst doesn\u2019t last all day.
\nWho makes the wind and rain?
\nHeaven and earth do.
\nIf heaven and earth don\u2019t go on and on,
\ncertainly people don\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n
\nare Tao people,
\nthey belong to the Way.
\nPeople who work with power
\nbelong to power.
\nPeople who work with loss
\nbelong to what\u2019s lost.<\/p>\n
\nand you\u2019ll be at home on the Way.
\nGive yourself to power
\nand you\u2019ll be at home in power.
\nGive yourself to loss
\nand when you\u2019re lost you\u2019ll be at home.
\nTo give no trust
\nis to get no trust.<\/p>\n24. Proportion<\/h3>\n
\nor walk in leaps and bounds.
\nYou can\u2019t shine by showing off
\nor get ahead by pushing.
\nSelf-satisfied people do no good,
\nself-promoters never grow up.<\/p>\n
\nas garbage is to food
\nor a tumor to the body,
\nhateful.
\nThe follower of the Way
\navoids it.<\/p>\n25. Imagining mystery<\/h3>\n
\nthat contains everything.
\nBefore heaven and earth
\nit is.
\nOh, it is still, unbodied,
\nall on its own, unchanging,
\nall-pervading,
\never-moving.
\nSo it can act as the mother
\nof all things.
\nNot knowing its real name,
\nwe only call it the Way.<\/p>\n
\nlet its name be Great.
\nGreatness means going on,
\ngoing on means going far,
\nand going far means turning back.<\/p>\n
\nheaven is great,
\nearth is great,
\nand humankind is great;
\nfour greatnesses in the world,
\nand humanity is one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nearth follows heaven,
\nheaven follows the Way,
\nthe Way follows what is.[18]<\/a><\/p>\n26. Power of the heavy<\/h3>\n
\nStill is the master of moving.[20]<\/a><\/p>\n
\nwith the heavy baggage wagon.<\/p>\n
\nin a solid, quiet house
\ndo they lay care aside.<\/p>\n
\nlet his own person
\nweigh less in the balance than his land?
\nLightness will lose him his foundation,
\nmovement will lose him his mastery.<\/p>\n27. Skill<\/h3>\n
\nGood talkers don\u2019t stammer.
\nGood counters don\u2019t use their fingers.
\nThe best door\u2019s unlocked and unopened.
\nThe best knot\u2019s not in a rope and can\u2019t be untied.<\/p>\n
\nnever turning their back on anyone.
\nThey\u2019re good at looking after things,
\nnever turning their back on anything.
\nThere\u2019s a light hidden here.<\/p>\n
\nthe less good are the makings of the good.
\nAnyone who doesn\u2019t respect a teacher
\nor cherish a student
\nmay be clever, but has gone astray.
\nThere\u2019s a deep mystery here.[21]<\/a><\/p>\n28. Turning back<\/h3>\n
\nand staying woman,
\nbe the riverbed of the world.
\nBeing the world\u2019s riverbed
\nof eternal unfailing power
\nis to go back again to be newborn.<\/p>\n
\nand staying dark,
\nbe a pattern to the world.
\nBeing the world\u2019s pattern
\nof eternal unerring power
\nis to go back again to boundlessness.<\/p>\n
\nand staying modest,
\nbe the valley of the world.
\nBeing the world\u2019s valley
\nof eternal inexhaustible power
\nis to go back again to the natural.<\/p>\n
\nand made into useful things.
\nWise souls are used
\nto make into leaders.
\nJust so, a great carving
\nis done without cutting.[22]<\/a><\/p>\n29. Not doing<\/h3>\n
\nby doing something to it,
\nI see them come to grief.
\nFor the world is a sacred object.
\nNothing is to be done to it.
\nTo do anything to it is to damage it.
\nTo seize it is to lose it.<\/p>\n
\nsome blow hot, some cold,
\nsome are strong, some weak,
\nsome are fulfilled, some fail.<\/p>\n
\nfrom the extremes, excess, extravagance.[23]<\/a><\/p>\n30. Not making war<\/h3>\n
\nto use force of arms for conquest;
\nthat tactic backfires.<\/p>\n
\ngrow thorns and thistles.
\nAfter the war
\ncome the bad harvests.
\nGood leaders prosper, that\u2019s all,
\nnot presuming on victory.
\nThey prosper without boasting,
\nor domineering, or arrogance,
\nprosper because they can\u2019t help it,
\nprosper without violence.[24]<\/a><\/p>\n
\nNot the Way.
\nWhat\u2019s not the Way
\nsoon ends.[25]<\/a><\/p>\n31. Against war<\/h3>\n
\nis an unhappy tool,
\nhateful to living things.
\nSo the follower of the Way
\nstays away from it.<\/p>\n
\nnot chosen by thoughtful people,
\nto be used only when there is no choice,
\nand with a calm, still mind,
\nwithout enjoyment.<\/p>\n
\nis to enjoy killing people,
\nand to enjoy killing people
\nis to lose your share in the common good.<\/p>\n
\nbe mourned and lamented.
\nIt is right that a victor in war
\nbe received with funeral ceremonies.<\/p>\n32. Sacred power<\/h3>\n
\nUncut wood, nothing important,
\nyet nobody under heaven
\ndare try to carve it.
\nIf rulers and leaders could use it,
\nthe ten thousand things
\nwould gather in homage,
\nheaven and earth would drop sweet dew,
\nand people, without being ordered,
\nwould be fair to one another.<\/p>\n
\nis to begin naming;
\nwhen names proliferate
\nit\u2019s time to stop.
\nIf you know when to stop
\nyou\u2019re in no danger.[26]<\/a><\/p>\n
\nis as a stream to a valley,
\na river to the sea.<\/p>\n33. Kinds of power<\/h3>\n
\nknowing yourself is wisdom.
\nOvercoming others takes strength,
\novercoming yourself takes greatness.
\nContentment is wealth.<\/p>\n
\nStaying put keeps you in position.<\/p>\n
\nis to live long enough.<\/p>\n34. Perfect trust<\/h3>\n
\nto left, to right,
\nthe ten thousand things
\ndepending on it,
\nliving on it,
\naccepted by it.<\/p>\n
\nit goes unnamed.
\nClothing and feeding
\nthe ten thousand things,
\nit lays no claim on them
\nand asks nothing of them.
\nCall it a small matter.
\nThe ten thousand things
\nreturn to it,
\nthough it lays no claim on them.
\nCall it great.<\/p>\n
\nwithout great doings
\nachieves greatness.<\/p>\n35. Humane power<\/h3>\n
\nand all the world will come to you,
\nharmless, peaceable, serene.<\/p>\n
\nfor music, for food.
\nBut if you taste the Way
\nit\u2019s flat, insipid.
\nIt looks like nothing much,
\nit sounds like nothing much.
\nAnd yet you can\u2019t get enough of it.<\/p>\n36. The small dark light<\/h3>\n
\nmust first have grown;
\nwhat seeks weakness
\nsurely was strong.
\nWhat seeks its ruin
\nmust first have risen;
\nwhat seeks to take
\nhas surely given.<\/p>\n
\nthe soft, the weak prevail
\nover the hard, the strong.<\/p>\n
\nthe real means of rule
\nshould be kept dark.[27]<\/a><\/p>\n37. Over all<\/h3>\n
\nand everything gets done.
\nIf those in power could hold to the Way,
\nthe ten thousand things
\nwould look after themselves.
\nIf even so they tried to act,
\nI\u2019d quiet them with the nameless,
\nthe natural.<\/p>\n
\nis not wanting.
\nIn not wanting is stillness.
\nIn stillness all under heaven rests.[28]<\/a><\/p>\nBOOK TWO<\/h2>\n
38. Talking about power<\/h3>\n
\nhas true power.
\nLesser power, clinging to power,
\nlacks true power.
\nGreat power, doing nothing,
\nhas nothing to do.
\nLesser power, doing nothing,
\nhas an end in view.<\/p>\n
\nhas no end in view.
\nThe right the very righteous do
\nhas an end in view.
\nAnd those who act in true obedience to law
\nroll up their sleeves
\nand make the disobedient obey.<\/p>\n
\nlosing power we find goodness;
\nlosing goodness we find righteousness;
\nlosing righteousness we\u2019re left with obedience.<\/p>\n
\nof loyalty and good faith.
\nOpinion is the barren flower of the Way,
\nthe beginning of ignorance.<\/p>\n
\nabide in the kernel not the husk,
\nin the fruit not the flower,
\nletting the one go, keeping the other.[29]<\/a><\/p>\n39. Integrity<\/h3>\n
\nearth through its wholeness is steady;
\nspirit through its wholeness is potent;
\nthe valley through its wholeness flows with rivers;
\nthe ten thousand things through their wholeness live;
\nrulers through their wholeness have authority.
\nTheir wholeness makes them what they are.<\/p>\n
\nwithout what steadies it, earth would crack apart;
\nwithout what makes it potent, spirit would fail;
\nwithout what fills it, the valley would run dry;
\nwithout what quickens them, the ten thousand things would die;
\nwithout what authorizes them, rulers would fall.<\/p>\n
\nthe high stands on what\u2019s below.
\nPrinces and kings call themselves
\n\u201corphans, widowers, beggars,\u201d
\nto get themselves rooted in the dirt.<\/p>\n
\nis poverty.
\nJade is praised as precious,
\nbut its strength is being stone.<\/p>\n40. By no means<\/h3>\n
\nWeakness is how the Way works.<\/p>\n
\nare born of being.
\nBeing is born of nothing.<\/p>\n41. On and off<\/h3>\n
\nand try hard to follow it.
\nOrdinary people hear about the Way
\nand wander onto it and off it.
\nThoughtless people hear about the Way
\nand make jokes about it.
\nIt wouldn\u2019t be the Way
\nif there weren\u2019t jokes about it.<\/p>\n
\nThe Way\u2019s brightness looks like darkness;
\nadvancing on the Way feels like retreating;
\nthe plain Way seems hard going.
\nThe height of power seems a valley;
\nthe amplest power seems not enough;
\nthe firmest power seems feeble.
\nPerfect whiteness looks dirty.
\nThe pure and simple looks chaotic.<\/p>\n
\nThe great vessel is never finished.
\nThe great tone is barely heard.
\nThe great thought can\u2019t be thought.<\/p>\n
\nin its namelessness.
\nBut only the Way
\nbegins, sustains, fulfills.<\/p>\n42. Children of the Way<\/h3>\n
\nThe one bears two.
\nThe two bear three.
\nThe three bear the ten thousand things.
\nThe ten thousand things
\ncarry the yin on their shoulders
\nand hold in their arms the yang,
\nwhose interplay of energy
\nmakes harmony.[30]<\/a><\/p>\n
\norphans, widowers, outcasts.
\nYet that\u2019s what kings and rulers call themselves.
\nWhatever you lose, you\u2019ve won.
\nWhatever you win, you\u2019ve lost.<\/p>\n
\nviolence and aggression
\ndestroy themselves.
\nMy teaching rests on that.<\/p>\n43. Water and stone<\/h3>\n
\nrushes and runs
\nover what\u2019s hardest in the world.<\/p>\n
\nenters
\nthe impenetrable.<\/p>\n
\nthe profit in not doing\u2014
\nnot many people understand it.<\/p>\n44. Fame and fortune<\/h3>\n
\nname or self?
\nWhich is dearer,
\nself or wealth?
\nWhich gives more pain,
\nloss or gain?<\/p>\n
\nAll you hoard will be utterly lost.<\/p>\n
\nRestraint keeps you out of danger
\nso you can go on for a long, long time.<\/p>\n45. Real power<\/h3>\n
\nbut you can use it forever.
\nWhat\u2019s perfectly full seems empty,
\nbut you can\u2019t use it up.<\/p>\n
\nGreat skill looks clumsy.<\/p>\n
\nTo be comfortable in the cold, keep moving;
\nto be comfortable in the heat, hold still;
\nto be comfortable in the world, stay calm and clear.<\/p>\n46. Wanting less<\/h3>\n
\nthey use horses to haul manure.
\nWhen the world gets off the Way,
\nthey breed warhorses on the common.<\/p>\n
\nThe worst luck: discontent.
\nGreed\u2019s the curse of life.<\/p>\n
\nis enough to know.<\/p>\n47. Looking far<\/h3>\n
\nto know what goes on in the world.
\nYou don\u2019t have to look out the window
\nto see the way of heaven.
\nThe farther you go,
\nthe less you know.<\/p>\n
\ndoesn\u2019t go, but knows;
\ndoesn\u2019t look, but sees;
\ndoesn\u2019t do, but gets it done.[31]<\/a><\/p>\n48. Unlearning<\/h3>\n
\nFollowing the Way daily you shrink.
\nYou get smaller and smaller.
\nSo you arrive at not doing.
\nYou do nothing and nothing\u2019s not done.<\/p>\n
\ndon\u2019t fuss with them.
\nNobody who fusses
\nis fit to run things.[32]<\/a><\/p>\n49. Trust and power<\/h3>\n
\nfinding it in the minds
\nof ordinary people.<\/p>\n
\nand they\u2019re good to bad people.
\nPower is goodness.
\nThey trust people of good faith
\nand they trust people of bad faith.
\nPower is trust.<\/p>\n
\nthey mix their mind up with the world.
\nOrdinary people look after them.[33]<\/a>
\nWise souls are children.[34]<\/a><\/p>\n50. Love of life<\/h3>\n
\nis to find death.
\nThe thirteen organs of our living
\nare the thirteen organs of our dying.
\nWhy are the organs of our life
\nwhere death enters us?
\nBecause we hold too hard to living.<\/p>\n
\nif you live in the right way,
\nwhen you cross country
\nyou needn\u2019t fear to meet a mad bull or a tiger;
\nwhen you\u2019re in a battle
\nyou needn\u2019t fear the weapons.
\nThe bull would find nowhere to jab its horns,
\nthe tiger nowhere to stick its claws,
\nthe sword nowhere for its point to go.
\nWhy? Because there\u2019s nowhere in you
\nfor death to enter.<\/p>\n51. Nature, nurture<\/h3>\n
\npower nurtures them;
\ntheir own being shapes them;
\ntheir own energy completes them.
\nAnd not one of the ten thousand things
\nfails to hold the Way sacred
\nor to obey its power.<\/p>\n
\nand obedience to its power
\nare unforced and always natural.
\nFor the Way gives them life;
\nits power nourishes them,
\nmothers and feeds them,
\ncompletes and matures them,
\nlooks after them, protects them.<\/p>\n
\ndo without claiming,
\nlead without controlling:
\nthis is mysterious power.<\/p>\n52. Back to the beginning<\/h3>\n
\nis the mother of everything.
\nTruly to know the mother
\nis to know her children,
\nand truly to know the children
\nis to turn back to the mother.
\nThe body comes to its ending
\nbut there is nothing to fear.<\/p>\n
\nshut the doors,
\nand to the end of life
\nnothing will trouble you.
\nOpen the openings,
\nbe busy with business,
\nand to the end of life
\nnothing can help you.<\/p>\n
\nStrength knows how to yield.
\nUse the way\u2019s light, return to its insight,
\nand so keep from going too far.
\nThat\u2019s how to practice what\u2019s forever.[35]<\/a><\/p>\n53. Insight<\/h3>\n
\nI walk the great way.
\nArrogance
\nis all I fear.<\/p>\n
\nbut people like shortcuts over the mountains.<\/p>\n
\nand the fields are full of weeds
\nand the granaries are full of nothing.<\/p>\n
\ncarrying weapons,
\ndrinking a lot and eating a lot,
\nhaving a lot of things, a lot of money:
\nshameless thieves.
\nSurely their way
\nisn\u2019t the way.[36]<\/a><\/p>\n54. Some rules<\/h3>\n
\nwell kept is not lost.
\nThe offerings of the generations
\nto the ancestors will not cease.<\/p>\n
\nTo follow it in the family is abundant power.
\nTo follow it in the community is steady power.
\nTo follow it in the whole country is lasting power.
\nTo follow it in the world is universal power.<\/p>\n
\nin my household I see what family is,
\nin my town I see what community is,
\nin my nation I see what a country is,
\nin the world I see what is under heaven.<\/p>\n
\nBy this.[37]<\/a><\/p>\n55. The sign of the mysterious<\/h3>\n
\nis like being a baby.[38]<\/a>
\nScorpions don\u2019t sting,
\ntigers don\u2019t attack,
\neagles don\u2019t strike.
\nSoft bones, weak muscles,
\nbut a firm grasp.
\nIgnorant of the intercourse
\nof man and woman,
\nyet the baby penis is erect.
\nTrue and perfect energy!
\nAll day long screaming and crying,
\nbut never getting hoarse.
\nTrue and perfect harmony!<\/p>\n
\nis to know what\u2019s eternal.
\nTo know what\u2019s eternal
\nis enlightenment.
\nIncrease of life is full of portent:
\nthe strong heart exhausts the vital breath.
\nThe full-grown is on the edge of age.
\nNot the Way.
\nWhat\u2019s not the Way soon dies.<\/p>\n56. Mysteries of power<\/h3>\n
\ndoesn\u2019t talk.
\nWho talks
\ndoesn\u2019t know.
\nClosing the openings,
\nshutting doors,
\nblunting edge,
\nloosing bond,
\ndimming light,
\nbe one with the dust of the way.
\nSo you come to the deep sameness.<\/p>\n
\nor by rejection.
\nYou can\u2019t be controlled by profit
\nor by loss.
\nYou can\u2019t be controlled by praise
\nor by humiliation.
\nThen you have honor under heaven.<\/p>\n57. Being simple<\/h3>\n
\nWin the war by doing the unexpected.
\nControl the world by doing nothing.
\nHow do I know that?
\nBy this.[39]<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThe more experts the country has
\nthe more of a mess it\u2019s in.
\nThe more ingenious the skillful are,
\nthe more monstrous their inventions.
\nThe louder the call for law and order,
\nthe more the thieves and con men multiply.[40]<\/a><\/p>\n
\nI practice inaction, and the people look after themselves.
\nI love to be quiet, and the people themselves find justice.
\nI don\u2019t do business, and the people prosper on their own.
\nI don\u2019t have wants, and the people themselves are uncut wood.[41]<\/a><\/p>\n58. Living with change<\/h3>\n
\nthe people are placid.
\nWhen the government\u2019s sharp and keen,
\nthe people are discontented.
\nAlas! misery lies under happiness,
\nand happiness sits on misery, alas!
\nWho knows where it will end?
\nNothing is certain.[42]<\/a><\/p>\n
\nthe fortunate into the unfortunate,
\nand our bewilderment
\ngoes on and on.<\/p>\n
\nshape without cutting,
\nsquare without sawing,
\ntrue without forcing.
\nThey are the light that does not shine.[43]<\/a><\/p>\n59. Staying on the way<\/h3>\n
\ngather spirit.
\nGather spirit early,
\nand so redouble power,
\nand so become invulnerable.<\/p>\n
\nyou can do what you like with material things.
\nBut only if you hold to the Mother of things
\nwill you do it for long.
\nHave deep roots, a strong trunk.
\nLive long by looking long.<\/p>\n60. Staying put<\/h3>\n
\nthe way you cook a small fish.[44]<\/a><\/p>\n
\ntroubled spirits won\u2019t act up.
\nThey won\u2019t lose their immaterial strength,
\nbut they won\u2019t harm people with it,
\nnor will wise souls come to harm.
\nAnd so, neither harming the other,
\nthese powers will come together in unity.[45]<\/a><\/p>\n61. Lying low<\/h3>\n
\nruns downhill like a river to the sea,
\njoining with everything,
\nwoman to everything.<\/p>\n
\nmay always dominate the man,
\nlying quiet underneath him.<\/p>\n
\nsubmitting to small ones, dominates them;
\nso small countries,
\nsubmitting to a great one, dominate it.<\/p>\n
\nbe on top by lying low.<\/p>\n62. The gift of the way<\/h3>\n
\nof the ten thousand things.
\nGood souls treasure it,
\nlost souls find shelter in it.<\/p>\n
\nfine deeds go cheap;
\neven worthless people can get them.<\/p>\n
\nwhen the Three Ministers take office,
\nyou might race out in a four-horse chariot
\nto offer a jade screen;
\nbut wouldn\u2019t it be better to sit still
\nand let the Way be your offering?<\/p>\n
\nin the old days?
\nWasn\u2019t it said:
\nSeek, you\u2019ll find it.
\nHide, it will shelter you.
\nSo it was honored under heaven.[46]<\/a><\/p>\n63. Consider beginnings<\/h3>\n
\nAct without action.
\nSavor the flavorless.
\nTreat the small as large,
\nthe few as many.<\/p>\n
\nwith the power of goodness.<\/p>\n
\nDo big things while they\u2019re small.
\nThe hardest jobs in the world start out easy,
\nthe great affairs of the world start small.<\/p>\n
\nby never dealing with great things,
\ngets great things done.<\/p>\n
\nthe wise soul,
\nby treating the easy as hard,
\ndoesn\u2019t find anything hard.[47]<\/a><\/p>\n64. Mindful of little things<\/h3>\n
\neasy to plan what hasn\u2019t occurred.
\nIt\u2019s easy to shatter delicate things,
\neasy to scatter little things.
\nDo things before they happen.
\nGet them straight before they get mixed up.<\/p>\n
\ngrew from a tiny seedling.
\nThe nine-story tower rises
\nfrom a heap of clay.
\nThe ten-thousand-mile journey
\nbegins beneath your foot.<\/p>\n
\nHold on, and lose.
\nNot doing, the wise soul
\ndoesn\u2019t do it wrong,
\nand not holding on,
\ndoesn\u2019t lose it.
\n(In all their undertakings,
\nit\u2019s just as they\u2019re almost finished
\nthat people go wrong.
\nMind the end as the beginning,
\nthen it won\u2019t go wrong.)<\/p>\n
\nwant not to want,
\ncare nothing for hard-won treasures,
\nlearn not to be learned,
\nturn back to what people overlooked.
\nThey go along with things as they are,
\nbut don\u2019t presume to act.<\/p>\n65. One power<\/h3>\n
\nthose who ruled according to the Way
\ndidn\u2019t use it to make people knowing
\nbut to keep them unknowing.[48]<\/a><\/p>\n
\nwhen they know too much.
\nWhoever rules by intellect
\nis a curse upon the land.
\nWhoever rules by ignorance
\nis a blessing on it.
\nTo understand these things
\nis to have a pattern and a model,
\nand to understand the pattern and the model
\nis mysterious power.[49]<\/a><\/p>\n
\ngoes deep.
\nIt reaches far.
\nIt follows things back,
\nclear back to the great oneness.[50]<\/a><\/p>\n66. Lowdown<\/h3>\n
\nWhy? Because they\u2019ll go lower.
\nSo they\u2019re the lords of the hundred valleys.<\/p>\n
\nwanting to be above other people,
\ntalks to them from below
\nand to guide them
\nfollows them.<\/p>\n
\npredominates without dominating,
\nand leads without misleading.
\nAnd people don\u2019t get tired
\nof enjoying and praising
\none who, not competing,
\nhas in all the world
\nno competitor.[51]<\/a><\/p>\n67. Three treasures<\/h3>\n
\nbut improbable.<\/p>\n
\nis improbable.
\nWhat\u2019s probable
\nis tedious and petty.[52]<\/a><\/p>\n
\nI keep and treasure them.
\nThe first, mercy,
\nthe second, moderation,
\nthe third, modesty.
\nIf you\u2019re merciful you can be brave,
\nif you\u2019re moderate you can be generous,
\nand if you don\u2019t presume to lead
\nyou can lead the high and mighty.<\/p>\n
\nor generous without self-restraint,
\nor to take the lead,
\nis fatal.<\/p>\n
\nand holds the fort;
\nit is the bulwark set
\naround those heaven helps.[53]<\/a><\/p>\n68. Heaven\u2019s lead<\/h3>\n
\nThe fiercest fighter doesn\u2019t bluster.
\nThe big winner isn\u2019t competing.
\nThe best boss takes a low footing.
\nThis is the power of noncompetition.
\nThis is the right use of ability.
\nTo follow heaven\u2019s lead
\nhas always been the best way.<\/p>\n69. Using mystery<\/h3>\n
\nRather than dare make the attack
\nI\u2019d take the attack;
\nrather than dare advance an inch
\nI\u2019d retreat a foot.<\/p>\n
\nrolling up your sleeves without flexing your muscles, being armed without weapons,
\ngiving the attacker no opponent.
\nNothing\u2019s worse than attacking what yields.
\nTo attack what yields is to throw away the prize.<\/p>\n
\nthe one who comes to grief
\nis the true victor.[54]<\/a><\/p>\n70. Being obscure<\/h3>\n
\nso easy to follow,
\nand yet nobody in the world
\nunderstands or follows them.<\/p>\n
\ndeeds from a mastery:
\nwhen these are unknown, so am I.<\/p>\n
\nis my value.
\nThat\u2019s why the wise
\nwear their jade under common clothes.<\/p>\n71. The sick mind<\/h3>\n
\nNot knowing without knowing it is sick.<\/p>\n
\nis the only cure.<\/p>\n
\nThey\u2019re sick of sickness,
\nso they\u2019re well.[55]<\/a><\/p>\n72. The right fear<\/h3>\n
\nwe are in fearful danger.
\nWe ought not to live in narrow houses,
\nwe ought not to do stupid work.<\/p>\n
\nwe won\u2019t act stupidly.
\nSo, wise souls know but don\u2019t show themselves,
\nlook after but don\u2019t prize themselves,
\nletting the one go, keeping the other.<\/p>\n73. Daring to do<\/h3>\n
\nBrave caution leads to life.
\nThe choice can be the right one
\nor the wrong one.<\/p>\n
\nthe judgment of heaven?
\nEven the wise soul
\nfinds it hard.<\/p>\n
\ndoesn\u2019t compete
\nyet wins handily,
\ndoesn\u2019t speak
\nyet answers fully,
\ndoesn\u2019t summon
\nyet attracts.
\nIt acts
\nperfectly easily.<\/p>\n
\nis vast, vast,
\nwide-meshed,
\nyet misses nothing.<\/p>\n74. The Lord of Slaughter<\/h3>\n
\nhow can you use death to frighten them?
\nEven when they have a normal fear of death,
\nwho of us dare take and kill the one who doesn\u2019t?
\nWhen people are normal and decent and death-fearing, there\u2019s always an executioner.
\nTo take the place of that executioner
\nis to take the place of the great carpenter.
\nPeople who cut the great carpenter\u2019s wood
\nseldom get off with their hands unhurt.[56]<\/a><\/p>\n75. Greed<\/h3>\n
\nThe rich gobble taxes,
\nthat\u2019s why people are starving.<\/p>\n
\nThe rich oppress them,
\nthat\u2019s why people rebel.<\/p>\n
\nThe rich make it too costly,
\nthat\u2019s why people hold it cheap.<\/p>\n
\nare worth more than the wealth-seekers.[57]<\/a><\/p>\n76. Hardness<\/h3>\n
\nare soft and tender.
\nCorpses are hard and stiff.
\nThe ten thousand things,
\nthe living grass, the trees,
\nare soft, pliant.
\nDead, they\u2019re dry and brittle.<\/p>\n
\ngo with death;
\ntenderness, softness,
\ngo with life.<\/p>\n
\nthe stiff tree\u2019s felled.
\nThe hard and great go under.
\nThe soft and weak stay up.[58]<\/a><\/p>\n77. The bow<\/h3>\n
\nis like a bow bent to shoot:
\nits top end brought down,
\nits lower end raised up.
\nIt brings the high down,
\nlifts the low,
\ntakes from those who have,
\ngives to those who have not.<\/p>\n
\ntaking from people who have,
\ngiving to people who have not.
\nNot so the human way:
\nit takes from those who have not
\nto fill up those who have.
\nWho has enough to fill up everybody?
\nOnly those who have the Way.<\/p>\n
\ndo without claiming,
\nachieve without asserting,
\nwishing not to show their worth.<\/p>\n78. Paradoxes<\/h3>\n
\nis as soft, as weak, as water;
\nnothing else can wear away
\nthe hard, the strong,
\nand remain unaltered.
\nSoft overcomes hard,
\nweak overcomes strong.
\nEverybody knows it,
\nnobody uses the knowledge.<\/p>\n
\nBy bearing common defilements
\nyou become a sacrificer at the altar of earth;
\nby bearing common evils
\nyou become a lord of the world.<\/p>\n79. Keeping the contract<\/h3>\n
\nsome enmity always remains.
\nHow to make peace?
\nWise souls keep their part of the contract
\nand don\u2019t make demands on others.
\nPeople whose power is real fulfill their obligations; people whose power is hollow insist on their claims.<\/p>\n
\nIt stays with the good.[59]<\/a><\/p>\n80. Freedom<\/h3>\n