Lao-Tzu- Te-Tao Ching
Page 4
Heaven, by attaining the One became clear;
Earth, by attaining the One became stable;
Gods, by attaining the One became divine;
Valleys, by attaining the One became full;
Marquises and kings, by attaining the One made the whole land ordered and secure.
Taking this to its logical conclusion we would say—
If Heaven were not by means of it clear, it would, I’m afraid, shatter;
If the Earth were not by means of it stable, it would, I’m afraid, let go.
If the gods were not by means of it divine, they would, I’m afraid, be powerless.
If valleys were not by means of it full, they would, I’m afraid, dry up.
And if marquises and kings were not by means of it noble and high, they would, I’m afraid, topple and fall.
Therefore, it must be the case that the noble has the base as its root;
And it must be the case that the high has the low for its foundation.
Thus, for this reason, marquises and kings call themselves “The Orphan,” “The Widower,” and “The One Without Grain.”
This is taking the base as one’s root, is it not?!
Therefore, they regard their large numbers of carriages as having no carriage.
And because of this, they desire not to dazzle and glitter like jade,
But to remain firm and strong like stone.
[CHAPTER 41]
When the highest type of men hear the Way, with diligence they’re able to practice it;
When average men hear the Way, some things they retain and others they lose;
When the lowest type of men hear the Way, they laugh out loud at it.
If they didn’t laugh at it, it couldn’t be regarded as the Way.
Therefore, there is a set saying about this that goes:
The bright Way appears to be dark;
The Way that goes forward appears to retreat;
The smooth Way appears to be uneven;
The highest virtue is empty like a valley;
The purest white appears to be soiled;
Vast virtue appears to be insufficient;
Firm virtue appears thin and weak;
The simplest reality appears to change.
The Great Square has no corners;
The Great Vessel takes long to complete;
The Great Tone makes little sound;
The Great Image has no shape.
The Way is Great but has no name.
Only the Way is good at beginning things and also good at bringing things to completion.
[CHAPTER 40]
“Reversal” is the movement of the Tao;
“Weakness” is the function of the Tao.
The things of the world originate in being
And being originates in nonbeing.
[CHAPTER 42]
The Way gave birth to the One;
The One gave birth to the Two;
The Two gave birth to the Three;
And the Three gave birth to the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things carry Yin on their backs and wrap their arms around Yang.
Through the blending of ch’i they arrive at a state of harmony.
The things that are hated by the whole world
Are to be orphaned, widowed, and have no grain.
Yet kings and dukes take these as their names.
Thus with all things—some are increased by taking away;
While some are diminished by adding on.
Therefore, what other men teach,
I will also consider and then teach to others.
Thus, “The strong and violent do not come to a natural end.”
I will take this as the father of my studies.
[CHAPTER 43]
The softest, most pliable thing in the world runs roughshod over the firmest thing in the world.
That which has no substance gets into that which has no spaces or cracks.
I therefore know that there is benefit in taking no action.
The wordless teaching, the benefit of taking no action—
Few in the world can realize these!
[CHAPTER 44]
Fame or your health—which is more dear?
Your health or possessions—which is worth more?
Gain or loss—in which is there harm?
If your desires are great, you’re bound to be extravagant;
If you store much away, you’re bound to lose a great deal.
Therefore, if you know contentment, you’ll not be disgraced.
If you know when to stop, you’ll suffer no harm.
And in this way you can last a very long time.
[CHAPTER 45]
Great completion seems incomplete;
Yet its usefulness is never exhausted.
Great fullness seems to be empty;
Yet its usefulness is never used up.
Great straightness seems to be bent.
Great skill seems to be clumsy.
Great eloquence seems to stammer;
Great surplus seems to be lacking.
Activity overcomes cold;
Tranquility overcomes heat.
If you’re quiet and tranquil you can become the ruler of the world.
[CHAPTER 46]
When the world has the Way, ambling horses are retired to fertilize fields.
When the world lacks the Way, war horses are reared in the suburbs.
Of crimes—none is greater than having things that one desires;
Of disasters—none is greater than not knowing when one has enough.
Of defects—none brings more sorrow than the desire to attain.
Therefore, the contentment one has when he knows that he has enough, is abiding contentment indeed.
[CHAPTER 47]
No need to leave your door to know the whole world;
No need to peer through your windows to know the Way of Heaven.
The farther you go, the less you know.
Therefore the Sage knows without going,
Names without seeing,
And completes without doing a thing.
[CHAPTER 48]
Those who work at their studies increase day after day;
Those who have heard the Tao decrease day after day.
They decrease and decrease till they get to the point where they do nothing.
They do nothing and yet there’s nothing left undone.
When someone wants to take control of the world, he must always be unconcerned with affairs.
For in a case where he’s concerned with affairs,
He’ll be unworthy, as well, of taking control of the world.
[CHAPTER 49]
The Sage constantly has no set mind;
He takes the mind of the common people as his mind.
Those who are good he regards as good;
Those who are not good he also regards as good.
In this way he attains goodness.
Those who are trustworthy he trusts;
And those who are not trustworthy he also trusts.
In this way he gets their trust.
As for the Sage’s presence in the world—he is one with it.
And with the world he merges his mind.
The common people all fix their eyes and ears on him.
And the Sage treats them all as his children.
[CHAPTER 50]
We come out into life and go back into death.
The companions of life are thirteen;
The companions of death are thirteen;
And yet people, because they regard life as LIFE, in all of their actions move toward the thirteen that belong to the realm of death.
Now, why is this so?
It’s because they regard life as LIFE.
You’ve no doubt heard of those who are good at holding on to life:
When walking through hills, they don’t avoid rhinos and tigers;
When they go into battle, they
don’t put on armor or shields;
The rhino has no place to probe with its horn;
The tiger finds no place to put its claws.
And weapons find no place to hold their blades.
Now, why is this so?
Because there is no place for death in them.
[CHAPTER 51]
The Way gives birth to them and Virtue nourishes them;
Substance gives them form and their unique capacities complete them.
Therefore the ten thousand things venerate the Way and honor Virtue.
As for their veneration of the Way and their honoring of Virtue—
No one rewards them for it; it’s constantly so on its own.
The Way gives birth to them, nourishes them, matures them, completes them, rests them, rears them, supports them, and protects them.
It gives birth to them but doesn’t try to own them;
It acts on their behalf but doesn’t make them dependent;
It matures them but doesn’t rule them.
This we call Profound Virtue.
[CHAPTER 52]
The world had a beginning,
Which can be considered the mother of the world.
Having attained the mother, in order to understand her children,
If you return and hold on to the mother, till the end of your life you’ll suffer no harm.
Block up the holes;
Close the doors;
And till the end of your life you’ll not labor.
Open the holes; Meddle in affairs;
And till the end of your life you’ll not be saved.
To perceive the small is called “discernment.”
To hold on to the pliant is called “strength.”
If you use the rays to return to the bright light,
You’ll not abandon your life to peril.
This is called Following the Constant.
[CHAPTER 53]
Were I to have the least bit of knowledge, in walking on a Great Road, it’s only going astray that I would fear.
The Great Way is very level;
But people greatly delight in tortuous paths.
The courts are swept very clean;
While the fields are full of weeds;
And the granaries are all empty.
Their clothing—richly embroidered and colored;
While at their waists they carry sharp swords.
They gorge themselves on food, and of possessions and goods they have plenty.
This is called thievery!
And thievery certainly isn’t the Way!
[CHAPTER 54]
What is firmly set up can’t be pulled down;
What is firmly embraced cannot slip free.
And your sons and grandsons, as a result, will sacrifice without end.
When you cultivate it in your person, your virtue will then be genuine;
When you cultivate it in your family, your virtue will then overflow;
When you cultivate it in your village, your virtue will then be long lasting;
When you cultivate it in your state, your virtue will then be abundant;
And when you cultivate it throughout the world, your virtue will then be widespread.
Use the individual to examine the individual;
Use the family to examine the family;
Use the village to examine the village;
Use the state to examine the state;
And use the world to examine the world;
How do I know that the world is so?
By this.
[CHAPTER 55]
One who embraces the fullness of Virtue,
Can be compared to a newborn babe.
Wasps and scorpions, snakes and vipers do not sting him;
Birds of prey and fierce beasts do not seize him;
His bones and muscles are weak and pliant, yet his grasp is firm;
He does not yet know the meeting of male and female, yet his organ is aroused—
This is because his essence is at its height.
He can scream all day, yet he won’t become hoarse—
This is because his harmony is at its height.
To know harmony is called “the constant”;
To know the constant is called “being wise”;
To add on to life is called a “bad omen”;
For the mind to control the breath—that’s called “forcing things.”
When things reach their prime, they get old;
This is called “not the Way.”
What is not the Way will come to an early end.
[CHAPTER 56]
Those who know don’t talk about it; those who talk don’t know it.
He blocks up his holes,
Closes his doors,
Softens the glare,
Settles the dust,
Files down the sharp edges,
And unties the tangles.
This is called Profound Union.
Therefore, there is no way to get intimate with him,
But there is also no way to shun him.
There is no way to benefit him,
But there is also no way to harm him.
There is no way to ennoble him,
But there is also no way to debase him.
For this very reason he’s the noblest thing in the world.
[CHAPTER 57]
Use the upright and correct to order the state;
Use surprise tactics when you use troops;
Use unconcern with affairs to take control of the world.
How do I know that this is so?
Well, the more taboos and prohibitions there are in the world, the poorer the people will be;
The more sharp weapons the people possess, the more muddled the states will be;
The more knowledge and skill people have, the more novel things will appear;
The more legal matters are made prominent, the more robbers and thieves there will be.
Therefore, the words of the Sage say:
I do nothing, and the people of themselves are transformed;
I love tranquility, and the people of themselves are upright;
I’m unconcerned with affairs, and the people of themselves become rich;
I desire not to desire, and the people of themselves are genuine and simple, like uncarved wood.
[CHAPTER 58]
When the government is muddled and confused,
The people are genuine and sincere.
When the government is discriminate and clear,
The state is crafty and cunning.
Disaster is that on which good fortune depends.
Good fortune is that in which disaster’s concealed.
Who knows where it will end?
For there is no fixed “correct.”
The “correct” turns into the “deviant”;
And “good” turns into “evil.”
People’s state of confusion
Has certainly existed for a long time.
Therefore be square but don’t cut;
Be sharp but don’t stab;
Be straightforward but not unrestrained;
Be bright but don’t dazzle.
[CHAPTER 59]
For ordering humanity and serving Heaven, nothing’s so good as being sparing.
For only if you are sparing can you, therefore, early submit to the Way.
Early submission—this is called to repeatedly accumulate Virtue. If you repeatedly accumulate Virtue, then there is nothing you can’t overcome.
When there is nothing you can’t overcome, no one knows where it will end.
When no one knows where it will end, you can possess the state.
And when you possess the mother of the state, you can last a very long time.
This is called having deep roots and a firm base,
It’s the Way of long life and long-lasting vision.
[CHAPTER 60]
Ruling a large state is like cooking small fish.
; When you use the Way to govern the world, evil spirits won’t have godlike power.
Actually, it’s not that evil spirits won’t have godlike power,
It’s that their power will not harm men.
But it’s not just that their power won’t harm men,
The Sage, also, will not harm them.
Since these two do not harm others,
Therefore their Virtues intermingle and return to them.
[CHAPTER 61]
The large state is like the lower part of a river;
It is the female of the world;
It is the meeting point of the world.
The female constantly overcomes the male with tranquility.
Because she is tranquil, therefore she is fittingly underneath.
The large state—if it is below the small state, then it takes over the small state;
The small state—if it is below the large state, then it is taken over by the large state.
Therefore some by being low take over,
And some by being low are taken over.
Therefore the large state merely desires to unite and rear others;
While the small state merely desires to enter and serve others.
If both get what they want,
Then the large state should fittingly be underneath.
[CHAPTER 62]
The Way is that toward which all things flow.
It is the treasure of the good man,
And that which protects the bad.