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
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?
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
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
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”
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
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
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
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
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
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
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