Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Translated by Jonathan Star

A mind free of thought,

merged within itself,

beholds the essence of Tao

A mind filled with thought,

identified with its own perceptions,

beholds the mere forms of this world

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Verse 7

 

Heaven is ancient

Earth is long-lasting

Why is this so?—

Because they have no claims to life

By having no claims to life

they cannot be claimed by death

 

The Sage puts his own views behind

so ends up ahead

He stays a witness to life

so he endures

What could he grab for

that he does not already have?

What could he do for himself

that the universe itself has not already done?

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Verse 11

 

Wu is nothingness, emptiness, non-existence

 

Thirty spokes of a wheel all join at a common hub

yet only the hole at the center

allows the wheel to spin

Clay is molded to form a cup

yet only the space within

allows the cup to hold water

Walls are joined to make a room

yet only by cutting out a door and a window

can one enter the room and live there

 

Thus, when a thing has existence alone

it is mere dead-weight

Only when it has wu, does it have life

---

Verse 13

“Be wary of both honor and disgrace”

“Endless affliction is bound to the body”

 

What does it mean,

“Be wary of both honor and disgrace”?

Honor is founded on disgrace

and disgrace is rooted in honor

Both should be avoided

Both bind a man to this world

That’s why it says,

“Be wary of both honor and disgrace”

 

What does it mean,

“Endless affliction is bound to the body”?

Man’s true self is eternal,

yet he thinks, “I am this body, I will soon die”

This false sense of self

is the cause of all his sorrow

When a person does not identify himself with the body

tell me, what troubles could touch him?

 

One who sees himself as everything

is fit to be guardian of the world

One who loves himself as everyone

is fit to be teacher of the world

---

Verse 14

 

Know everything in this moment

and you will know the Eternal Tao

---

Verse 16

 

Become totally empty

Quiet the restlessness of the mind

Only then will you witness everything

unfolding from emptiness

See all things flourish and dance

in endless variation

And once again merge back into perfect emptiness—

Their true repose

Their true nature

Emerging, flourishing, dissolving back again

This is the eternal process of return

 

To know this process brings enlightenment

To miss this process brings disaster

 

Be still

Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity

Eternity embraces the all-possible

The all-possible leads to a vision of oneness

A vision of oneness brings about universal love

Universal love supports the great truth of Nature

The great truth of Nature is Tao

 

Whoever knows this truth lives forever

The body may perish, deeds may be forgotten

But he who has Tao has all eternity

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Verse 17

 

If one doesn’t trust himself

how can he trust anyone else?

---

Verse 18

 

When the greatness of Tao is present

action arises from one’s own heart

When the greatness of Tao is absent

action comes from the rules

of “kindness” and “justice”

If you need rules to be kind and just,

if you act virtuous,

this is a sure sign that virtue is absent

Thus we see the great hypocrisy

 

Only when the family loses its harmony

do we hear of “dutiful sons”

Only when the state is in chaos

do we hear of “loyal ministers”

---

Verse 26

 

The inner is foundation of the outer

The still is master of the restless

 

The Sage travels all day

yet never leaves his inner treasure

Though the views are captivating and beg attention

he remains calm and uninvolved

Tell me, does the lord of a great empire

go out begging for rice?

 

One who seeks his treasure in the outer world

is cut off from his own roots

Without roots, he becomes restless

Being restless, his mind is weak

And with a mind such as this

he loses all command below Heaven

---

Verse 31

 

One who knows Tao

never turns from life’s calling

When at home he honors the side of rest

When at war he honors the side of action

Peace and tranquility are what he holds most dear

so he does not obtain weapons

But when their use is unavoidable

he employs them with fortitude and zeal

---

Verse 32

 

Tao is eternal, one without a second

Simple indeed

yet so subtle that no one can master it

If princes and kings could just hold it

All things would flock to their kingdom

Heaven and Earth would rejoice

with the dripping of sweet dew

Everyone would live in harmony,

not by official decree,

but by their own inner goodness

 

This world is nothing but the glory of Tao

expressed through different names and forms

One who sees the things of this world

as being real and self-existent

has lost sight of the truth

To him, every word becomes a trap

every thing becomes a prison

One who knows the truth

that underlies all things

lives in this world without danger

To him, every word reflects the universe

every moment brings enlightenment

 

Rivers and streams are born of the ocean

All creation is born of Tao

Just as all water flows back to become the ocean

All creation flows back to become Tao

---

Verse 33

 

One who knows others is intelligent

One who knows himself is enlightened

 

One who conquers others is strong

One who conquers himself is all-powerful

 

One who approaches life with force

surely gets something

One who remains content where he is

surely gets everything

 

One who gives himself to his position

surely lives long

One who gives himself to Tao

surely lives forever

---

Verse 35

 

One may look for fulfillment in this world

but his longings will never be exhausted

The only thing he ever finds

is that he himself is exhausted

---

Verse 36

 

Contraction pulls at that

which extends too far

Weakness pulls at that

which strengthens too much

Ruin pulls at that

which rises too high

Loss pulls at life

when you fill it with too much stuff

 

The lesson here is called

“The wisdom of obscurity”—

The gentle outlast the strong

The obscure outlast the obvious

Hence, a fish that ventures from deep water

is soon snagged by a net

A country that reveals its strength

is soon conquered by an enemy

---

Verse 41

 

When the best seeker hears of Tao

he strives with great effort to know it

When an average seeker hears of Tao

he thinks of it now and again

When the poorest seeker hears of Tao

he laughs out loud

 

Tao is always becoming

what we have need for it to become

If it could not do this

it would not be Tao

 

There is an old saying,

The clear way seems clouded

The straight way seems crooked

The sure way seems unsteady

 

The greatest power seems weak

The purest white seems tainted

The abundant seems empty

The stable seems shaky

The certain seems false

The Great Square has no corners

The Great Vessel is never filled

 

A beginner may be clumsy

but after practice—what talent!

A large drum may sit silently

but when banged—what noise!

Tao lies hidden

yet it alone is the glorious light of this world

---

Verse 42

People suffer at the thought of being

without parents, without food, or without worth

Yet this is the very way that

kings and lords once described themselves

 

Who knows what fate may bring—

one day your loss may be your fortune

one day your fortune may be your loss

 

The age-old lesson that others teach, I also teach—

“As you plant, so you reap”

“As you live, so you die”

Know this to be the foundation of my teachings

---

Verse 48

To become learned, gain daily

To obtain Tao, reduce daily

Reduce and reduce again

until all action is reduced to non-action

Then no one is left

Nothing is done

yet nothing is left undone

 

One who gives freely and without attachment

gets a full life in return

One who gives with the secret hope of getting

is merely engaged in business

Truly, they neither give nor receive

any of the treasure from this world below Heaven

---

Verse 50

 

Again and again

Men come in with birth

and go out with death

One in three are followers of life

One in three are followers of death

And those just passing from life to death

also number one in three

But they all die in the end

Why is this so?

Because they clutch to life

and cling to this passing world

 

I hear that one who lives by his own truth

is not like this

He walks without making footprints in this world

Going about, he does not fear the rhinoceros or tiger

Entering a battlefield, he does not fear sharp weapons

For in him the rhino can find no place to pitch its horn

The tiger no place to fix its claw

The soldier no place to thrust his blade

Why is this so?

Because he dwells in that place

where death cannot enter

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Verse 52

 

Seeing your own smallness is called insight

Honoring your own tenderness is called strength

The sun in all its glory

reveals but a passing world

Only the inner light illumines eternity

Only that light can guide us back home

Have faith

Follow your own shining

Be aware of your own awareness

On the darkest nights you will not stumble

On the brightest days you will not blink

This is called

“The Practice of Eternal Light”

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Verse 59

Rule the people and serve Heaven

yet hold nothing more dear than the Mother’s harvest

Let every thought and every breath

be the fruit of your offering—

Do it now

Let her power run thick in your blood

There will be no obstacle you cannot overcome

No limit you cannot surpass

No empire you cannot rule

 

Ah, but in all your glory

never lose sight of the Mother

Without her

your empire will crumble

your power will waste away

For the Mother brings the harvest

She alone causes all things to endure

 

We call this

“Deep roots and a solid trunk”

“The way of long life and lasting insight”

---

Verse 63

 

Take on difficulties while they are still easy

Do great things while they are still small

Step by step the world’s burden is lifted

Piece by piece the world’s treasure is amassed

 

So the Sage stays with his daily task

and accomplishes the greatest thing

Beware of those who promise a quick and easy way

for much ease brings many difficulties

 

Follow your path to the end

Accept difficulty as an opportunity

This is the sure way to end up

with no difficulties at all

---

Verse 64

 

A still mind can easily hold the truth

The difficulties yet to come can easily be avoided

 

The feeble are easily broken

The small are easily scattered

Begin your task before it becomes a burden

Put things in order before they get out of hand

Remember,

A tree that fills a man’s embrace grows from a seedling

A tower nine stories high starts with one brick

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

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Verse 66

Why do the hundred rivers

turn and rush toward the sea?

Because it naturally stays below them

 

He who wishes to rule over the people

must speak as if below them

He who wishes to lead the people

must walk as if behind them

So the Sage rules over the people

but he does not weigh them down

He leads the people

but he does not block their way

 

The Sage stays low

so the world never tires of exalting him

He remains a servant

so the world never tires of making him its king

---

Verse 67

All the world talks about my Tao

with such familiarity—

What folly!

Tao is not something found at the marketplace

or passed on from father to son

It is not something gained by knowing

or lost by forgetting

If Tao were like this

It would have been lost and forgotten long ago

 

I have three treasures that I cherish and hold dear

the first is love

the second is moderation

the third is humility

With love one is fearless

With moderation one is abundant

With humility one can fill the highest position

 

Now if one is fearless but has no love

abundant but has no moderation

rises up but has no humility

Surely he is doomed

 

Love vanquishes all attackers

It is impregnable in defense

When Heaven wants to protect someone

does it send an army?

No, it protects him with love

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Verse 69

 

The great warriors have a saying,

“I dare not act as host

but would rather be a guest

I dare not advance an inch

but would rather retreat a foot”

 

So advance but do not use your feet

Seize but do not use your arms

Cut but do not use your sword

Fight but do not use your own power

 

There is no greater misfortune than feeling

“I have an enemy”

For when “I” and “enemy” exist together

there is no room left for my treasure

 

Thus, when two opponents meet

the one without an enemy

will surely triumph

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Verse 71

 

Knowing what cannot be known—

what a lofty aim!

Not knowing what needs to be known—

what a terrible result!

 

Only when your sickness becomes sick

will your sickness disappear

 

The Sage’s illness has become ill

his renunciation has been renounced

Now he is free

And every place in this world

is the perfect place to be

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Verse 72

When the people do not fear worldly power

a greater power will arrive

 

Don’t limit the view of yourself

Don’t despise the conditions of your birth

Don’t resist the natural course of your life

In this way you will never weary of this world

 

The Sage knows himself, but not as himself

he loves himself, but not as himself

he honors himself, but not as himself

Thus, he discards the view of his own self

and chooses the view of the universe

---

Verse 75

Why are the people starving?—

Because their grain is being eaten up by taxes

That’s why they’re starving

 

Why are the people rebellious?—

Because those above them meddle in their lives

That’s why they’re rebellious

 

Why do the people regard death so lightly?—

Because they are so involved with their own living

That’s why they regard death so lightly

 

In the end,

The treasure of life is missed by those who hold on

and gained by those who let go

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Verse 76

 

When life begins

we are tender and weak

When life ends

we are stiff and rigid

All things, including the grass and trees,

are soft and pliable in life

dry and brittle in death

 

So the soft and supple

are the companions of life

While the stiff and unyielding

are the companions of death

 

An army that cannot yield

will be defeated

A tree that cannot bend

will crack in the wind

Thus by Nature’s own decree

the hard and strong are defeated

while the soft and gentle are triumphant

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Verse 81

 

Those who come to know It

do not rely on learning

Those who rely on learning

do not come to know It

 

The Sage sees the world

as an expansion of his own self

So what need has he to accumulate things?

By giving to others

he gains more and more

By serving others

he receives everything