People hate to be the orphaned, the lonely ones, and the unworthy.
And yet kings and lords call themselves by these names.
Therefore it is often the case that things gain by losing and lose by gaining.
What others have taught, I teach also:
“Violent and fierce people do not die a natural death.”87
I shall make this the father (basis or starting point) of my teaching.
Comment. It is often understood that the One is the original material force or the Great Ultimate, the two are yin and yang, the three are their blending with the original material force, and the ten thousand things are things carrying yin and embracing yang. However, there is no need to be specific. The important point is the natural evolution from the simple to the complex without any act of creation. This theory is common to practically all Chinese philosophical schools.88
43. The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.
Non-being penetrates that in which there is no space.
Through this I know the advantage of taking no action.
Few in the world can understand teaching without words and the advantage of taking no action.
44. Which does one love more, fame or one’s own life?
Which is more valuable, one’s own life or wealth?
Which is worse, gain or loss?
Therefore he who has lavish desires will spend extravagantly.
He who hoards most will lose heavily.
He who is contented suffers no disgrace.
He who knows when to stop is free from danger.
Therefore he can long endure.
45. What is most perfect seems to be incomplete;
But its utility is unimpaired.
What is most full seems to be empty;
But its usefulness is inexhaustible.
What is most straight seems to be crooked.
The greatest skills seems to be clumsy.
The greatest eloquence seems to stutter.
Hasty movement overcomes cold,
(But) tranquillity overcomes heat.
By being greatly tranquil,
One is qualified to be the ruler of the world.
46. When Tao prevails in the world, galloping horses are turned back to fertilize (the fields with their dung).
When Tao does not prevail in the world, war horses thrive in the suburbs.
There is no calamity greater than lavish desires.89
There is no greater guilt than discontentment.
And there is no greater disaster than greed.
He who is contented with contentment is always contented.
47. One may know the world without going out of doors.
One may see the Way of Heaven without looking through the windows.
The further one goes, the less one knows.
Therefore the sage knows without going about,
Understands90 without seeing,
And accomplishes without any action.
48. The pursuit of learning is to increase day after day.
The pursuit of Tao is to decrease day after day.
It is to decrease and further decrease until one reaches the point of taking no action.
No action is undertaken, and yet nothing is left undone.
An empire is often brought to order by having no activity (laissez-faire).
If one (likes to)91 undertake activity, he is not qualified to govern the empire.
49. The sage has no fixed (personal) ideas.
He regards the people’s ideas as his own.
I treat those who are good with goodness,
And I also treat those who are not good with goodness.
Thus goodness is attained.92
I am honest to those who are honest,
And I am also honest to those who are not honest.
Thus honesty is attained.
The sage, in the government of his empire, has no subjective viewpoint.93
His mind forms a harmonious whole with that of his people.
They all lend their eyes and ears,94 and he treats them all as infants.
50. Man comes into life and goes out to death.
Three out of ten are companions of life.
Three out of ten are companions of death.
And three out of ten in their lives lead from activity to death.95
And for what reason?
Because of man’s intensive striving after life.
I have heard that one who is a good preserver of his life will not meet tigers or wild buffalos,
And in fighting will not try to escape from weapons of war.
The wild buffalo cannot butt its horns against him,
The tiger cannot fasten its claws in him,
And weapons of war cannot thrust their blades into him.
And for what reason?
Because in him there is no room for death.
51. Tao produces them (the ten thousand things).
Virtue fosters them.
Matter gives them physical form.
The circumstances and tendencies complete them.
Therefore the ten thousand things esteem Tao and honor virtue.
Tao is esteemed and virtue is honored without anyone’s order.
They always come spontaneously.
Therefore Tao produces them and virtue fosters them.
They rear them and develop them.
They give them security and give them peace.
They nurture them and protect them.
(Tao) produces them but does not take possession of them.
It acts, but does not rely on its own ability.
It leads them but does not master them.
This is called profound and secret virtue.96
52. There was a beginning of the universe
Which may be called the Mother of the Universe.
He who has found the mother (Tao)97
And thereby understands her sons (things)
And having understood the sons,
Still keeps to its mother,
Will be free from danger throughout his lifetime.
Close the mouth.
Shut the doors (of cunning and desire).98
And to the end of life there will be (peace) without toil.
Open the mouth.
Meddle with affairs,
And to the end of life there will be no salvation.
Seeing what is small is called enlightenment.
Keeping to weakness is called strength.
Use the light.
Revert to enlightenment,
And thereby avoid danger to one’s life—
This is called practicing the eternal.
53. If I had but little99 knowledge
I should, in walking on a broad way,
Fear getting off the road.
Broad ways are extremely even,
But people are fond of by-paths.
The courts are exceedingly splendid,
While the fields are exceedingly weedy,
And the granaries are exceedingly empty.
Elegant clothes are worn,
Sharp weapons are carried,
Foods and drinks are enjoyed beyond limit,
And wealth and treasures are accumulated in excess.
This is robbery and extravagance.
This is indeed not Tao (the way).100
54. He who is well established (in Tao) cannot be pulled away.
He who has a firm grasp (of Tao) cannot be separated from it.
Thus from generation to generation his ancestral sacrifice will never be suspended.
When one cultivates virtue in his person, it becomes genuine virtue.
When one cultivates virtue in his family, it becomes overflowing virtue.
When one cultivates virtue in his community, it becomes lasting virtue.
When one cultivates virtue in his country, it becomes abundant virtue.
When one cultivates virtue in the world, it becomes univer
sal.
Therefore the person should be viewed as a person.
The family should be viewed as a family.
The community should be viewed as a community.
The country should be viewed as a country.
And the world should be viewed as the world.101
How do I know this to be the case in the world?
Through this (from the cultivation of virtue in the person to that in the world).
55. He who possesses virtue in abundance
May be compared to an infant.
Poisonous insects will not sting him.
Fierce beasts will not seize him.
Birds of prey will not strike him.
His bones are weak, his sinews tender, but his grasp is firm.
He does not yet know the union of male and female,
But his organ is aroused.
This means that his essence is at its height.
He may cry all day without becoming hoarse,
This means that his (natural) harmony is perfect.
To know harmony means to be in accord with the eternal.
To be in accord with the eternal means to be enlightened.
To force the growth of life means ill omen.
For the mind to employ the vital force without restraint means violence.
After things reach their prime, they begin to grow old,
Which means being contrary to Tao.
Whatever is contrary to Tao will soon perish.102
56. He who knows does not speak.
He who speaks does not know.
Close the mouth.
Shut the doors (of cunning and desires).103
Blunt the sharpness.
Untie the tangles.
Soften the light.
Become one with the dusty world.104
This is called profound identification.
Therefore it is impossible either to be intimate and close to him or to be distant and indifferent to him.
It is impossible either to benefit him or to harm him,
It is impossible either to honor him or to disgrace him.
For this reason he is honored by the world.
57. Govern the state with correctness.
Operate the army with surprise tactics.
Administer the empire by engaging in no activity.
How do I know that this should be so?
Through this:
The more taboos and prohibitions there are in the world,
The poorer the people will be.
The more sharp weapons the people have,
The more troubled the state will be.
The more cunning and skill man possesses,
The more vicious things will appear.
The more laws and orders are made prominent,
The more thieves and robbers there will be.
Therefore the sage says:
I take no action and the people of themselves are transformed.
I love tranquillity and the people of themselves become correct.
I engage in no activity and the people of themselves become prosperous.
I have no desires and the people of themselves become simple.
Comment. Laissez-faire government. Even Confucius shared this ideal.105
58. When the government is non-discriminative and dull,
The people are contented and generous.
When the government is searching and discriminative,
The people are disappointed and contentious.
Calamity is that upon which happiness depends;
Happiness is that in which calamity is latent.
Who knows when the limit will be reached?
Is there no correctness (used to govern the world?)
Then the correct again becomes the perverse
And the good will again become evil.106
The people have been deluded for a long time.
Therefore the sage is as pointed as a square but does not pierce.
He is as acute as a knife but does not cut.
He is as straight as an unbent line but does not extend.
He is as bright as light but does not dazzle.
59. To rule people and to serve Heaven there is nothing better than to be frugal.
Only by being frugal can one recover quickly.
To recover quickly means to accumulate virtue heavily.
By the heavy accumulation of virtue one can overcome everything.
If one can overcome everything, then he will acquire a capacity the limit of which is beyond anyone’s knowledge.
When his capacity is beyond anyone’s knowledge, he is fit to rule a state.
He who possesses the Mother (Tao)107 of the state will last long.
This means that the roots are deep and the stalks are firm, which is the way of long life and everlasting existence.108
60. Ruling a big country is like cooking a small fish.109
If Tao is employed to rule the empire,
Spiritual beings will lose their supernatural power.
Not that they lose their spiritual power,
But their spiritual power can no longer harm people.
Not only will their supernatural power not harm people,
But the sage also will not harm people.
When both do not harm each other,
Virtue will be accumulated in both for the benefit [of the people].110
61. A big country may be compared to the lower part of a river.
It is the converging point of the world;
It is the female of the world.
The female always overcomes the male by tranquillity,
And by tranquillity she is underneath.
A big state can take over a small state if it places itself below the small state;
And the small state can take over a big state if it places itself below the big state.
Thus some, by placing themselves below, take over (others),
And some, by being (naturally) low, take over (other states).
After all, what a big state wants is but to annex and herd others,
And what a small state wants is merely to join and serve others.
Since both big and small states get what they want,
The big state should place itself low.
62. Tao is the storehouse111 of all things.
It is the good man’s treasure and the bad man’s refuge.
Fine words can buy honor,
And fine deeds can gain respect from others.112
Even if a man is bad, when has (Tao) rejected him?
Therefore on the occasion of crowning an emperor or installing the three ministers,113
Rather than present large pieces of jade preceded by teams of four horses,
It is better to kneel and offer this Tao.
Why did the ancients highly value this Tao?
Did they not say, “Those who seek shall have it and those who sin shall be freed”?
For this reason it is valued by the world.
63. Act without action.
Do without ado.
Taste without tasting.
Whether it is big or small, many or few,114 repay hatred with virtue.
Prepare for the difficult while it is still easy.
Deal with the big while it is still small.
Difficult undertakings have always started with what is easy,
And great undertakings have always started with what is small.
Therefore the sage never strives for the great,
And thereby the great is achieved.115
He who makes rash promises surely lacks faith.
He who takes things too easily will surely encounter much difficulty.
For this reason even the sage regards things as difficult,
And therefore he encounters no difficulty.
Comment. The Taoist doctrine of walking the second mile,116 which was unacceptable to Confucius.117
64. What remains still is easy to hold.
W
hat is not yet manifest is easy to plan for.
What is brittle is easy to crack.
What is minute is easy to scatter.
Deal with things before they appear.
Put things in order before disorder arises.
A tree as big as a man’s embrace grows from a tiny shoot.
A tower of nine storeys begins with a heap of earth.
The journey of a thousand li118 starts from where one stands.
He who takes an action fails.
He who grasps things loses them.
For this reason the sage takes no action and therefore does not fail.
He grasps nothing and therefore he does not lose anything.
People in their handling of affairs often fail when they are about to succeed.
If one remains as careful at the end as he was at the beginning, there will be no failure.
Therefore the sage desires to have no desire.119
He does not value rare treasures.120
He learns to be unlearned,121 and returns to what the multitude has missed (Tao).
Thus he supports all things in their natural state but does not take any action.
65. In ancient times those who practiced Tao well
Did not seek to enlighten the people, but to make them ignorant.
People are difficult to govern because they have too much knowledge.
Therefore he who rules the state through knowledge is a robber of the state;
He who rules a state not through knowledge is a blessing to the state.
One who knows these two things also (knows) the standard.
Always to know the standard is called profound and secret virtue.
Virtue becomes deep and far-reaching,
And with it all things return to their original natural state.
Then complete harmony will be reached.
66. The great rivers and seas are kings of all mountain streams
Because they skillfully stay below them.
That is why they can be their kings.
Therefore, in order to be the superior of the people,
One must, in the use of words, place himself below them.
And in order to be ahead of the people,
One must, in one’s own person, follow them.
Therefore the sage places himself above the people and they do not feel his weight.
He places himself in front of them and the people do not harm him.
Therefore the world rejoices in praising him without getting tired of it.
It is precisely because he does not compete that the world cannot compete with him.122
67. All the world says that my Tao is great123 and does not seem to resemble (the ordinary).124
It is precisely because it is great that it does not resemble (the ordinary).
A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy Page 21
