by Lao Tzu
The sage, in ruling,
hollows their hearts,
stuffs their stomachs,
weakens their wills,
builds up their bones,
Always causing the people
to be without knowledge and desire.
He ensures that
the knowledgeable dare not be hostile,
and that is all.
Thus,
His rule is universal.
48
(4)
The Way is empty,
yet never refills with use;
Bottomless it is,
like the forefather of the myriad creatures.
It files away sharp points,
unravels tangles,
diffuses light,
mingles with the dust.
Submerged it lies,
seeming barely to subsist.
I know not whose child it is,
only that it resembles the predecessor of God.
49
(5)
Heaven and earth are inhumane;
they view the myriad creatures as straw dogs.
The sage is inhumane;
he views the common people as straw dogs.
The space between heaven and earth,
how like a bellows it is!
Empty but never exhausted,
The more it pumps, the more comes out.
Hearing too much leads to utter exhaustion;
Better to remain in the center.
50
(6)
The valley spirit never dies—
it is called “the mysterious female”;
The gate of the mysterious female
is called “the root of heaven and earth.”
Gossamer it is,
seemingly insubstantial,
yet never consumed through use.
51
(7)
Heaven is long and earth is lasting.
Heaven and earth can be long and lasting
because they do not live for themselves.
Therefore,
They can be long-lived.
For this reason,
The sage
withdraws himself
but comes to the fore,
alienates himself
but is always present.
Is this not because he is free of private interests?
Therefore,
He can accomplish his private interests.
52
(8)
The highest good is like water;
Water is good at benefiting the myriad creatures
but also struggles
to occupy the place loathed by the masses.
Therefore,
It is near to the Way.
The quality of an abode is in its location,
The quality of the heart is in its depths,
The quality of giving lies in trust,
The quality of correct governance lies in orderly rule,
The quality of an enterprise depends on ability,
The quality of movement depends on timing.
Now,
It is precisely because one does not compete
that there is no blame.
53
(9)
Instead of keeping a bow taut while holding it straight,
better to relax.
You may temper a sword until it is razor sharp,
but you cannot preserve the edge for long.
When gold and jade fill your rooms,
no one will be able to guard them for you.
If wealth and honor make you haughty,
you bequeath misfortune upon yourself.
To withdraw when your work is finished,
that is the Way of heaven.
54
(10)
While you
Cultivate the soul and embrace unity,
can you keep them from separating?
Focus your vital breath until it is supremely soft,
can you be like a baby?
Cleanse the mirror of mysteries,
can you make it free of blemish?
Love the people and enliven the state,
can you do so without cunning?
Open and close the gate of heaven,
can you play the part of the female?
Reach out with clarity in all directions,
can you refrain from action?
It gives birth to them and nurtures them,
It gives birth to them but does not possess them,
It rears them but does not control them.
This is called “mysterious integrity.”
55
(11)
Thirty spokes converge on a single hub,
but it is in the space where there is nothing
that the usefulness of the cart lies.
Clay is molded to make a pot,
but it is in the space where there is nothing
that the usefulness of the clay pot lies.
Cut out doors and windows to make a room,
but it is in the spaces where there is nothing
that the usefulness of the room lies.
Therefore,
Benefit may be derived from something,
�
� but it is in nothing that we find usefulness.
56
(12)
The five colors
make a man’s eyes blind;
Horseracing and hunting
make a man’s mind go mad;
Goods that are hard to obtain
make a man’s progress falter;
The five flavors
make a man’s palate dull;
The five tones
make a man’s ears deaf.
For these reasons,
In ruling, the sage
attends to the stomach, not to the eye.
Therefore,
He rejects the one and adopts the other.
57
(13)
“Being favored is so disgraceful that it startles,
Being honored is an affliction as great as one’s body.”
What is the meaning of
“Being favored is so disgraceful that it startles”?
Favor is debasing;
To find it is startling,
To lose it is startling.
This is the meaning of
“Being favored is so disgraceful that it startles.”
What is the meaning of
“Being honored is an affliction as great as one’s body”?
The reason I suffer great afflictions is because I have a body;
If I had no body, what affliction could I suffer?
Therefore,
When a man puts more emphasis on caring for his body
than on caring for all under heaven,
then all under heaven can be entrusted to him.
When a man is sparing of his body in caring
for all under heaven,
then all under heaven can be delivered to him.
58
(14)
We look for it but do not see it;
we name it “subtle.”
We listen for it but do not hear it;
we name it “rare.”
We grope for it but do not grasp it;
we name it “serene.”
These three cannot be fully fathomed,
Therefore,
They are bound together to make unity.
Of unity,
its top is not distant,
its bottom is not blurred.
Infinitely extended
and unnameable,
It returns to nonentity.
This is called
“the form of the formless,
the image of nonentity.”
This is called “the amorphous.”
Following behind it,
you cannot see its back;
Approaching it from the front,
you cannot see its head.
Hold to the Way of today
to manage the actualities of today,
thereby understanding the primeval beginning.
This is called “the thread of the Way.”
59
(15)
Those of old who were adept in the Way
were subtly profound and mysteriously perceptive,
So deep
they could not be recognized.
Now,
Because they could not be recognized,
One can describe their appearance only with effort:
hesitant,
as though crossing a stream in winter;
cautious,
as though fearful of their neighbors all around;
solemn,
as though guests in someone else’s house;
shrinking,
as ice when it melts;
plain,
as an unhewn log;
muddled,
as turbid waters;
expansive,
as a broad valley.
If turbid waters are stilled,
they will gradually become clear;
If something inert is set in motion,
it will gradually come to life.
Those who preserved this Way did not wish to be full.
Now,
Simply because they did not wish to be full,
they could be threadbare and incomplete.
60
(16)
Attain utmost emptiness,
Maintain utter stillness.
The myriad creatures arise side by side,
thus I observe their renewal.
Heaven’s creatures abound,
but each returns to its roots,
which is called “stillness.”
This is termed “renewal of fate.”
Renewal of fate is perpetual—
To know the perpetual is to be enlightened;
Not to know the perpetual is to be reckless—
recklessness breeds evil.
To know the perpetual is to be tolerant—
tolerance leads to ducal impartiality,
ducal impartiality to kingliness,
kingliness to heaven,
heaven to the Way,
the Way to permanence.
To the end of his days,
he will not be imperiled.
61
(17)
Preeminent is one whose sub
jects barely know he exists;
The next is one to whom they feel close and praise;
The next is one whom they fear;
The lowest is one whom they despise.
When the ruler’s trust is wanting,
there will be no trust in him.
Cautious,
he values his words.
When his work is completed and his affairs finished,
the common people say,
“We are like this by ourselves.”
62
(18)
Therefore,
When the great Way was forsaken,
there was humaneness and righteousness;
When cunning and wit appeared,
there was great falsity;
When the six family relationships lacked harmony,
there were filial piety and parental kindness;
When the state and royal house were in disarray,
there were upright ministers.
63
(19)
“Abolish sagehood and abandon cunning,
the people will benefit a hundredfold;
Abolish humaneness and abandon righteousness,
the people will once again be filial and kind;
Abolish cleverness and abandon profit,