The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth;
The Named is the mother of all things.
Therefore let there always be non-being so we may see their subtlety,
And let there always be being so we may see their outcome.
The two are the same,
But after they are produced, they have different names.
They both may be called deep and profound (hsuan).
Deeper and more profound,
The door of all subtleties!
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.
Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.
Therefore the Master
acts without doing anything
and teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn't possess,
acts but doesn't expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts forever.
And people will not contend.
Don't treasure rare objects,
And no one will steal.
Don't display what people desire,
And their hearts will not be disturbed.
Therefore,
The Sage rules
By emptying hearts and filling bellies,
By weakening ambitions and strengthening bones;
Leads people
Away from knowing and wanting;
Deters those who know too much
From going too far;
Practices non-action
And the natural order is not disrupted.
it seems one who uses it will lack solidity.
An abyss,
it seems something like the ancestor
of the thousands of things.
It dampens the passion
it unties the tangles
it makes the flashing things harmonious
it makes the dust merge together.
Deep,
it is perhaps like an enduring something
I don't know of anything whose offspring it might be --
it appears to precede God.
It treats all things as straw-dogs.
The Sage is not sentimental;
He treats all his people as straw-dogs.
Between Heaven and Earth,
There seems to be a Bellows;
It is empty, and yet it is inexhaustible;
The more it works, the more comes out of it.
No amount of words can fathom it:
Better look for it within you.
This is called 'fathomless female'
The channel of the fathomless female:
This is called the basis of the cosmos.
Silken! It's as if it abides.
Handle it gently!
The reason why heaven and earth can be enduring is that they do not give themselves life.
Hence they are able to be long-lived.
Therefore the sage puts his person last and it comes first,
Treats it as extraneous to himself and it is preserved.
Is it not because he is without thought of self that he is able to accomplish his private ends?
Water's goodness benefits the myriad beings
And yet does not strive
Dwells in places which everyone else regards with contempt
And in this way is close to the way
In dwelling the good is place
In mind the good is depth
In relations the good is compassion
In speech the good is sincerity
In government the good is organization
In business the good is competence
In movement the good is timing
It is only when there is no contention
That there is then no resentment
when not filled to overflowing.
The blade is more effective
if not tempered beyond its mettle.
Gold and jade are easier to protect
if possessed in moderation.
He who seeks titles,
invites his own downfall.
The sage works quietly,
seeking neither praise nor fame;
completing what he does with natural ease,
and then retiring.
This is the way and nature of Tao.
embracing them as one,
can you keep them from parting?
Concentrating energy,
making it supple,
can you be like an infant?
Purifying hidden perception,
can you make it flawless?
Loving the people, governing the nation,
can you be uncontrived?
As the gate of heaven opens and closes,
can you be impassive?
As understanding reaches everywhere,
can you be innocent?
Producing and developing,
producing without possessing,
doing without presuming,
growing without domineering,
this is called mysterious power.
But it's the hole which creates utility.
Clay fills the mold
But it's the emptiness which creates utility.
So it is with a room:
It is the space which makes it useful.
What is can be shaped to your advantage
But what is not is what is useful.
the five sounds deafen our ears,
the five tastes exhaust our appetites.
Chasing desire can drive us mad.
Therefore, the Tao person
Seeks inner wisdom,
Lets go of excess,
Affirms the truth.
What we value and what we fear are within our Self."
What does this mean:
"Favor and disgrace cause one dismay?"
Those who receive a favor from above
Are dismayed when they receive it,
And dismayed when they lose it.
What does this mean:
"What we value and what we fear are within our Self?"
We have fears because we have a self.
When we do not regard that self as self,
What have we to fear?
Therefore he who values the world as his self
May then be entrusted with the government of the world;
And he who loves the world as his self -
The world may then be entrusted to his care.
It is invisible.
Listen to it, you cannot hear it.
It is inaudible.
Reach for it, you cannot grasp it.
It is intangible.
These three qualities are unfathomable
and so they fuse together and become one.
The upper part is not bright.
The lower part is not dark.
Ceaselessly the Unnamed moves back to nothingness.
It has the form of the formless,
the image of the imageless.
It is indefinable and shadowy.
Go up to it and you will not see its front.
Follow it and you will not see its back.
Yet, hold fast to this ancient Tao and
you will experience the present now-moment.
Know its beginning and
you can follow the path of the Tao.
The depth of their knowledge is unfathomable.
Because it is unfathomable,
All we can do is describe their appearance.
Watchful, like men crossing a winter stream.
Alert, like men aware of danger.
Courteous, like visiting guests.
Yielding, like ice about to melt.
Simple, like uncarved blocks of wood.
Hollow, like caves.
Opaque, like muddy pools.
Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?
Who can remain still until the moment of action?
Observers of the Tao do not seek fulfillment.
Not seeking fulfillment, they are not swayed by desire for change.
Watch quietly while the ten thousand forms
swim into life and return to the source
Do nothing
Return to the source
Deep repose is the sign
That you have reached
The appointed goal
To return to the source is to
discover the eternal law of seed
He who returns to this eternal law is enlightened
Being enlightened he is serene
Being serene he is open-hearted
Being open-hearted he is beyond social games
Being beyond social games he is in tune with seed
Being in tune with seed he endures
Until the end of his life he is not in peril
How irresolute did those (earliest rulers) appear, showing (by their reticence) the importance which they set upon their words! Their work was done and their undertakings were successful, while the people all said, 'We are as we are, of ourselves!'
People benefit one hundred times over
Break away from humanity, toss out morality
People return to filial devotion and mothering
Break away from valuing, toss out profit
Thieves and robbers are not in existence.
These three used as a basis for action are ornament, insufficient.
So make present what principles?
See plainness
Embrace true nature
Reduce self-interest
Limit desires.
no anxieties
People in general are so happy as if
enjoying a feast
Or as going up a tower in spring.
I alone am tranquil, and have made no signs,
Like a baby who is yet unable to smile;
Forlorn as if I had no home to go to.
Others all have more than enough,
And I alone seem to be in want.
Possibly mine is the mind of a fool,
Which is so ignorant!
The others are discriminative,
And I alone seem to be blunt.
I am negligent as if being obscure;
Drifting, as if being attached to nothing.
The people in general all have
something to do,
And I alone seem to be impractical
and awkward.
I alone am different from others,
I seek my sustenance direct
from the mother Tao.
Nature is something which can never be seen nor touched.
Yet all the forms which can possibly be seen or touched are latent within it.
And all of the things that will actually be seen or touched are
embedded as potentialities within it.
Deep in its depths are activating forces.
No matter how unplumbable the depths, these forces unfailingly sustain
the world as it appears to us.
From the beginning until now, they have never ceased to express
themselves in appearances.
How do I know all this to be so? It is intuitively self-evident, for
every existing thing testifies to it, including what appears right here
and now.
And the rough places plain;
The pools shall be filled
And the worn renewed;
The needy shall receive
And the rich shall be perplexed.
So the Wise Man cherishes the One,
As a standard to the world;
Not displaying himself,
He is famous;
Not asserting himself,
He is distinguished;
Not boasting his powers,
He is effective;
Taking no pride in himself,
He is chief.
Because he is no competitor,
No one in all the world
Can compete with him.
The saying of the men of old
Is not in vain:
"The crooked shall be made straight--"
To be perfect, return to it.
High winds do not last all morning.
Heavy rain does not last all day.
These are nature's words.
If even nature cannot make them last,
How much less can man?
Following Tao, you are identified with Tao.
Following power, you are identified with power.
Abandoning Tao, you are identified with loss.
Identify with Tao, and Tao welcomes you.
Identify with power, and power welcomes you.
Identify with loss, and loss welcomes you.
If you don't trust enough, you won't be trusted.
One who rushes ahead is likely to trip.
One who listens only to himself cannot learn.
One who considers himself righteous, isn't.
One who brags has nothing to brag about.
One who feels sorry for himself does not grow.
Compared to the Tao, these people are table scraps and wasted effort,
and not well-liked by anyone or anything.
So, if you follow the Tao, you will not live like that.
Beneath abstraction,
Silent, depthless,
Alone, unchanging,
Ubiquitous and liquid,
The mother of nature.
It has no name, but I call it "the Way";
It has no limit, but I call it "limitless."
Being limitless, it flows away forever;
Flowing away forever, it returns to my self;
The Way is limitless,
So nature is limitless,
So the world is limitless,
And so I am limitless.
For I am abstracted from the world,
The world from nature,
Nature from the Way,
And the Way from what is beneath abstraction.
Stillness is the master of the motion.
Therefore, the sage, travelling all day,
Does not lose sight of the cart of provision.
Although there are beautiful sights,
He remains serene and unattached.
Why should the lord (the sage) of ten thousand chariots be frivolous?
To be frivolous is to lose one's own nature.
To be restless is to lose one's command of the state.
Speaks without error, counts without markers.
No locks on his door, and yet no one can open it.
No rope used, and yet his knots cannot be untied.
Thus, the Tao-Master cares for all beings and neglects none.
Thus, he follows the light.
The Tao-Master teaches the fool, and thus the fool learns.
But teaching and learning will not take place
unless the student values the teacher
and the teacher loves the student.
This is the subtle secret of teaching.
know masculine
yet abide in feminine
be a child of the world
know light
yet abide in black
be a pattern of the world
know glory
yet abide in humility
be a reflection of the world
know division
yet abide in unity
be a master of the world
The world is a sacred 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.
Does not coerce the realm with weapons.
Such affairs easily rebound.
Wherever the army has encamped,
Thorny brambles will grow.
After large armies have flourished,
There will certainly be baleful years.
One who excels rests in the results, that's all,
Not daring to exploit his strength.
He attains without bragging;
He attains without boasting;
He attains without becoming arrogant.
He attains because he has no alternative;
He attains but does not manifest his might.
When things are strong, they grow old.
This is termed contrary to Tao.
What is contrary to Tao early perishes.
Which everyone despises
Avoid them altogether
Allow no compromises
If use of weapons has to be
When enemies just leave no choice
Use them but reluctantly
In victory do not rejoice
Ascendancy brings sorrow
And triumph doesn't carry pleasure
It severs you from wholeness
And robs you of your treasure
Victory is like a funeral
Where loss of life must make you sad
For putting other people down
Never ought to make you glad
When we divide Nature into parts, the parts need names. There are already enough names. Knowing when to stop thinking about division and separateness can keep us out of trouble. The Tao that unifies everything is like a river flowing home to the sea.
but knowing yourself makes you wise.
To rule others, you must be powerful,
but to rule yourself, you must be strong.
If you have only what you need,
you have true wealth.
If you never give up,
you will find a way.
If you stay true to yourself,
you will never be lost.
If you live your entire life,
you've really lived.
All things depend upon it, and are produced; it denies itself to none.
It achieves its works of merit, but has no name or reputation [among men]. With tenderness it nourishes all things, yet claims no lordship over them.
It is ever passionless, and may be named among the smallest things.
All things submit to it, yet it claims no lordship over them; it may be called great.
Thus the Sage to the end of his life never exalts himself; and thus he is able to achieve great things.
In order to weaken it, first allow it to strengthen;
In order to eliminate it, first allow it to grow;
In order to take away from it, first allow it to receive.
These are called common sense which includes:
The soft and weak overcome the hard and strong;
A fish should not leave deep water;
State's sharp weapons should not be shown to others.
And yet there is nothing left undone.
If kings and princes can preserve it,
All things will submit to them spontaneously.
(After their) submission if any desires occur,
I should subdue them with the nameless simplicity.
The nameless simplicity is nothing but eradication of desires.
Eradication of desires will lead to quietude.
Thus the world will naturally find its equilibrium.
(Verses 38-81)
(Laozi)
