There’s a better way to read the Tao Te Ching.
The highest good is like water.
The Way that can be spoken is not the constant Way. The name that can be named is not the constant name.
The chapter goes on: Without a name, it is the beginning of heaven and earth; with a name, it is the mother of the ten thousand things. So, ever without desire, you see its mystery; ever with desire, you see its destination. These two come out together but differ in name. Together we call them the dark mystery: dark upon dark, the gate of all wonders.
Read chapter 1 character by character ›When the whole world knows beauty as beauty, that is already ugly. When all know good as good, that is already not good.
The chapter goes on: So being and non-being give birth to each other, hard and easy complete each other, long and short shape each other, high and low lean on each other, tone and voice answer each other, before and after follow each other. So the sage abides in the work of non-doing and practises the teaching without words. The ten thousand things arise, and he does not turn them away; he gives life but does not possess, acts but does not rely on it; the work is done, and he does not dwell in it. It is only because he does not dwell in it that it does not leave him.
Read chapter 2 character by character ›Do not exalt the worthy, and you keep the people from competing. Do not prize goods that are hard to get, and you keep the people from becoming thieves. Do not display what is desirable, and you keep hearts from disorder.
The chapter goes on: So the sage governs: he empties their hearts, fills their bellies, softens their wills, and strengthens their bones. He always keeps the people without knowledge and without desire, and sees that those who know do not dare to act. Do non-doing, and then nothing is out of order.
Read chapter 3 character by character ›The Way is hollow, and we use it; it is not ever full. How deep it is! It seems to be the ancestor of the ten thousand things.
The chapter goes on: It blunts its sharp edges, unties its tangles, softens its light, and is one with the dust. Deep and still, it seems as if it lives on. I do not know whose child it is; it seems to come before the Lord of Heaven.
Read chapter 4 character by character ›Heaven and earth are not kind; they treat the ten thousand things as straw dogs.
The chapter goes on: The sage is not kind; he treats the common people as straw dogs. Between heaven and earth, is it not like a bellows? Empty, yet it does not collapse; move it, and more and more comes out. Talk too much, and you often run dry; that is not as good as holding to the center.
Read chapter 5 character by character ›The valley spirit does not die: this is called the mysterious female.
The chapter goes on: The gate of the mysterious female: this is called the root of heaven and earth. Unbroken, unbroken, it seems to be there; use it without strain.
Read chapter 6 character by character ›Heaven lasts long, earth endures.
The chapter goes on: The reason heaven and earth can last long and endure is that they do not live for themselves; so they can live long. So the sage puts himself last, and yet he comes first; he sets himself aside, and yet he survives. Is it not because he has no self-interest? So he can fulfill his self-interest.
Read chapter 7 character by character ›The highest good is like water.
The chapter goes on: Water is good at benefiting the ten thousand things, and it does not contend. It dwells in the places that the crowd hates, so it is close to the Way. In dwelling, it is good at the low ground. In heart, it is good at being deep. In giving, it is good at kindness. In speech, it is good at being true. In governing, it is good at order. In work, it is good at being capable. In moving, it is good at timing. It is only because it does not contend that no one blames it.
Read chapter 8 character by character ›Holding it and filling it to the brim is not as good as stopping.
The chapter goes on: Hammer it and sharpen it, and it cannot be kept for long. When gold and jade fill the hall, no one can guard it. Rich and honoured, and proud, you bring disaster on yourself. When the work is done and the name is made, you step back: this is Heaven’s Way.
Read chapter 9 character by character ›Carrying your souls and embracing the One, can you keep it from leaving?
The chapter goes on: Focusing your breath and making it soft, can you be like a newborn child? Washing clean your inner vision, can you leave it without a flaw? Loving the people and governing the state, can you do it without cleverness? As the Gate of Heaven opens and closes, can you be without the hen? Bright and clear, reaching everywhere, can you be without cleverness? It gives life to them and rears them. It gives life but does not possess, acts but does not rely on it, raises but does not rule: this is called the mysterious power.
Read chapter 10 character by character ›Thirty spokes share one hub; where it is empty, there is the cart’s use.
The chapter goes on: Knead clay to make a vessel; where it is empty, there is the vessel’s use. Cut doors and windows to make a room; where it is empty, there is the room’s use. So what is there serves as benefit; what is not there serves as use.
Read chapter 11 character by character ›The five colors make one’s eyes blind.
The chapter goes on: The five tones make one’s ears deaf. The five flavors make one’s mouth lose its taste. Galloping and racing, hunting in the fields, make one’s heart go mad. Goods that are hard to get make one’s conduct go wrong. So the sage cares for the belly, not for the eye, and so he lets go of that and takes this.
Read chapter 12 character by character ›Favor and disgrace are like a shock; fear great trouble reaching the body.
The chapter goes on: What is meant by “favor and disgrace”? Disgrace is lowly. Getting favor is like a shock; losing it is like a shock: this is called “favor and disgrace are like a shock.” What is meant by “fear great trouble reaching the body”? The reason I have great trouble is that I have a body. If I had no body, what trouble would I have? So one who prizes his body as the world can then be lent the world; one who loves his body as the world can then be entrusted with the world.
Read chapter 13 character by character ›Look at it, and you do not see it: its name is the Colorless. Listen to it, and you do not hear it: its name is the Soundless. Grasp at it, and you do not get it: its name is the Formless.
The chapter goes on: These three can never be questioned to the bottom, so they blend and become one. Above, it is not bright; below, it is not dark. Endless and unbroken, it can never be named, and it returns again to no thing. This is called the shape of no shape, the image of no thing; this is the elusive, the evasive. Meet it, and you do not see its head; follow it, and you do not see its back. Hold to the Way of old to rule what is here now, and so know the ancient beginning: this is called the thread of the Way.
Read chapter 14 character by character ›Those of old who were good at being masters were subtle, wondrous, dark, reaching through, so deep they could not be known.
The chapter goes on: Just because they could not be known, I strain to make a portrait of them: Hesitant, as if wading a river in winter; wary, as if fearing the neighbors on all four sides; grave, like a guest; dissolving, like ice about to melt; Solid, like uncarved wood; wide open, like a valley; murky, like muddy water. Who can take the muddy and, by stilling it, slowly make it clear? Who can take the calm and, by long movement, slowly bring it to life? One who keeps this Way does not want to be full. Just because he is not full, he can stay hidden and not seek new success.
Read chapter 15 character by character ›Reach emptiness to the utmost; hold stillness firmly.
The chapter goes on: The ten thousand things come to life together, and by this I watch them return. Now, things grow lush and thick, and each goes back again to its root. Returning to the root is called stillness; this is called coming back to life. Coming back to life is called the constant; knowing the constant is called clarity. Not knowing the constant, you wither, and your actions bring disaster. Knowing the constant, you embrace all; embracing all brings fairness; fairness brings kingliness; kingliness brings Heaven; Heaven brings the Way; the Way brings endurance; and to the end of your life, there is no danger.
Read chapter 16 character by character ›The very best ruler: those below know only that he is there. The next, they love him and praise him. The next, they fear him. The next, they despise him.
The chapter goes on: When trust is not enough, he is wary, and he treasures his words. The work is done, the task complete, and the people all say, “We did it ourselves, naturally.”
Read chapter 17 character by character ›When the great Way was abandoned, there came benevolence and righteousness; when cleverness and favor-seeking came out, there came great hypocrisy;
The chapter goes on: when the six kin were not in harmony, there came filial piety and parental love; when the state and its families fell into confusion and disorder, there came loyal ministers.
Read chapter 18 character by character ›Cut off sageliness, throw away cleverness, and the people will benefit a hundred times over; cut off benevolence, throw away righteousness, and the people will return to filial piety and parental love; cut off cunning, throw away profit, and there will be no thieves and robbers.
The chapter goes on: These three, taken as outward show, are not enough; so let there be something to hold on to: Show plainness, embrace the uncarved block; have little self-interest and few desires.
Read chapter 19 character by character ›Cut off learning, and there is no worry.
The chapter goes on: A polite “yes” and a careless “eh”: how far is one from the other? Good and bad: how far is one from the other? What people fear, one may not fail to fear. So wild, and still no end to it! The many people are bustling and merry, as if feasting at a great banquet, as if climbing a terrace in spring. I alone am still, not yet showing a sign, like a newborn child that has not yet smiled; riding on and on, as if I had nowhere to go home to. The many people all have more than enough, but I alone seem to fall short. Mine is a foolish man’s heart indeed! Muddled, muddled! Common people are bright and clear; I alone seem in the dark. Common people are sharp and quick; I alone am dull and closed. Vague, like the sea; drifting, as if with nowhere to stop. The many people all have something to do, but I alone am stubborn and seem crude. I alone am different from others, and I prize feeding on the mother.
Read chapter 20 character by character ›The form of great virtue follows only the Way.
The chapter goes on: The Way, as a thing, is only elusive, only shadowy. Shadowy, elusive: within it there is a likeness. Elusive, shadowy: within it there is a thing. Deep, dark: within it there is an essence. Its essence is very real; within it there is a sure sign. From ancient times to now, its name has not gone away, and by it all things are given their start. How do I know that all things start this way? By this.
Read chapter 21 character by character ›Bend, and be whole; be crooked, and be straight; be hollow, and be filled; be worn, and be new; have little, and gain; have much, and be confused.
The chapter goes on: So the sage holds on to the One and is the model of the world. He does not display himself, so he sees clearly; he does not think himself right, so he stands out; he does not boast of himself, so he has merit; he does not exalt himself, so he lasts long. Now, it is only because he does not contend that no one in the world can contend with him. The ancients’ saying, “bend, and be whole”: how could these be empty words? Truly, you stay whole and give it back.
Read chapter 22 character by character ›To speak little is natural. A whirling wind does not last the whole morning; a sudden downpour does not last the whole day.
The chapter goes on: Who makes these? Heaven and earth. If even heaven and earth are not able to make them last, how much less can man? So, for one who works by the Way: the man of the Way is one with the Way; the man of virtue is one with virtue; the man of loss is one with loss. The one who is one with the Way, the Way too is glad to have him; the one who is one with virtue, virtue too is glad to have him; the one who is one with loss, loss too is glad to lose him. Where trust is not enough, there is no trust in return.
Read chapter 23 character by character ›One who stands on tiptoe cannot stand firm; one who takes long strides cannot walk far.
The chapter goes on: One who displays himself does not see clearly; one who thinks himself right does not stand out; one who boasts of himself has no merit; one who exalts himself does not last long. In the Way, this is called leftover food and greedy conduct. Creatures may hate it, so one who has the Way does not dwell in it.
Read chapter 24 character by character ›There is a thing formed out of chaos, born before heaven and earth.
The chapter goes on: Silent and formless, it stands alone and does not change; it goes round everywhere and comes to no harm. It can be the mother of the world. I do not know its name; I style it “the Way.” Forced to give it a name, I call it “Great.” Great means going away; going away means far off; far off means coming back. So the Way is great, heaven is great, earth is great, and the king too is great. Within the realm there are four greats, and the king holds one of them. Man models himself on earth; earth models itself on heaven; heaven models itself on the Way; and the Way models itself on what is so of itself.
Read chapter 25 character by character ›The heavy is the constant root; the still is lord of the restless.
The chapter goes on: So the sage travels all day without leaving his baggage cart. Though there are splendid towers and restful halls, he stays far above them. How can the lord of ten thousand chariots take himself lightly before the world? If he is light, he loses his ministers; if he is restless, he loses his throne.
Read chapter 26 character by character ›Good conduct leaves no tracks; good speech leaves no flaw to blame; good counting does not use tally sticks; good shutting uses no bolt or bar, yet no one can open it; good tying uses no cord, yet no one can untie it.
The chapter goes on: So the sage is always good at saving people, and so no one is cast away; always good at saving things, and so no thing is cast away. This is called carrying on the light. So the good man is the bad man’s teacher; the bad man is the good man’s material. Not to prize one’s teacher, not to love one’s material: though clever, one is greatly lost. This is called the essential mystery.
Read chapter 27 character by character ›Know the male, keep to the female, and be the ravine of the world. Be the ravine of the world, and constant virtue never leaves you; you return again to the infant.
The chapter goes on: Know the white, keep to the black, and be the model of the world. Be the model of the world, and constant virtue never goes astray; you return again to the limitless. Know the glory, keep to the disgrace, and be the valley of the world. Be the valley of the world, and constant virtue is then enough; you return again to the uncarved block. The uncarved block, when scattered, becomes vessels; the sage, when put to use, becomes the head of the officials. So the great order does not cut apart.
Read chapter 28 character by character ›One who sets out wanting to take the world and act on it: I see he will not succeed.
The chapter goes on: The world is a sacred vessel; no one can act on it. One who acts on it ruins it; one who grips it loses it. So among things, some lead and some follow; some breathe warm and some blow cold; some are strong and some are weak; some are safe and some are in danger. So the sage lets go of excess, lets go of luxury, lets go of grandeur.
Read chapter 29 character by character ›A ruler of men who takes the Way as his helper does not force the world with arms.
The chapter goes on: Such deeds are apt to come back. Where an army has camped, thorns and brambles grow. After a great army, there will surely be years of famine. One who is good at war is decisive and stops there; he does not dare use it to seize strength. Decisive, but never vain; decisive, but never boastful; decisive, but never overbearing. Decisive, when there is no stopping it; decisive, but never forcing. Things grow strong and then grow old: this is called not following the Way. What does not follow the Way ends early.
Read chapter 30 character by character ›Now, fine weapons are tools of ill omen. Creatures may hate them, so one who has the Way does not stay where they are.
The chapter goes on: The noble one at home honors the left; when using weapons, he honors the right. Weapons are tools of ill omen, not the noble one’s tools. When he is not able to avoid it, he uses them. Calm and plain is best. He wins but does not praise it, and one who praises it is one who enjoys killing people. Now, one who enjoys killing people may not get his will in the world. Lucky affairs honor the left; unlucky affairs honor the right. The lesser general stands on the left, the chief general stands on the right: this means they are placed by the rites of mourning. When many people have been killed, weep for them with sorrow and grief. When the battle is won, treat it with the rites of mourning.
Read chapter 31 character by character ›The Way is ever without a name. Though the uncarved block is small, the world does not dare make it a servant.
The chapter goes on: If lords and kings can hold to it, the ten thousand things will submit of themselves. Heaven and earth join together and send down sweet dew; no one orders the people, yet they come out even by themselves. The Beginning governs what has a name. Once the named, too, have fully come to be, Heaven, too, will know it; and knowing it is why there is no danger. Compare the Way in the world: it is like streams and valleys flowing into rivers and seas.
Read chapter 32 character by character ›One who knows others is wise; one who knows himself is clear-sighted.
The chapter goes on: One who conquers others has force; one who conquers himself is strong. One who knows when he has enough is rich. One who presses on in what he does has purpose. One who does not lose his place lasts long. One who dies but is not lost has long life.
Read chapter 33 character by character ›The great Way floods everywhere! It can go left or right.
The chapter goes on: The ten thousand things rely on it and live, and it does not turn them away. The work is done, and it does not call it its own. It loves and nurtures the ten thousand things but does not act as their master. Ever without desire, it can be called small. The ten thousand things return to it, but it does not act as their master: it can be called great. So the sage, to the end, does not make himself great; that is why he can achieve his greatness.
Read chapter 34 character by character ›Hold to the great image, and the world will go to you.
The chapter goes on: They go to you and come to no harm: there is safety, calm, and great peace. For music and fine food, the passing guest stops. When the Way comes out of the mouth, how bland it is! It has no flavor. Look at it, and there is not enough to see; listen to it, and there is not enough to hear; use it, and it can never be used up.
Read chapter 35 character by character ›When you want to draw it in, you must first stretch it out; when you would make it weak, you must first make it strong; when you want to cast it down, you must first raise it up; when you want to take it away, you must first give it.
The chapter goes on: This is called subtle clarity. The soft and weak overcome the hard and strong. A fish may not leave the deep; a state’s sharp tools may not be shown to others.
Read chapter 36 character by character ›The Way always does nothing, yet there is nothing it does not do.
The chapter goes on: If lords and kings can hold to it, the ten thousand things will transform of themselves. As they transform, if desire stirs, I will settle them with the uncarved block without a name. With the uncarved block without a name, they too will have no desire. With no desire, and with stillness, the world will settle of itself.
Read chapter 37 character by character ›The highest virtue is not “virtuous,” and so it has virtue. The lower virtue does not let go of virtue, and so it has no virtue.
The chapter goes on: The highest virtue does not act, and has nothing to act for. The lower virtue acts, and has something to act for. The highest kindness acts, and has nothing to act for. The highest justice acts, and has something to act for. The highest ritual acts, and when no one answers it, then it rolls up its sleeves and presses on. So when the Way is lost, virtue comes after. When virtue is lost, kindness comes after. When kindness is lost, justice comes after. When justice is lost, ritual comes after. Now, ritual is the thinning of loyalty and good faith, and the head of disorder. Knowing ahead of time is the flower of the Way, and the beginning of folly. So the great man dwells in the thick and does not stay in the thin; he dwells in the fruit and does not stay in the flower. So he lets go of that and takes this.
Read chapter 38 character by character ›Of old, the ones that got the One: Heaven got the One and so is clear; Earth got the One and so is at rest; the spirits got the One and so have power.
The chapter goes on: The valley got the One and so is full; the ten thousand things got the One and so live; lords and kings got the One and so set the world right. Its warning is this: If Heaven were clear without end, it would, I fear, crack apart. If Earth were at rest without end, it would, I fear, burst open. If the spirits had power without end, they would, I fear, fade away. If the valley were full without end, it would, I fear, run dry. If the ten thousand things lived without end, they would, I fear, die out. If lords and kings were noble and high without end, they would, I fear, fall. So the noble takes the lowly as its root; the high must take the low as its base. So lords and kings call themselves “the orphan,” “the widower,” and “not the hub.” Is this not taking the lowly as the root? Is it not? So go and count the parts of a chariot, and there is no chariot. Do not wish to be rare like jade, or common like stone.
Read chapter 39 character by character ›Turning back is the Way’s motion; softness is the Way’s use.
The chapter goes on: The ten thousand things under heaven are born from being; being is born from non-being.
Read chapter 40 character by character ›The best student hears of the Way, and works hard to practice it. The middling student hears of the Way, and sometimes keeps it, sometimes loses it. The worst student hears of the Way and laughs loudly at it.
The chapter goes on: If it were not laughed at, it would not deserve to be called the Way. So the set sayings have it: the bright Way looks dim; the Way forward looks like going back; the level Way looks ordinary. The highest virtue looks like a valley. The purest white looks soiled. The broadest virtue looks like it is not enough. Established virtue looks as if it could be stolen. Plain truth looks faded. The greatest square has no corners. The greatest vessel is finished late. The greatest note is rarely sounded. The greatest image has no shape. The Way is hidden and has no name. Now, only the Way is good at lending, and at bringing to completion.
Read chapter 41 character by character ›The Way gives birth to the One; the One gives birth to the Two; the Two gives birth to the Three; the Three gives birth to the ten thousand things.
The chapter goes on: The ten thousand things shoulder yin and embrace yang, and the breath within them brings them into harmony. What people hate is only “the orphan,” “the widower,” and “not the hub,” yet kings and lords take these as their titles. So with things, sometimes you take from them and they gain; sometimes you add to them and they lose. What people teach, I also teach. Those who are violent do not come to their natural death; I will take them as the father of my teaching.
Read chapter 42 character by character ›The most yielding thing in the world gallops through the most rigid thing in the world.
The chapter goes on: What has no substance enters where there is no gap. From this I know that doing nothing has benefit. The teaching without words, the benefit of doing nothing: few in the world reach them.
Read chapter 43 character by character ›Fame or your body: which is dearer? Your body or your goods: which counts for more? Gaining or losing: which is the harm?
The chapter goes on: Loving too much will surely cost greatly; hoarding much will surely lose heavily. Know what is enough, and you are not disgraced; know when to stop, and you are not in danger. So you can last long.
Read chapter 44 character by character ›The greatest completion looks lacking, but its use never wears out.
The chapter goes on: The greatest fullness looks empty, but its use never runs out. The greatest straightness looks bent. The greatest skill looks clumsy. The greatest eloquence looks tongue-tied. Restlessness pushed to the limit turns cold; stillness pushed to the limit turns hot. Be clear and still, and you are the standard for the world.
Read chapter 45 character by character ›When the world has the Way, the running horses are turned back to manure the fields.
The chapter goes on: When the world lacks the Way, war-horses are born on the borders. No crime is greater than what stirs desire; no disaster is greater than not knowing what is enough; no fault is greater than wanting to get. So the enough of knowing what is enough is always enough.
Read chapter 46 character by character ›Without going out the door, you know the world. Without peeping through the window, you see the Way of Heaven.
The chapter goes on: The farther you go out, the less you know. So the sage does not go, yet he knows; does not see, yet he names things; does nothing, yet it is done.
Read chapter 47 character by character ›Pursue learning, and each day there is more; pursue the Way, and each day there is less.
The chapter goes on: Lessen it, and again lessen, until you arrive at doing nothing. He does nothing, yet there is nothing he does not do. Govern the world always by not meddling. Once you start meddling, you are not fit to govern the world.
Read chapter 48 character by character ›The sage has no constant heart; he takes the people’s heart as his heart.
The chapter goes on: To those who are good I am good; to those not good I am also good; and so virtue makes them good. To those who are trustworthy I am trusting; to those not trustworthy I am also trusting; and so virtue makes them trustworthy. The sage, living in the world, is wary and fearful; for the sake of the world he muddies his own heart. The people all lend their ears and eyes; the sage treats them all as children.
Read chapter 49 character by character ›Going out is life; going in is death.
The chapter goes on: The companions of life are ten and three; the companions of death are ten and three; and people’s living moves to the ground of death through ten and three. Now, what is the reason? Because they nourish life too richly. I have heard that one who is good at nourishing life, traveling on land, does not meet rhinos or tigers; going into the army, he does not avoid armor and weapons. The rhino has no place to drive its horn, the tiger has no place to set its claws, weapons have no place to lodge their blades. Now, what is the reason? Because he has no ground of death.
Read chapter 50 character by character ›The Way gives life to them, Virtue nurtures them, things take their form, and circumstance completes them.
The chapter goes on: So of the ten thousand things, none fails to honor the Way and prize Virtue. The Way is honored and Virtue is prized, yet no one orders it, and it always comes of itself. So the Way gives life to them, and Virtue nurtures them; it raises them and rears them, completes them and ripens them, feeds them and shelters them. It gives life but does not possess; it acts but does not expect reward; it raises but does not rule. This is called the Dark Virtue.
Read chapter 51 character by character ›The world has a beginning; take it as the mother of the world.
The chapter goes on: Once you know the mother, you also know the child; once you know the child, go back and hold to the mother, and to the end of your life you are in no danger. Block up the openings, shut the door, and all your life you will not toil; open the openings, add to your affairs, and all your life you will not be saved. Seeing the small is called clarity; keeping to the soft, you grow strong day by day. Use your light, then return to your brightness, and leave yourself no harm. This is called practicing the constant.
Read chapter 52 character by character ›If I had great knowledge, I would walk on the Great Way; the only thing I would fear is acting on purpose.
The chapter goes on: The Great Way is very level and easy, yet people love the byways. The court is very well kept, the fields are very overgrown, the granaries are very empty. They wear patterned silks, carry sharp swords, gorge on food and drink, and have wealth and goods to spare. This is called a robber’s boast. It is not the Way, alas!
Read chapter 53 character by character ›One who plants well is not uprooted; one who holds well is not pried loose; and the offerings of children and grandchildren never cease.
The chapter goes on: Cultivate it in yourself, and its virtue will be true; cultivate it in your family, and its virtue will have more than enough. Cultivate it in your village, and its virtue will last long; cultivate it in your country, and its virtue will be rich; cultivate it in the world, and its virtue will be everywhere. So use the self to measure the self, the family to measure the family, the village to measure the village, the country to measure the country, and the world to measure the world. How do I know the world is so? By this.
Read chapter 54 character by character ›One who holds virtue in full measure is like a newborn child.
The chapter goes on: Poisonous insects do not sting it, fierce beasts do not claw it, birds of prey do not strike it. Its bones are weak and its sinews soft, yet its grip is firm. It does not yet know the joining of female and male, yet its member stirs: this is essence at its height. It cries all day, yet its voice does not grow hoarse: this is harmony at its height. Knowing harmony is called the constant; knowing the constant is called clarity. Adding to life, it grows bigger day by day; when the heart drives the breath, it grows hard day by day. A thing at its peak will soon grow old: this is called not following the Way. What does not follow the Way ends early.
Read chapter 55 character by character ›One who knows does not speak; one who speaks does not know.
The chapter goes on: Block up the openings, shut the door, blunt the sharp edges, untie the tangles, soften the light, be one with the dust. This is called the Dark Sameness. So no one can get close to him, and no one can keep him at a distance; no one can benefit him, and no one can harm him; no one can honor him, and no one can look down on him. So he is prized by the whole world.
Read chapter 56 character by character ›The upright come to govern the state; the crafty come to wage war; those who do not meddle come to take the world.
The chapter goes on: How do I know it is so? By this. When the ruler has many taboos, the people grow ever poorer; when the people have many sharp tools, the state grows more and more confused. When rulers have much cunning skill, strange things spring up more and more; when fine goods are displayed more and more, there are many thieves and robbers. So the sage says: I do nothing, and the people change by themselves; I love stillness, and the people become upright by themselves; I do not meddle, and the people grow rich by themselves; I have no desires, and the people become simple by themselves.
Read chapter 57 character by character ›When the rule is dull and easy, the people are warm and honest; when the rule is sharp and prying, the people are worn thin.
The chapter goes on: Disaster, ah: good fortune leans on it. Good fortune, ah: disaster hides in it. Who knows where it ends? If the ruler is not upright, the upright turn back into the crafty, and the good turn back into the wicked. The days of people’s confusion have truly been long. So the sage is square, yet does not cut; honest, yet does not wound; straight, yet does not push himself forward; bright, yet does not dazzle.
Read chapter 58 character by character ›In governing people and serving heaven, nothing is as good as being sparing.
The chapter goes on: Now, being sparing alone is what we call gaining the Way early; gaining it early is called storing up virtue again and again. Store up virtue again and again, and then there is nothing you cannot overcome; when there is nothing you cannot overcome, then no one knows your limit. When no one knows your limit, you can hold a state; hold the mother of the state, and you can last long. This is called deep roots and a firm stalk: the way of long life and lasting sight.
Read chapter 59 character by character ›Governing a great state is like cooking a small fish.
The chapter goes on: Rule over the world with the Way, and its ghosts do not show their power. It is not that its ghosts have no power; it is that their power does not harm people. It is not that their power cannot harm people; it is that the sage, too, does no harm. Now, the two do not harm each other, so virtue comes back to them both.
Read chapter 60 character by character ›A great state is the lower stream, the meeting place of the world.
The chapter goes on: It is the female of the world: the female always overcomes the male by stillness, and by stillness makes herself low. So a great state, by lowering itself to a small state, wins the small state; a small state, by lowering itself to a great state, wins the great state. So one lowers itself in order to win; the other lowers itself and so wins. A great state wants no more than to take in and care for people; a small state wants no more than to come in and serve others. Now, the two sides each get what they want; the great one ought to take the low place.
Read chapter 61 character by character ›The Way is the hidden store of the ten thousand things, the treasure of good people, and what people who are not good lean on.
The chapter goes on: Fine words can be sold at market; honored conduct can set one apart from others. If a person is not good, why cast him away? So a Son of Heaven is set up and three chief ministers are appointed; though you have a jade disc held in both hands, sent ahead of a team of four horses, it is not as good as sitting still and offering this Way. What was the ancients’ reason for prizing this Way? It is not by seeking day after day that you get it; if you have a fault, through it you are spared, are you not? So it is prized by the world.
Read chapter 62 character by character ›Act without acting; work without working; taste what has no taste.
The chapter goes on: Make the great small and the many few; repay resentment with virtue. Plan for the hard while it is easy; do the great while it is small. The hard tasks of the world always begin in the easy; the great tasks of the world always begin in the small. So the sage, to the end, does not make himself great, and so he can achieve his greatness. Now, a light promise surely earns little trust; treating many things as easy surely brings many troubles. So the sage still treats things as difficult, and so in the end he has no difficulty.
Read chapter 63 character by character ›What is at peace is easy to hold; what has not yet shown a sign is easy to plan for.
The chapter goes on: What is brittle is easy to break; what is tiny is easy to scatter. Deal with it while it does not yet exist; put it in order while it is not yet in disorder. A tree that takes both arms to embrace grows from a hair’s tip; a tower of nine stories rises from heaped-up earth; a journey of a thousand miles begins from beneath your feet. Whoever acts ruins it; whoever grasps loses it. The sage does not act, so there is no ruin; he does not grasp, so there is no loss. When people go about their work, they often ruin it when it is almost done. Be as careful at the end as at the beginning; then there is no ruined work. So the sage desires what others do not desire, and does not prize goods that are hard to get; he learns what others do not learn, and brings back what most people have gone past. so as to help the natural way of the ten thousand things, and he does not dare to act.
Read chapter 64 character by character ›Those of old who were good at practicing the Way did not use it to make the people clever; they would use it to make them simple.
The chapter goes on: The people are hard to govern because they have too much cleverness. To govern the state with cleverness is to rob the state; not to govern the state with cleverness is to bless the state. To know these two is also the model and pattern. Always to know the model and pattern: this is called mysterious virtue. Mysterious virtue is deep indeed, far indeed; it goes the opposite way from things, and then it reaches the great accord.
Read chapter 65 character by character ›The reason the rivers and the sea can be king of the hundred valleys is that they are good at lying below them; so they can be king of the hundred valleys.
The chapter goes on: So when the sage wants to be above the people, he must in his words place himself below them; when he wants to be ahead of the people, he must in his person place himself behind them. So the sage stays above, yet the people do not find him heavy; he stays in front, yet the people do not harm him. So the world gladly pushes him forward and does not tire of him. Because he does not contend, no one in the world can contend with him.
Read chapter 66 character by character ›All the world calls me great, yet I seem to lack cleverness.
The chapter goes on: Now, it is only because I am great that I seem to lack cleverness. As for the clever, they have been around a long time; they are petty. Now, I have three treasures; I hold them and treasure them. The first is called compassion, the second is called frugality, the third is called not daring to be first in the world. I am compassionate, so I can be brave; I am frugal, so I can be generous; I do not dare to be first in the world, so I can become the head of able men. People today give up compassion and just act brave, give up frugality and just live lavishly, give up staying behind and just go first: that is death! Now, if you fight with compassion, you win; if you defend with it, you hold firm. When Heaven is about to save someone, it guards him with compassion.
Read chapter 67 character by character ›One who is good at being a warrior is not warlike; one who is good at fighting does not get angry; one who is good at winning battles does not engage; one who is good at using people puts himself below them.
The chapter goes on: This is called the virtue of not contending; this is called using the strength of others; this is called matching Heaven, the utmost of the ancients.
Read chapter 68 character by character ›For using troops there is a saying: I do not dare to be the host, and I act as the guest; I do not dare to advance an inch, and I pull back a foot.
The chapter goes on: This is called marching with no ranks, rolling up a sleeve with no arm, pressing on with no enemy, gripping with no weapon. No calamity is greater than making light of the enemy; making light of the enemy, I nearly lose my treasure. So when armies rise against each other and clash, the side that grieves wins.
Read chapter 69 character by character ›My words are very easy to know and very easy to practice.
The chapter goes on: No one in the world can know them; no one can practice them. Words have a root; affairs have a master. Now, it is only because there is nothing to know that they do not know me. Those who know me are few; those who follow me are precious. So the sage wears coarse cloth and carries jade inside.
Read chapter 70 character by character ›To know and say you don’t know is best; not to know and say you know is a sickness.
The chapter goes on: Now, only because you are sick of the sickness are you not sick. The sage is not sick, because he is sick of the sickness; so he is not sick.
Read chapter 71 character by character ›When the people do not fear harm, great harm comes.
The chapter goes on: Do not narrow the place where they dwell; do not make them weary of what they live by. Now, only when you do not weary of it does it not weary of you. So the sage knows himself but does not display himself; he loves himself but does not exalt himself. So he lets go of that and takes this.
Read chapter 72 character by character ›Bold in daring, you are killed; bold in not daring, you live.
The chapter goes on: Of these two, one brings benefit, one brings harm. What Heaven hates, who knows the reason? So even the sage finds it hard. Heaven’s Way does not contend, yet is good at winning; does not speak, yet is well answered; does not call, yet things come of themselves; is unhurried, yet is good at planning. Heaven’s net is vast and wide; its mesh is loose, yet nothing slips through.
Read chapter 73 character by character ›When the people do not fear death, how can you frighten them with death?
The chapter goes on: If the people were made always to fear death, and someone played crafty tricks, I could seize and kill him: who would dare? There is always one in charge of killing. Now, to stand in for the one in charge of killing: this is called standing in for the master carpenter to do his cutting. Now, of those who stand in for the master carpenter to do his cutting, there are few who do not hurt their hands.
Read chapter 74 character by character ›The people go hungry because those above them eat too much in taxes; that is why they go hungry.
The chapter goes on: The people are hard to govern because those above them meddle; that is why they are hard to govern. The people take death lightly because they seek too much from life; that is why they take death lightly. Now, only one who does not make living his business is wiser than one who prizes life.
Read chapter 75 character by character ›When a person is alive, he is soft and supple; when he is dead, he is hard and stiff.
The chapter goes on: When the ten thousand things, grass and trees, are alive, they are soft and tender; when they are dead, they are withered and dry. So the hard and stiff are the companions of death; the soft and supple are the companions of life. So when an army is strong, it does not win; when a tree is strong, weaker growth grows together on it. The strong and great occupy the lower place; the soft and supple occupy the upper.
Read chapter 76 character by character ›Heaven’s Way: is it not like stringing a bow?
The chapter goes on: What is high, it presses down; what is low, it lifts up; what has too much, it takes from; what has too little, it gives to. Heaven’s Way takes from what has too much and adds to what has too little. Man’s way, though, is not so: it takes from what has too little to give to what has too much. Who can have too much and give it to the world? Only one who has the Way. So the sage acts but does not rely on it; the work is done, and he does not dwell in it; he does not wish to show his worth.
Read chapter 77 character by character ›Nothing in the world is more soft and weak than water, yet for attacking the hard and strong, no one knows of anything that can overcome it; nothing can take its place.
The chapter goes on: The weak overcomes the strong; the soft overcomes the hard. No one in the world does not know it, yet no one can put it into practice. So the sage says: ‘One who takes on the state’s dirt is called lord of the altars of soil and grain; one who takes on the state’s misfortune is called king of the world.’ True words seem like their opposite.
Read chapter 78 character by character ›Settle a great grievance, and there is sure to be grievance left over: how can that be called good?
The chapter goes on: So the sage holds the left half of the tally and makes no demands on others. One with virtue looks after the tally; one without virtue looks after the tax. Heaven’s Way has no favorites; it is always on the side of good people.
Read chapter 79 character by character ›A small state with few people: let there be units of ten and a hundred, yet the people’s tools are not taken for use. Let the people take death seriously and not move far away.
The chapter goes on: Though there are boats and carts, there is no place to ride them; though there are armor and weapons, there is no place to set them out. Let the people go back to knotting cords and using them; let them find their food sweet and their clothes fine, be at ease in their homes, and delight in their customs. Neighboring states can see each other and hear the sound of each other’s chickens and dogs, yet the people reach old age without coming and going between them.
Read chapter 80 character by character ›True words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not true.
The chapter goes on: The good are not clever talkers; clever talkers are not good. Those who know are not widely read; the widely read do not know. The sage does not hoard. Having used it for others, he himself has all the more; having given it to others, he himself is all the richer. Heaven’s Way benefits and does not harm; the sage’s Way acts and does not contend.
Read chapter 81 character by character ›