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Subject: Tao Te Ching
                                      
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   Return to Charles Muller's Resources in East Asian Philosophy and
   Religion
   
   Translated during the summer of 1991 by Charles Muller
   Revised, July 1997
   
   When citing please use the URL:
   http://www2.gol.com/users/acmuller/contao/laotzu.htm
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   1.
   The Tao that can be followed is not the eternal Tao.
   The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
   The nameless is the origin of heaven and earth
   While naming is the origin of the myriad things.
   Therefore, always desireless, you see the mystery
   Ever desiring, you see the manifestations.
   These two are the same--
   When they appear they are named differently.
   
   Their sameness is the mystery,
   Mystery within mystery;
   
   The door to all marvels.
   
   2.
   All in the world recognize the beautiful as beautiful.
   Herein lies ugliness.
   All recognize the good as good.
   Herein lies evil.
   
   Therefore
   Being and non-being produce each other.
   Difficulty and ease bring about each other.
   Long and short delimit each other.
   High and low rest on each other.
   Sound and voice harmonize each other.
   Front and back follow each other.
   
   Therefore the sage abides in the condition of wu-wei (unattached
   action).
   And carries out the wordless teaching.
   Here, the myriad things are made, yet not separated.
   
   Therefore the sage produces without possessing,
   Acts without expectations
   And accomplishes without abiding in her accomplishments.
   
   It is precisely because she does not abide in them
   That they never leave her.
   
   
   3.
   If you do not adulate the worthy, you will make others
   non-contentious.
   If you do not value rare treasures, you will stop others from
   stealing.
   If people do not see desirables, they will not be agitated.
   
   Therefore, when the sage governs,
   He clears peoples minds,
   Fills their bellies,
   Weakens their ambition and
   Strengthens their bones.
   
   If the people are kept without cleverness and desire
   It will make the intellectuals not dare to meddle.
   
   Acting without contrivance, there is no lack of manageability.
   
   
   4.
   The Tao is so vast that when you use it, something is always left.
   How deep it is!
   It seems to be the ancestor of the myriad things.
   It blunts sharpness
   Untangles knots
   Softens the glare
   Unifies with the mundane.
   It is so full!
   It seems to have remainder.
   
   It is the child of I-don't-know-who.
   And prior to the primeval Lord-on-high.
   
   
   5.
   Heaven and Earth are not jen,
   And regard the people as straw dogs.
   The sage is not jen,
   And regards all things as straw dogs.
   The space between Heaven and Earth is just like a bellows:
   Empty it, it is not exhausted.
   Squeeze it and more comes out.
   
   Investigating it with a lot of talk
   Is not like holding to the center.
   
   
   6.
   The valley spirit never dies.
   It is called "the mysterious female."
   The opening of the mysterious female
   Is called "the root of Heaven and Earth."
   Continuous, seeming to remain.
   
   Use it without exertion.
   
   
   7.
   Heaven and Earth last forever.
   The reason that Heaven and Earth are able to last forever
   Is because they do not give birth to themselves.
   Therefore, they are always alive.
   Hence, the sage puts herself last and is first.
   She is outside herself and therefore her self lasts.
   
   Is it not through her selflessness
   That she is able to perfect herself?
   
   8.
   The highest goodness is like water.
   Water easily benefits all things without struggle.
   Yet it abides in places that men hate.
   Therefore it is like the Tao.
   
   For dwelling, the Earth is good.
   For the mind, depth is good.
   The goodness of giving is in the timing.
   The goodness of speech is in honesty.
   In government, self-mastery is good.
   In handling affairs, ability is good.
   
   If you do not wrangle, you will not be blamed.
   
   
   9.
   To hold until full is not as good as stopping.
   An oversharpened sword cannot last long.
   A room filled with gold and jewels cannot be protected.
   Boasting of wealth and virtue brings your demise.
   After finishing the work, withdraw.
   
   This is the Way of Heaven.
   
   
   10.
   Pacifying the agitated material soul and holding to oneness:
   Are you able to avoid separation?
   Focusing your energy on the release of tension:
   Can you be like an infant?
   In purifying your insight:
   Can you un-obstruct it?
   Loving the people and ruling the state:
   Can you avoid over-manipulation?
   In opening and closing the gate of Heaven:
   Can you be the female?
   In illuminating the whole universe:
   Can you be free of rationality?
   
   Give birth to it and nourish it.
   Produce it but don't possess it.
   Act without expectation.
   Excel, but don't take charge.
   
   This is called Mysterious Virtue.
   
   
   11.
   Thirty spokes join together in the hub.
   It is because of what is not there that the cart is useful.
   Clay is formed into a vessel.
   It is because of its emptiness that the vessel is useful.
   Cut doors and windows to make a room.
   It is because of its emptiness that the room is useful.
   Therefore, what is present is used for profit.
   
   But it is in absence that there is usefulness.
   
   
   12.
   The five colors blind our eyes.
   The five tones deafen our ears.
   The five flavors confuse our taste.
   Racing and hunting madden our minds.
   Possessing rare treasures brings about harmful behavior.
   Therefore the sage regards his center, and not his eyes.
   
   He lets go of that and chooses this.
   
   
   13.
   Accept humiliation as a surprise.
   Value great misfortune as your own self.
   
   What do I mean by "Accept humiliation as a surprise"?
   When you are humble
   Attainment is a surprise
   And so is loss.
   That's why I say, "Accept humiliation as a surprise."
   
   What do I mean by "Value great misfortune as your own self"?
   
   If I have no self, how could I experience misfortune?
   
   Therefore, if you dedicate your life for the benefit of the world,
   You can rely on the world.
   If you love dedicating yourself in this way,
   You can be entrusted with the world.
   
   
   14.
   Look for it, it cannot be seen.
   It is called the distant.
   Listen for it, it cannot be heard.
   It is called the rare.
   Reach for it, it cannot be gotten.
   It is called the subtle.
   These three ultimately cannot be fathomed.
   Therefore they join to become one.
   
   Its top is not bright;
   Its bottom is not dark;
   Existing continuously, it cannot be named and it returns to
   no-thingness.
   
   Thus, it is called the formless form,
   The image of no-thing.
   This is called the most obscure.
   
   Go to meet it, you cannot see its face.
   Follow it, you cannot see its back.
   
   By holding to the ancient Tao
   You can manage present existence
   And know the primordial beginning.
   
   This is called the very beginning thread of the Tao.
   
   
   15.
   The ancient masters of the Tao
   Had subtle marvelous mystic penetration
   A depth that cannot be known.
   It is exactly because that they are unknowable
   That we are forced to pay attention to their appearance.
   Hesitant, like one crossing an ice-covered river.
   Ready, like one afraid of his neighbors on all sides.
   Dignified, like a guest.
   Loose, like ice about to melt.
   Straightforward, like an uncarved block of wood.
   Open, like a valley.
   Obscure, like muddy water.
   
   Who can be muddled, and use clarity to gradually become lucid?
   Who can be calm, and use constant application for eventual success?
   
   The one who holds to this path does not crave fulfillment.
   Precisely because he does not crave fulfillment
   He can be shattered
   And do without quick restitution.
   
   
   16.
   Effect emptiness to the extreme.
   Keep stillness whole.
   Myriad things act in concert.
   I therefore watch their return.
   All things flourish and each returns to its root.
   
   Returning to the root is called quietude.
   Quietude is called returning to life.
   Return to life is called constant.
   Knowing this constant is called illumination.
   Acting arbitrarily without knowing the constant is harmful.
   Knowing the constant is receptivity, which is impartial.
   
   Impartiality is kingship.
   Kingship is Heaven.
   Heaven is Tao
   Tao is eternal.
   
   Though you lose the body, you do not die.
   
   
   17.
   From great antiquity forth they have known and possessed it.
   Those of the next level loved and praised it.
   The next were in awe of it.
   And the next despised it.
   
   If you lack sincerity no one will believe you.
   
   How careful she is with her precious words!
   When her work is complete and her job is finished,
   Everybody says: "We did it!"
   
   
   18.
   When the great Tao perishes
   There is jen and justice.
   When intelligence is manifest
   There is great deception.
   When the six relationships are not in harmony
   There is filial piety and compassion.
   When the country is in chaos
   Loyal ministers appear.
   
   
   19.
   Get rid of "holiness" and abandon "wisdom" and the people will benefit
   a hundredfold.
   
   Get rid of "altruism" and abandon "Justice" and the people will return
   to filial piety and compassion.
   
   Get rid of cleverness and abandon profit, and thieves and gangsters
   will not exist.
   
   Since the above three are merely words, they are not sufficient.
   Therefore there must be something to include them all.
   
   See the origin and keep the non-differentiated state.
   Lessen selfishness and decrease desire.
   
   
   20.
   Get rid of "learning" and there will be no anxiety.
   How much difference is there between "yes" and "no"?
   How far removed from each other are "good" and "evil"?
   Yet what the people are in awe of cannot be disregarded.
   
   I am scattered, never having been in a comfortable center.
   All the people enjoy themselves, as if they are at the festival of the
   great sacrifice,
   Or climbing the Spring Platform.
   I alone remain, not yet having shown myself.
   Like an infant who has not yet laughed.
   Weary, like one despairing of no home to return to.
   
   All the people enjoy extra
   While I have left everything behind.
   I am ignorant of the minds of others.
   So dull!
   While average people are clear and bright, I alone am obscure.
   Average people know everything.
   To me alone all seems covered.
   So flat!
   Like the ocean.
   Blowing around!
   It seems there is no place to rest.
   Everybody has a goal in mind.
   I alone am as ignorant as a bumpkin.
   I alone differ from people.
   
   I enjoy being nourished by the mother.
   
   
   21.
   The form of great virtue is something that only the Tao can follow.
   The Tao as a "thing" is only vague and obscure.
   How obscure! How vague! In it there is form.
   How vague! How obscure! In it are things.
   How deep! How dark! In it there is an essence.
   
   The essence is so real--therein is belief.
   
   From the present to antiquity, its name has never left it, so we can
   examine all origins.
   How do I know the form of all origins?
   
   By this.
   
   
   22.
   The imperfect is completed.
   The crooked is straightened.
   The empty is filled.
   The old is renewed.
   With few there is attainment.
   With much there is confusion.
   Therefore the sage grasps the one and becomes the model for all.
   
   She does not show herself, and therefore is apparent.
   She does not affirm herself, and therefore is acknowledged.
   She does not boast and therefore has merit.
   She does not strive and is therefore successful.
   It is exactly because she does not contend, that nobody can contend
   with her.
   
   How could the ancient saying, "The imperfect is completed" be regarded
   as empty talk?
   
   Believe in the complete and return to it.
   
   
   23.
   To speak little is natural.
   Therefore a gale does not blow a whole morning
   Nor does a downpour last a whole day.
   Who does these things? Heaven and Earth.
   If even Heaven and Earth cannot force perfect continuity
   How can people expect to?
   
   Therefore there is such a thing as aligning one's actions with the
   Tao.
   If you accord with the Tao you become one with it.
   If you accord with virtue you become one with it.
   If you accord with loss you become one with it.
   
   The Tao accepts this accordance gladly.
   Virtue accepts this accordance gladly.
   Loss also accepts accordance gladly.
   
   If you are untrustworthy, people will not trust you.
   
   
   24.
   Standing on tiptoe, you are unsteady.
   Straddle-legged, you cannot go.
   If you show yourself, you will not be seen.
   If you affirm yourself, you will not shine.
   If you boast, you will have no merit.
   If you promote yourself, you will have no success.
   
   Those who abide in the Tao call these
   
   Leftover food and wasted action
   And all things dislike them.
   
   Therefore the person of the Tao does not act like this.
   
   
   25.
   There is something that is perfect in its disorder
   Which is born before Heaven and Earth.
   
   So silent and desolate! It establishes itself without renewal.
   Functions universally without lapse.
   We can regard it as the Mother of Everything.
   
   I don't know its name.
   
   Hence, when forced to name it, I call it "Tao."
   When forced to categorize it, I call it "great."
   
   Greatness entails transcendence.
   Transcendence entails going-far.
   Going-far entails return.
   
   Hence, Tao is great, Heaven is great, the Earth is great
   And the human is also great.
   
   Within our realm there are four greatnesses and the human being is one
   of them.
   
   Human beings follow the Earth.
   Earth follows Heaven
   Heaven follows the Tao
   The Tao follows the way things are.
   
   
   26.
   Heaviness is the root of lightness.
   Composure is the ruler of instability.
   Therefore the sage travels all day
   Without putting down his heavy load.
   Though there may be spectacles to see
   He easily passes them by.
   
   This being so
   How could the ruler of a large state
   Be so concerned with himself as to ignore the people?
   
   If you take them lightly you will lose your roots.
   If you are unstable, you will lose your rulership.
   
   
   27.
   A good traveler leaves no tracks.
   Good speech lacks faultfinding.
   A good counter needs no calculator.
   A well-shut door will stay closed without a latch.
   Skillful fastening will stay tied without knots.
   
   It is in this manner that the sage is always skillful in elevating
   people.
   Therefore she does not discard anybody.
   
   She is always skillful in helping things
   Therefore she does not discard anything.
   This is called "the actualization of her luminosity."
   
   Hence, the good are the teachers of the not-so-good.
   And the not-so-good are the charges of the good.
   
   Not valuing your teacher or not loving your students:
   Even if you are smart, you are gravely in error.
   
   This is called Essential Subtlety.
   
   
   28.
   Know the Masculine, cleave to the Feminine
   Be the valley for everyone.
   Being the valley for everyone
   You are always in virtue without lapse
   And you return to infancy.
   
   Know the White, cleave to the Black
   Be a model for everyone.
   Being the model for everyone
   You are always in virtue and free from error
   You return to limitlessness.
   Know Glory but cleave to Humiliation
   Be the valley for everyone.
   When your constancy in virtue is complete
   You return to the state of the "uncarved block."
   
   The block is cut into implements.
   The sage uses them to fulfill roles.
   
   Therefore the great tailor does not cut.
   
   
   29.
   If you want to grab the world and run it
   I can see that you will not succeed.
   The world is a spiritual vessel, which can't be controlled.
   
   Manipulators mess things up.
   Grabbers lose it. Therefore:
   
   Sometimes you lead
   Sometimes you follow
   Sometimes you are stifled
   Sometimes you breathe easy
   Sometimes you are strong
   Sometimes you are weak
   Sometimes you destroy
   And sometimes you are destroyed.
   
   Hence, the sage shuns excess
   Shuns grandiosity
   Shuns arrogance.
   
   
   30.
   If you used the Tao as a principle for ruling
   You would not dominate the people by military force.
   
   What goes around comes around.
   
   Where the general has camped
   Thorns and brambles grow.
   In the wake of a great army
   Come years of famine.
   If you know what you are doing
   You will do what is necessary and stop there.
   
   Accomplish but don't boast
   Accomplish without show
   Accomplish without arrogance
   Accomplish without grabbing
   Accomplish without forcing.
   
   When things flourish they decline.
   
   This is called non-Tao
   The non-Tao is short-lived.
   
   
   31.
   Sharp weapons are inauspicious instruments.
   Everyone hates them.
   Therefore the man of the Tao is not comfortable with them.
   
   In the domestic affairs of the gentleman
   The left is the position of honor.
   In military affairs the right is the position of honor.
   Since weapons are inauspicious instruments, they are not the
   instruments of the gentleman
   So he uses them without enjoyment
   And values plainness.
   
   Victory is never sweet.
   
   Those for whom victory is sweet
   Are those who enjoy killing.
   If you enjoy killing, you cannot gain the trust of the people.
   
   On auspicious occasions the place of honor is on the left.
   On inauspicious occasions the place of honor is on the right.
   The lieutenant commander stands on the left.
   The commander-in-chief stands on the right.
   And they speak, using the funerary rites to bury them.
   
   The common people, from whom all the dead have come
   Weep in lamentation.
   The victors bury them with funerary rites.
   
   
   32.
   The Tao is always nameless.
   And even though a sapling might be small
   No one can make it be his subject.
   If rulers could embody this principle
   The myriad things would follow on their own.
   Heaven and Earth would be in perfect accord
   And rain sweet dew.
   
   People, unable to deal with It on its own terms
   Make adjustments;
   And so you have the beginning of division into names.
   Since there are already plenty of names
   You should know where to stop.
   Knowing where to stop, you can avoid danger.
   
   The Tao's existence in the world
   
   Is like valley streams running into the rivers and seas.
   
   
   33.
   If you understand others you are smart.
   If you understand yourself you are illuminated.
   If you overcome others you are powerful.
   If you overcome yourself you have strength.
   If you know how to be satisfied you are rich.
   If you can act with vigor, you have a will.
   If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting.
   
   If you die without loss, you are eternal.
   
   
   34.
   The Tao is like a great flooding river. How can it be directed to the
   left or right? The myriad things rely on it for their life but do not
   distinguish it.
   It brings to completion but cannot be said to exist.
   It clothes and feeds all things without lording over them.
   
   It is always desireless, so we call it "the small."
   The myriad things return to it and it doesn't exact lordship
   Thus it can be called "great."
   Till the end, it does not regard itself as Great.
   
   Therefore it actualizes its greatness.
   
   
   35.
   Holding to the Great Form
   All pass away.
   They pass away unharmed, resting in Great Peace.
   
   It is for food and music that the passing traveler stops.
   
   When the Tao appears from its opening
   It is so subtle, it has no taste.
   Look at it, you cannot see it.
   Listen, you cannot hear it.
   Use it
   
   You cannot exhaust it.
   
   
   36.
   That which will be shrunk
   Must first be stretched.
   That which will be weakened
   Must first be strengthened.
   That which will be torn down
   Must first be raised up.
   That which will be taken
   Must first be given.
   
   This is called "subtle illumination."
   
   The gentle and soft overcomes the hard and aggressive.
   
   A fish cannot leave the water.
   
   The country's potent weapons
   Should not be shown to its people.
   
   
   37.
   The Tao is always "not-doing"
   Yet there is nothing it doesn't do.
   If the ruler is able to embody it
   Everything will naturally change.
   
   Being changed, they desire to act.
   
   So I must restrain them, using the nameless "uncarved block (original
   mind)."
   
   Using the nameless uncarved block
   They become desireless.
   Desireless, they are tranquil and
   All-under-Heaven is naturally settled.
   
   
   38.
   True virtue is not virtuous
   Therefore it has virtue.
   Superficial virtue never fails to be virtuous
   Therefore it has no virtue.
   
   True virtue does not "act"
   And has no intentions.
   Superficial virtue "acts"
   And always has intentions.
   True jen "acts"
   But has no intentions.
   True righteousness "acts"
   But but has intentions.
   True propriety "acts" and if you don't respond
   
   They will roll up their sleeves and threaten you.
   
   Thus, when the Tao is lost there is virtue
   When virtue is lost there is jen
   When jen is lost there is Justice
   And when Justice is lost there is propriety.
   
   Now "propriety" is the external appearance of loyalty and sincerity
   And the beginning of disorder.
   
   Occult abilities are just flowers of the Tao
   And the beginning of foolishness.
   
   Therefore the Master dwells in the substantial
   And not in the superficial.
   Rests in the fruit and not in the flower.
   
   So let go of that and grasp this.
   
   
   39.
   These in the past have attained wholeness:
   
   Heaven attains wholeness with its clarity;
   The Earth attains wholeness with its firmness;
   The Spirit attains wholeness with its transcendence;
   The Valley attain wholeness when filled;
   The Myriad Things attain wholeness in life;
   The Ruler attains wholeness in the correct governance of the people.
   
   In effecting this:
   If Heaven lacked clarity it would be divided;
   If the Earth lacked firmness it would fly away;
   If the spirit lacked transcendence it would be exhausted;
   If the valley lacked fullness it would be depleted;
   If the myriad things lacked life they would vanish.
   If the ruler lacks nobility and loftiness he will be tripped up.
   
   Hence
   Nobility has lowliness as its root
   The High has the Low as its base.
   Thus the kings call themselves "the orphan, the lowly, the unworthy."
   
   Is this not taking lowliness as the fundamental? Isn't it?
   
   In this way you can bring about great effect without burden.
   Not desiring the rarity of gems
   Or the manyness of grains of sand.
   
   
   40.
   Return is the motion of the Tao.
   Softening is its function.
   All things in the cosmos arise from being.
   Being arises from non-being.
   
   
   41.
   When superior students hear of the Tao
   They strive to practice it.
   When middling students hear of the Tao
   They sometimes keep it and sometimes lose it.
   When inferior students hear of the Tao
   They have a big laugh.
   
   But "not laughing" in itself is not sufficient to be called the Tao,
   and therefore it is said:
   
   The sparkling Tao seems dark
   Advancing in the Tao seems like regression.
   Settling into the Tao seems rough.
   True virtue is like a valley.
   The immaculate seems humble.
   Extensive virtue seems insufficient.
   Established virtue seems deceptive.
   The face of reality seems to change.
   The great square has no corners.
   Great ability takes a long time to perfect.
   Great sound is hard to hear.
   The great form has no shape.
   
   The Tao is hidden and nameless.
   
   This is exactly why the Tao is good at developing and perfecting.
   
   
   42.
   The Tao produces one, one produces two.
   The two produce the three and the three produce all things.
   All things submit to yin and embrace yang.
   They soften their energy to achieve harmony.
   
   People hate to think of themselves as "orphan," "lowly," and
   "unworthy"
   Yet the kings call themselves by these names.
   
   Some lose and yet gain,
   Others gain and yet lose.
   That which is taught by the people
   I also teach:
   "The forceful do not choose their place of death."
   I regard this as the father of all teachings.
   
   
   43.
   The softest thing in the world
   Will overcome the hardest.
   Non-being can enter where there is no space.
   Therefore I know the benefit of unattached action.
   The wordless teaching and unattached action
   
   Are rarely seen.
   
   
   44.
   Which is dearer, fame or your life?
   Which is greater, your life or possessions?
   Which is more painful, gain or loss?
   Therefore we always pay a great price for excessive love
   And suffer deep loss for great accumulation.
   Knowing what is enough, you will not be humiliated.
   Knowing where to stop, you will not be imperiled
   
   And can be long-lasting.
   
   
   45.
   Great perfection seems flawed, yet functions without a hitch.
   Great fullness seems empty, yet functions without exhaustion.
   Great straightness seems crooked,
   Great skill seems clumsy,
   Great eloquence seems stammering.
   
   Excitement overcomes cold, stillness overcomes heat.
   Clarity and stillness set everything right.
   
   
   46.
   When the Tao prevails in the land
   The horses leisurely graze and fertilize the ground.
   When the Tao is lacking in the land
   War horses are bred outside the city.
   Natural disasters are not as bad as not knowing what is enough.
   Loss is not as bad as wanting more.
   
   Therefore the sufficiency that comes from knowing what is enough is an
   eternal sufficiency.
   
   
   47.
   Without going out the door, knowing everything,
   Without peaking out the windowshades, seeing the Way of Heaven.
   
   The further you go, the less you know.
   
   The sage understands without having to go through the whole process.
   She is famous without showing herself.
   Is perfected without striving.
   
   
   48.
   In studying, each day something is gained.
   In following the Tao, each day something is lost.
   Lost and again lost.
   Until there is nothing left to do.
   Not-doing, nothing is left undone.
   You can possess the world by never manipulating it.
   No matter how much you manipulate
   You can never possess the world.
   
   
   49.
   The sage has no fixed mind,
   She takes the mind of the people as her mind.
   
   I treat the good as good, I also treat the evil as good.
   This is true goodness.
   I trust the trustworthy, I also trust the untrustworthy.
   This is real trust.
   
   When the sage lives with people, she harmonizes with them
   And conceals her mind for them.
   The sages treat them as their little children.
   
   
   50.
   Coming into life and entering death,
   The followers of life are three in ten.
   The followers of death are three in ten.
   Those whose life activity is their death ground are three in ten.
   Why is this?
   Because they live life grasping for its rich taste.
   
   Now I have heard that those who are expert in handling life
   Can travel the land without meeting tigers and rhinos,
   Can enter battle without being wounded.
   The rhino has no place to plant its horn,
   The tiger has no place to place its claws,
   Weapons find no place to receive their sharp edges.
   Why?
   
   Because he has no death-ground.
   
   
   51.
   Tao gives birth to it,
   Virtue rears it,
   Materiality shapes it,
   Activity perfects it.
   Therefore, there are none of the myriad things who do not venerate the
   Tao or esteem its virtue.
   This veneration of the Tao and esteeming of its virtue is something
   they do naturally, without being forced.
   Therefore, Tao gives birth.
   Its virtue rears, develops, raises, adjusts and disciplines,
   Nourishes, covers and protects,
   Produces but does not possess,
   Acts without expectation,
   Leads without forcing.
   
   This is called "Mysterious Virtue."
   
   
   52.
   All things have a beginning, which we can regard as their Mother.
   Knowing the mother, we can know its children.
   Knowing the children, yet still cleaving to the mother
   You can die without pain.
   
   Stop up the holes
   Shut the doors,
   You can finish your life without anxiety.
   
   Open the doors,
   Increase your involvements,
   In the end you can't be helped.
   
   Seeing the subtle is called illumination.
   Keeping flexible is called strength.
   Use the illumination, but return to the light.
   Don't bring harm to yourself.
   
   This is called "practicing the eternal."
   
   
   53.
   If I had just a little bit of wisdom
   I should walk the Great Path and fear only straying from it.
   Though the Way is quite broad
   People love shortcuts.
   
   The court is immaculate,
   While the fields are overgrown with weeds,
   And the granaries are empty.
   They wear silk finery,
   Carry sharp swords,
   Sate themselves on food and drink
   Having wealth in excess.
   They are called thieving braggarts.
   
   This is definitely not the Way.
   
   
   54.
   The well-established cannot be uprooted.
   The well-grasped does not slip away.
   Generation after generation carries out the ancestor worship without
   break.
   
   Cultivate it in yourself and virtue will be real.
   Cultivate it in the family and virtue will overflow.
   Cultivate it in the town and virtue will be great.
   Cultivate it in the country and virtue will abundant.
   Cultivate it in the world and virtue will be everywhere.
   
   Therefore, take yourself and observe yourself.
   Take the family and observe the family.
   Take the town and observe the town.
   Take the country and observe the country.
   Take the world and observe the world.
   
   How do I know the world as it is?
   
   By this.
   
   
   55.
   One who remains rich in virtuous power
   Is like a newborn baby.
   Bees, scorpions and venomous snakes do not bite it,
   The wild beasts do not attack it,
   Birds of prey do not sink their claws into it.
   Though its bones are weak
   And muscles soft,
   Its grip is strong.
   Without knowing of the blending of male and female
   S/he is a perfect production,
   The ultimate in vitality.
   S/he cries all day without getting hoarse.
   S/he is the ultimate in harmony.
   
   Understanding harmony is called the Constant.
   Knowing the Constant is called illumination.
   Nourishing life is called blessing.
   Having control of your breath is called strength.
   
   After things blossom they decay, and
   This is called the non-Tao.
   
   The non-Tao expires quickly.
   
   
   56.
   She who knows does not speak.
   She who speaks does not know.
   Close your holes, shut your doors,
   Soften your sharpness, loosen your knots.
   Soften your glare and merge with the everyday.
   
   This is called mysteriously attaining oneness.
   
   Though you cannot possess it, you are intimate with it
   And at the same time, distant.
   Though you cannot possess it, you are benefitted by it,
   And harmed by it.
   You cannot possess it, but are esteemed through it
   And humbled by it.
   
   Therefore the world values you.
   
   
   57.
   *** Use fairness in governing the state.
   Use surprise tactics in war.
   Be unconcerned and you will have the world.
   How do I know it is like this?
   Because:
   The more regulations there are,
   The poorer people become.
   The more people own lethal weapons,
   The more darkened are the country and clans.
   The more clever the people are,
   The more extraordinary actions they take.
   The more picky the laws are,
   The more thieves and gangsters there are.
   
   Therefore the sages say:
   "I do not force my way and the people transform themselves.
   I enjoy my serenity and the people correct themselves.
   I do not interfere and the people enrich themselves.
   
   I have no desires
   
   And the people find their original mind.
   
   
   58.
   When the government is laid back
   The people are relaxed.
   When the government is nitpicking
   The people have anxiety.
   Misfortune depends upon fortune.
   Fortune conceals misfortune.
   What has a definite delimitation?
   Or abnormality?
   The normal reverts to strangeness.
   Goodness reverts to perversion.
   
   People certainly have been confused for a long time.
   
   Therefore the sage squares things without cutting.
   Edges without separating.
   Straightens without lining up.
   
   Shines but does not glare.
   
   
   59.
   In governing the country and serving Heaven
   There is nothing like frugality.
   Only by being frugal can you recover quickly.
   When you recover quickly you accumulate virtue.
   Having accumulated virtue,
   There is nothing you can't overcome.
   When there is nothing you can't overcome
   Who knows the limits of your capabilities?
   These limits being unfathomable
   You can possess the country.
   
   The Mother who possesses the country can be long-living.
   This is called "planting the roots deeply and firmly."
   
   The way to long life and eternal vision.
   
   
   60.
   Ruling a large country is like cooking a small fish.
   When you govern people with the Tao
   Demons will have no power.
   Not that they don't have power,
   But their power will not harm people.
   
   Since the sage doesn't harm people,
   The two will not harm each other.
   
   Here their power merges and returns.
   
   
   61.
   The great state should be like a river basin.
   The mixing place of the world,
   The feminine of the world.
   The feminine always overcomes the masculine by softness
   Because softness is lesser.
   Therefore if a large state serves a small state
   It will gain the small state.
   If a small state serves a large state
   It will gain the large state.
   
   Therefore some serve in order to gain
   And some gain despite their servitude.
   
   The large state wants nothing more
   Than to unite and feed its people.
   The small state wants nothing more
   Than to enter into the service of the right person.
   Thus both get what they want.
   
   Greatness lies in placing oneself below.
   
   
   62.
   The Tao is hidden deeply in all things.
   It is the treasure of the good
   And the refuge of the not-so-good.
   With skillful words you can be successful.
   With honorable actions you can be included.
   
   People may not be so good, but how can you deny them?
   
   Therefore, even though there are great jewels brought in by teams of
   horses at the coronation of the emperor and the installation of the
   three princes,
   This is not as good as staying where you are
   And advancing in this Tao.
   
   Why did the ancients so value the Tao?
   
   You can't say that it was for seeking gain
   Or to have punishments to deter crime.
   
   Therefore it is the most prized in the world.
   
   
   63.
   Do without "doing."
   Get involved without manipulating.
   Taste without tasting.
   Make the great small,
   The many, few.
   Respond to anger with virtue.
   Deal with difficulties while they are still easy.
   Handle the great while it is still small.
   
   The difficult problems in life
   Always start off being simple.
   Great affairs always start off being small.
   Therefore the sage never deals with the great
   And is able to actualize his greatness.
   
   Now light words generate little belief,
   Much ease turns into much difficulty.
   Therefore the sage treats things as though they were difficult,
   

   And hence, never has difficulty.
   
   
   64.
   That which is at rest is easy to grasp.
   That which has not yet come about is easy to plan for.
   That which is fragile is easily broken.
   That which is minute is easily scattered.
   Handle things before they arise.
   Manage affairs before they are in a mess.
   
   A thick tree grows from a tiny seed.
   A tall building arises from a mound of earth.
   A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.
   Contriving, you are defeated;
   Grasping, you lose.
   
   The sage doesn't contrive, so she isn't beaten.
   Not grasping, she doesn't lose.
   When people are carrying out their projects
   They usually blow it at the end.
   
   If you are as careful at the end
   As you were at the beginning,
   You won't be disappointed.
   
   Therefore the sage desires non-desire,
   Does not value rare goods,
   Studies the unlearnable
   So that she can correct the mistakes of average people
   And aid all things in manifesting their true nature
   
   Without presuming to take the initiative.
   
   
   65.
   The ancients who were skillful at the Tao
   Did not illuminate the people
   But rather kept them simple.
   When the people are difficult to rule
   It is because of their cleverness.
   Therefore
   If you use cleverness to rule the state
   You are a robber of the state.
   If you don't use cleverness to rule the state
   You are a blessing to the state.
   
   If you understand these two points, you know the proper norm for
   governing To be continuously understanding the proper norm is called
   Mysterious Virtue.
   How deep and far-reaching Mysterious Virtue is!
   It makes all return
   
   Until they reach the Great Norm.
   
   
   66.
   The reason the river and sea can be regarded as
   The rulers of all the valley streams
   Is because of their being below them.
   Therefore they can be their rulers.
   So if you want to be over people
   You must speak humbly to them.
   If you want to lead them
   You must place yourself behind them.
   
   Thus the sage is positioned above
   And the people do not feel oppressed.
   He is in front and they feel nothing wrong.
   Therefore they like to push him front and never resent him.
   
   Since he does not contend
   
   No one can contend with him.
   
   
   67.
   The reason everybody calls my Tao great
   Is because there is nothing quite like it.
   It is exactly because it is great
   That there is nothing quite like it.
   If there were something that were consistently like it
   
   How could it be small?
   
   I have three treasures which I hold and cherish.
   The first is compassion,
   The second is frugality,
   The third is not daring to put myself ahead of everybody.
   
   Having compassion, I can be brave.
   Having frugality, I can be generous.
   Not daring to put myself ahead of everybody
   I can take the time to perfect my abilities.
   Now if I am brave without compassion
   Generous without frugality, or
   Go to the fore without putting my own concerns last,
   I might as well be dead.
   
   If you wage war with compassion you will win.
   If you protect yourself with compassion you will be impervious.
   Heaven will take care of you,
   
   Protecting you with compassion.
   
   
   68.
   The best warrior is never aggressive.
   The best fighter is never angry.
   The best tactician does not engage the enemy.
   The best utilizer of people's talents places himself below them.
   
   This is called the virtue of non-contention.
   It is called the ability to engage people's talents.
   It is called the ultimate in merging with Heaven.
   
   
   69.
   Strategists have a saying:
   "I prefer to be able to move, rather than be in a fixed position
   Prefer to retreat a foot rather than advancing an inch."
   This is called progress without advancing;
   Preparing without showing off;
   Smashing where there is no defense;
   Taking him without a fight.
   
   There is no greater danger than under-estimating your opponent.
   If I under-estimate my opponent
   I will lose that which is most dear.
   Therefore
   When opponents clash
   
   The one who is sorry about it will be the winner.
   
   
   70.
   My words are easy to understand
   And easy to practice.
   Yet nobody understands them or practices them.
   My words have an origin;
   My actions have a principle.
   It is only because of your not understanding this
   That you do not understand me.
   Since there are few who understand me
   I am valued.
   Therefore the sage wears coarse clothes.
   Yet hides a jewel in his bosom.
   
   
   71.
   There is nothing better than to know that you don't know.
   Not knowing, yet thinking you know--
   This is sickness.
   Only when you are sick of being sick
   Can you be cured.
   The sage's not being sick
   
   Is because she is sick of sickness.
   
   Therefore she is not sick.
   
   
   72.
   When the people do not fear your might
   Then your might has truly become great.
   Don't interfere with their household affairs.
   Don't oppress their livelihood.
   
   If you don't oppress them they won't feel oppressed.
   
   Thus the sage understands herself
   But does not show herself.
   Loves herself
   But does not prize herself.
   Therefore she lets go of that
   
   And takes this.
   
   
   73.
   If you are courageous in daring you will die.
   If you are courageous in not-daring you will live.
   Among these two, one is beneficial and the other is harmful.
   
   Who understands the reason why Heaven dislikes what it dislikes?
   Even the sage has difficulty in knowing this.
   
   The Way of Heaven is to win easily without struggle.
   To respond well without words,
   To naturally come without special invitation,
   To plan well without anxiety.
   
   Heaven's net is vast.
   It is loose.
   
   Yet nothing slips through.
   
   
   74.
   If the people don't fear death
   How will you scare them with death?
   If you make the people continuously fear death
   By seizing anybody who does something out of the ordinary
   And killing them,
   Who will dare to move?
   
   There is always an official executioner to handle this.
   If you play the role of the official executioner
   It is like cutting wood in the capacity of Master Carpenter.
   
   There are few who will not cut their hands.
   
   
   
   75.
   The reason people starve
   Is because their rulers tax them excessively.
   They are difficult to govern
   Because their rulers have their own ends in mind.
   
   The reason people take death lightly
   Is because they want life to be rich.
   Therefore they take death lightly.
   It is only by not living for your own ends
   That you can go beyond valuing life.
   
   
   76.
   When people are born they are gentle and soft.
   At death they are hard and stiff.
   When plants are alive they are soft and delicate.
   When they die, they wither and dry up.
   Therefore the hard and stiff are followers of death.
   The gentle and soft are the followers of life.
   
   Thus, if you are aggressive and stiff, you won't win.
   When a tree is hard enough, it is cut. Therefore
   The hard and big are lesser,
   The gentle and soft are greater.
   
   
   77.
   The Way of Heaven
   Is like stretching a bow.
   The top is pulled down,
   The bottom is pulled up.
   Excess string is removed
   Where more is needed, it is added.
   
   It is the Way of Heaven
   To remove where there is excess
   And add where there is lack.
   The way of people is different:
   They take away where there is need
   And add where there is surplus.
   
   Who can take his surplus and give it to the people?
   Only one who possesses the Tao.
   
   Therefore the sage acts without expectation.
   Does not abide in his accomplishments.
   Does not want to show his virtue.
   
   
   
   78.
   Nothing in the world is softer than water,
   Yet nothing is better at overcoming the hard and strong.
   This is because nothing can alter it.
   
   That the soft overcomes the hard
   And the gentle overcomes the aggressive
   Is something that everybody knows
   But none can do themselves.
   Therefore the sages say:
   "The one who accepts the dirt of the state
   Becomes its master.
   The one who accepts its calamity
   Becomes king of the world.
   
   Truth seems contradictory.
   
   
   79.
   After calming great anger
   There are always resentments left over.
   How can this be considered as goodness?
   Therefore the sage keeps her part of the deal
   And doesn't check up on the other person.
   
   Thus virtuous officials keep their promise
   And the crooked ones break it.
   
   The Heavenly Tao has no favorites:
   
   It raises up the Good.
   
   
   80.
   Let there be a small country with few people,
   Who, even having much machinery, don't use it.
   Who take death seriously and don't wander far away.
   Even though they have boats and carriages, they never ride in them.
   Having armor and weapons, they never go to war.
   Let them return to measurement by tying knots in rope.
   
   Sweeten their food, give them nice clothes, a peaceful abode and a
   relaxed life.
   Even though the next country can be seen and its doges and chickens
   can be heard,
   
   The people will grow old and die without visiting each others land.
   
   
   81.
   True words are not fancy.
   Fancy words are not true.
   The good do not debate.
   Debaters are not good.
   The one who really knows is not broadly learned,
   The extensively learned do not really know.
   The sage does not hoard,
   She gives people her surplus.
   Giving her surplus to others she is enriched.
   
   The way of Heaven is to help and not harm.