"The reader will notice in the many passages where Lao-tzu describes the Master, I have used the pronoun 'she' at least as often as 'he.' The Chinese language doesn't make this kind of distinction; in English we have to choose. But since we are all, potentially, the Master (since the Master is, essentially, us) I felt it would be untrue to present a male archetype, as other versions have, ironically, done. Ironically, because of all the great world religions the teaching of Lao-tzu is by far the most female. Of course you should feel free, throughout the book, to substitute 'he' for 'she' or vice versa."

"Scholarly translators of the Tao Te Ching, as a manual for rulers, use a vocabulary that emphasizes the uniqueness of the Taoist 'sage,' his masculinity, his authority. This language is perpetuated, and degraded, in most popular versions. I wanted a Book of the Way accessible to a present-day, unwise, unpowerful, and perhaps unmale reader, not seeking esoteric secrets, but listening for a voice that speaks to the soul. I would like that reader to see why people have loved the book for 2500 years.

"It is the most lovable of all the great religious texts, funny, keen, kind, modest, indestructibly outrageous and inexhaustibly refreshing. Of all the deep springs, this is the purest water. To me it is also the deepest spring."

^{Links to Related Sites:}

The Tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

The unnameable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.

Free from desire you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.*
This source is called darkness.

Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.**

^{---
(*) ZEN MASTER DOGEN [on "thusness"] says:
"'Form is emptiness and emptiness is form,' that is,
form is form and emptiness is emptiness."
---
(**) STEPHEN MITCHELL comments:
"In order to understand, we have to remain
in the darkness of not knowing."}

The way you can go
isn't the real way.
The name you can say
isn't the real name.

Heaven and earth
begin in the unnamed:
name's the mother
of the ten thousand things.

So the unwanting soul
sees what's hidden,
and the ever-wanting soul
sees only what it wants.

Two things, one origin,
but different in name,
whose identity is mystery.
Mystery of all mysteries!
The door to the hidden.*

^{---
(*) EMILY DICKINSON says:
"'Come unto me' begins in every place."}

The way that becomes a way
in not the immortal Way
the name that becomes a name
is not the immortal Name
the maiden of Heaven and Earth has no name
the mother of all things has a name
thus in innocence we see the beginning
in passion we see the end
two different names*
for one and the same**
the one we call dark
the dark beyond dark
the door to all beginnings

^{---
(*) TS'AO TAO-CH'UNG [Taoist nun] says:
"'Two' refers to innocence and passion, or in other
words, stillness and movement. Stillness corresponds
to non-existence. Movement corresponds to existence.
Provisionally different, they are ultimately the same.
Both meet in darkness."
---
(**) EMILY DICKINSON says:
"Eclipses suns imply."}

The Tao that can be described
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be spoken
is not the eternal Name.

The nameless is the boundary of Heaven and Earth.*
The named is the mother of creation.

Freed from desire, you can see the
      hidden mystery.**
By having desire, you can only see what is
      visibly real.

Yet mystery and reality
emerge from the same source.
This source is called darkness.
Darkness born from darkness.
The beginning of all understanding.

^{---
(*) JOHN CHALMERS says:
"Non-existence is named the Antecedent of heaven and earth; and Existence is named the Mother of all things."
---
(**) SUN BU-ER (PU-EHR) [Immortal Sister] says:
"The universe in a grain may rise or it may hide."}

There are ways but the Way is uncharted;
There are names but not nature in words:
Nameless indeed is the source of creation
But things have a mother and she has a name.

The secret waits for the insight
Of eyes unclouded by longing;*
Those who are bound by desire
See only the outward container.

These two come paired but distinct
By their names.
Of all things profound,
Say that their pairing is deepest,
The gate to the root of the world.**

^{---
(*) EMILY DICKINSON says:
"Not 'Revelation' – 'tis – that waits,
But our unfurnished eyes –"
---
(**) ELLEN M. CHEN comments:
"The vision of the dark is obviously the language of the mystics. Moving backward to the dark and darker, or the origin of origins, we enter the door to all hidden secrets."
---
(**) ISABELLA MEARS comments:
"In seeking the Inner Life, we are more and more brought into the depths of its mystery. In seeking the outer, we are constantly brought up against its limitations. In seeking the Inner in and through the Outer, we find that the source is One, we are led by degrees into deeper Mystery, into fuller realization of Truth."}

Tao that can be spoken of,
Is not the Everlasting Tao.
Name that can be named,
Is not the Everlasting name.

Nameless, the origin of heaven and earth;
Named, the mother of ten thousand things.
      Alternate,
      Non-being, to name the origin of
            heaven and earth;
      Being, to name the mother of
            ten thousand things.

Therefore, always without desire,
In order to observe the hidden mystery;
Always with desire,
In order to observe the manifestations.
      Alternate,
      Therefore, by the Everlasting Non-Being,
      We desire to observe its hidden mystery;
      By the Everlasting Being,
      We desire to observe the manifestations.

These two issue from the same origin,
though named differently.
Both are called the dark.
Dark and even darker,
The door to all hidden mysteries.

^---

Tao that can be expressed
is not the Everlasting Tao.
The Name that can be named
is not the Everlasting Name.

The Name, in its inner aspect,
is Life-spring of Heaven and Earth.
The Name, in its outer aspect,
is Mother of all created things.

Therefore: –
To perceive the mystery of Life,
desire always to reach the innermost.
To perceive the limitations of things,
desire always to possess them.

These two aspects of Life are One.
In their out-come they become
different in Name      
      but in their depth, still deeper yet,
is the Door of many mysteries.

^---

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.*
The name that can be named is not
      the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but
      differ in name; this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.**
The gate to all mystery.

^{---
(*) ROWENA PATTEE KRYDER says:
"The essence of spiritual traditions can never be lost,
for the 'Way' is perennial wisdom, eternal truth."
---
(**) HO-SHANG-KUNG [an ancient commentator] says:
"The dark one is heaven. [...]
In heaven there is another heaven."}

The Tao is like a well:
used but never used up.
It is like the eternal void:
filled with infinite possibilities.

It is hidden but always present.*
I don't know who gave birth to it.
It is older than God.**

^{---
(*) HO-SHANG-KUNG [an ancient commentator] says:
"Law and Tao are themselves not visible."
---
(**) ELLEN M. CHEN comments:
"Tao is not the Kantian ideal of reason nor an empty
concept. It is the fruit of an act of imagination in
an effort to capture this prior as the dynamic
creativity whose effects are all the beings that
ever come to be."}

The way is empty,
used, but not used up.
Deep, yes! ancestral
to the ten thousand things.

Blunting edge,
loosing bond,
dimming light,
the way is the dust of the way.

Quiet,
yes, and likely to endure.
Whose child? born
before the gods.

^---

The Way is a void,
Used but never filled:
An abyss it is,
Like an ancestor
From which all things come.

It blunts sharpness,
Resolves tangles;
It tempers light,
Subdues turmoil.

A deep pool it is,
Never to run dry!
Whose offspring it may be
I do not know:
It is like a preface to God.

^---

Tao is a whirling emptiness,
Yet in use is inexhastible.
Fathomless,
It seems to be the ancestor of ten thousand beings.

It blunts the sharp,
Unties the entangled,
Harmonizes the bright,
Mixes the dust.
Dark
It seems perhaps to exist.

I do not know whose child it is,
It is an image of what precedes God.

^---

The Tao is called the Great Mother:
empty yet inexhaustible,
it gives birth to infinite worlds.

It is always present within you.
You can use it any way you want.

^---

The valley spirit never dies
Call it the mystery, the woman.

The mystery,
the Door of the Woman,
is the root
of earth and heaven.

Forever this endures, forever.
And all its uses are easy.

^---

The Spirit of the valley never dies.
This I call the Abyss-Mother.
The passage of the Abyss-Mother
I call the root of heaven and earth.
Ceaselessly it seems to endure,
and it is employed without effort.

^---

The Valley Spirit is deathless,
It is called the Dark Mare.*

The door of the Dark Mare,
Is called the root of heaven and earth.

Continuous, it seems to exist,
Yet in use it is inexhaustible.

^{---
(*) ELLEN M. CHEN comments:
"In this chapter, Tao acquires two new names: the
valley spirit and the dark mare, both symbols of
fertility."}

The Tao is infinite, eternal.
Why is it eternal?
It was never born;
thus it can never die.
Why is it infinite?
It has no desires for itself;
thus it is present for all beings.

The Master stays behind;
that is why she is ahead.
She is detached from all things;
that is why she is one with them.
Because she has let go of herself,
she is perfectly fulfilled.

^---

The Tao of Heaven is eternal,
and the earth is long enduring.
Why are they long enduring?
They do not live for themselves;
thus they are present for all beings.

The Master puts herself last;
and finds herself in the place of authority.
She detaches herself from all things;
therefore she is united with all things.
She gives no thought to self.
She is perfectly fulfilled.

^---

True goodness
is like water.
Water's good
for everything.
It doesn't compete.

It goes right
to the low loathsome places,
and so finds the way.

For a house,
the good thing is level ground.
In thinking,
depth is good.
The good of giving is magnanimity;
of speaking, honesty;
of government, order.
The good of work is skill,
and of action, timing.

No competition,
so no blame.

^---

A person with superior goodness is like water,
Water is good in benefiting all beings,
Without contending with any.
Situated in places shunned by many others,
Thereby it is near Tao.*

(Such a person's) dwelling is the good earth,
(His/her) mind is the good deep water,
(His/her) associates are good kind people,
(His/her) speech shows good trust,
(His/her) governing is the good order,
(His/her) projects are carried out by good talents,
(His/her) activities are good in timing.

Because [s]he does not contend with any,
[S]he commits no wrong.

^{---
(*) ELLEN M. CHEN comments: "To Confucius water was the symbol of intelligent activity. The wise rejoice in water, while the virtuous rejoice in the mountains. The Tao Te Ching speaks of water as nearest Tao for a different reason by dwelling at the lowest places, water receives all the rejects of the world into itself."}

The supreme good is like water,*
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

In dwelling, live close to the ground.**
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.

When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete,
everybody will respect you.

^{---
(*) ISABELLA MEARS [translator, 1916/1922] says:
"Heavenly love is like water. Water blesses all
things, it does not hurt them."
---
(**) OTAGAKI RENGETSU [Buddhist nun] says:
"From dawn to dusk spending the day gathering clay:
surely Buddha would not think this a trifling matter."}

The supreme good is like water,
which benefits all of creation
without trying to compete with it.
It gathers in unpopular places.
Thus it is like the Tao.

The location makes the dwelling good.
Depth of understanding makes the mind good.
A kind heart makes the giving good.
Integrity makes the government good.
Accomplishments make your labors good.
Proper timing makes a decision good.

Only when there is no competition
will we all live in peace.

^---

Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.*
Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner,

Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.

^{---
(*) TS'AO TAO-CH'UNG says:
"The wealth from giving generously is inexhaustible.
The power from not accumulating is boundless."}

It is easier to carry an empty cup
than one that is filled to the brim.

The sharper the knife
the easier it is to dull.
The more wealth you possess*
the harder it is to protect.
Pride brings its own trouble.

When you have accomplished your goal
simply walk away.
This is the pathway to Heaven.

^{---
(*) WALTER GORN OLD [translator, 1906] says:
"Would it not be easier for us all to take the counsel
of Laotze, the advice of Democritus, and make our
wealth to consist in the reducing of our wants?"}

Can you coax your mind from its wandering
and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become
supple* as a newborn child's?
Can you cleanse your inner vision
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from you own mind
and thus understand all things?

Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue.

^{---
(*) EMILIE CONRAD-DA'OUD comments:
"The young child is pure fluidity. It isn't aware of any separation, so all its movements are spontaneous and alive and whole and perfect. If an adult body becomes truly supple, though, there's a quality to its movement that the child's doesn't have, a texture of experience, a fourth dimension of time."}

Nurture the darkness of your soul
until you become whole.
Can you do this and not fail?
Can you focus your life-breath until you become
supple as a newborn child?
While you cleanse your inner vision
will you be found without fault?
Can you love people and lead them
without forcing your will on them?
When Heaven gives and takes away
can you be content with the outcome?
When you understand all things
can you step back from your own understanding?

Giving birth and nourishing,
making without possessing,
expecting nothing in return.
To grow, yet not to control:
This is the mysterious virtue.

^---

We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.

We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.

We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space*
that makes it livable.

We work with being
but non-being is what we use.

^{---
(*) JULIA V. NAKAMURA [Tea Ceremony, 1965] says:
"[To comprehend] the doctrine of Vacuum wherein the
truly essential is to be found...What constitutes a room —
is it floor, walls, ceiling? Or is a room the emptiness
which these tangibles create? The utility and worth of a
water pitcher are not its form and color but rather the circumscribed emptiness which the form provides."}

Thirty spokes
meet in the hub.
Where the wheel isn't
is where it's useful.

Hollowed out,
clay makes a pot.
Where the pot's not
is where it's useful.

Cut doors and windows
to make a room.
Where the room isn't,
there's room for you.

So the profit in what is
is in the use of what isn't.

^---

Thirty spokes converge on a hub
but it's the emptiness
that makes a wheel work
pots are fashioned from clay
but it's the hollow
that makes a pot work
windows and doors are carved for a house
but it's the spaces
that make a house work
existence makes something useful
but nonexistence makes it work

^---

Thirty spokes surround one nave,
the usefulness of the wheel is always in that
      empty innermost.

You fashion clay to make a bowl,
the usefulness of the bowl is always in that
      empty innermost.

You cut out doors and windows to make a house,
their usefulness to a house is always in their
      empty space.

Therefore profit comes from external form,
      but usefulness from the empty innermost.

^---

The ancient Masters were profound and subtle.
Their wisdom was unfathomable.
There is no way to describe it;
all we can describe is their appearance.

They were careful
as someone crossing an iced-over stream.
Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
Courteous as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Shapable as a block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Clear as a glass of water.

Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises of itself?

The Master doesn't seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present, and can welcome all things.*

^{---
(*) ELLEN M. CHEN comments:
"The murky gradually settles down and self-clarifies, the clarified stirs again and life appears. In this way, yin and yang, rest and motion, and the murky and the clarified alternate with each other. Murkiness being the dissolution of form, is the individual's point of death. There is a hint here that the Taoist, imitating Tao or Change, is able to undergo death and survive. One who can encompass both life and death, both heaven and earth, lives the deathless life of the round."}

Once upon a time
people who knew the Way
were subtle, spiritual, mysterious, penetrating,
unfathomable.

Since they're inexplicable
I can only say what they seemed like:
Cautious, oh yes, as if wading through a
      winter river.
Alert, as if afraid of the neighbors.
Polite and quiet, like houseguests.
Elusive, like melting ice.
Blank, like uncut wood.
Empty, like valleys.
Mysterious, oh yes, they were like
      troubled water.*

Who can by stillness, little by little
make what is troubled grow clear?
Who can by movement, little by little
make what is still grow quick?

To follow the Way
is not to need fulfillment.
Unfulfilled, one may live on
needing no renewal.

^{---
(*) HO-SHANG-KUNG [an ancient commentator] says:
"Emptiness is wide and vast. A valley is empty, without Te and merit and fame, without a place. One does not grasp its existence. Muddiness keeps its original purity. Turbid water is not so bright. One ought to unite with the crowd and not to keep apart."}

The ancient masters of the Way*
aimed at the indiscernible
and penetrated the dark
you would never know them
and because you wouldn't know them
I describe them with reluctance
they were careful as if crossing a river in winter
cautious as if worried about the neighbors
reserved like a guest
ephemeral like melting ice
simple like a block of wood
open like a valley
and murky like a puddle **
but a puddle becomes clear when it's still
and what's still becomes alive when it's aroused
those who treasure this Way
don't try to be full
not trying to be full
they can hide and stay concealed

^{---
(*) TS'AO TAO-CH'UNG [Taoist nun] comments:
"Although the ancient masters lived in the world,
no one thought they were special."
---
(**) WANG-PI [an ancient commentator] says:
"All of these similes are meant to describe without actually denoting. By means of intuitive understanding the dark becomes bright. By means of tranquility, the murky becomes clear. By means of movement the still becomes alive. This is the natural Way."}

The Sages of old were profound
and knew the ways of subtlety and discernment.
Their wisdom is beyond our comprehension.
Because their knowledge was so far superior
I can only give a poor description.

They were careful
as someone crossing a frozen stream in winter.
Alert as if surrounded on all sides by the enemy.
Courteous as a guest.*
Fluid as melting ice.
Whole as an uncarved block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Turbid as muddied water.

Who can be still
until their mud settles
and the water is cleared by itself?
Can you remain tranquil until right action
      occurs by itself?

The Master doesn't seek fulfillment.**
For only those who are not full are able to be used
which brings the feeling of completeness.

^{---
(*) ELLEN M. CHEN comments:
"The guest depends on the master's goodwill and hospitality. Since the world is a spirit vessel (ch.29) with a sacred life not to be tampered with by humans, the Taoist's attitude is one of reverence and circumspection."
---
(**) HO-SHANG-KUNG [an ancient commentator] says:
"Who keeps this Tao of gradual living
wants no luxurious fulness."}

The master keeps her mind
always at one with the Tao;
that is what gives her her radiance.*

The Tao is ungraspable.**
How can her mind be at one with it?
Because she doesn't cling to ideas.

The Tao is dark and unfathomable.
How can it make her radiant?
Because she lets it.

Since before time and space were,
the Tao is.
It is beyond is and is not.

^{---
(*) OTAGAKI RENGETSU [Buddhist nun] says:
"Bodies bent and shaky, but mountain folk always
keep their minds as polished as their sickles."
---
(**) AUDREY YOSHIKO SEO [Enso, Zen Circles] says:
"A Zen phrase seems fitting alongside an enso.
However, the inscriptions often provide concrete
imagery with which to associate the enso, and as
one Zen phrase suggests, this is unnecessary:
'True emptiness is without form,
mistakenly we create something to grasp.'"}

The greatest power is the gift
of following the Way alone.
How the Way does things
is hard to grasp, elusive.
Elusive, yes, hard to grasp,
yet there are thoughts in it.
Hard to grasp, yes elusive,
yet there are things in it.
Hard to make out, yes, and obscure,
yet there is spirit in it,
veritable spirit.
There is certainty in it.
From long, long ago till now
it has kept its name.
So it saw
the beginning of everything.

How do I know
anything about the beginning?
By this.*

^{---
(*) ZEN MASTER DOGEN says:
"Once a monk asked the National Teacher:
'What is the mind of ancient buddhas?"
The master replied: 'Walls, partitions, tiles, pebbles.'
The question means: 'this is thusness and that is thusness.'"
---
(*) TS'AO TAO-CH'UNG says:
"'That' refers to external things.
'This' refers to one's inner reality."}

The greatest virtue you can have
comes from following only the Tao;
which takes a form that is intangible
and evasive.      

Even though the Tao is intangible and evasive,
we are able to know it exists.
Intangible and evasive, yet it has
a manifestation.      
Secluded and dark, yet there is a vitality
within it.     
Its vitality is very genuine.
Within it we can find order.

Since the beginning of time, the Tao has
always existed.     
It is beyond existing and not existing.
How do I know where creation comes from?
I look inside myself and see it.*

^{---
[Like Tao and Te] CATHERINE OF SIENA says:
(*) "The Soul is in God and God is in the Soul,
just as the fish is in the sea and the sea
is in the fish."}

The complete manifestation of things visible
      proceeds only from Life.

In its nature Life is always coming into activity,
      yet in itself it eludes our sight and touch.

Eluding sight! eluding touch!
Within it are hid the plans of created things.
Eluding touch! eluding sight!
Within it are hid all created beings.

It is profound! It is obscure!
Within it is hid pure Spirit.
It is pure Spirit, enfolding Truth!
Within it is hid an infallible witness.

From of Old until Now
Its Name remains unchanged.
Through its Doorway comes the Universe
      into existence.

How do I know that
      the Universe is coming to full perfection
      through Life?
The witness is in Life itself.

^---

The features of the vast Te
Follows entirely from the Tao.

Tao as a thing
is entirely elusive, evasive.
Evasive and illusive,
In it there is image.
Illusive and Evasive,
In it there is thinghood.
Dark and dim
In it there is life seed
Its life seed being very genuine
In it there is growth power.

As it is today, so it was in the days of old.
Its name goes not away.
So that we may survey the origins of
the many.      
How do I know that the origins of
the many are such?      
Because of this.

Virtue in its grandest aspect
is neither more nor less than following Tao.

Tao is a thing indefinite, impalpable.
Impalpable! Indefinite!
and therein are forms.*
Indefinite! Impalpable!
and therein are things.
Profound! Dark!
and therein is essence.
This essence is most true,
and therein is faith.

From of old until now
it has never lost its name.
It passes into all things that have beginning.
How know I the manner of the beginning
    of all things?
I know it by this.

^{---
(*) JOHN CHALMERS comments:
"We have here something like the Platonic doctrine
of eternal ideas."}

If you want to become whole,
first let yourself become broken.
If you want to become straight,
first let yourself become twisted.
If you want to become full,
first let yourself become empty.
If you want to become new,
first let yourself become old.
Those whose desires are few get them,
those whose desires are great go astray.

For this reason the Master embraces the Tao,
as an example for the world to follow.
Because she isn't self centered,
people can see the light in her.
Because she does not boast of herself,
she becomes a shining example.
Because she does not glorify herself,
she becomes a person of merit.
Because she wants nothing from the world,
the world cannot overcome her.

When the ancient Masters said,
"If you want to become whole,
then first let yourself be broken,"
they weren't using empty words.
All who do this will be made complete.

^---

Be broken to be whole.
Twist to be straight
Be empty to be full.
Wear out to be renewed.
Have little and gain much.
Have much and get confused.

So wise souls hold to the one,
and test all things against it.

Not showing themselves,
they shine forth.
Not justifying themselves
they're self-evident.
Not praising themselves,
They're accomplished.
Not competing,
they have in all the world no competitor.

What they used to say in the old days,
"Be broken to be whole,"
was this mistaken?
Truly, to be whole
is to return.*

^{---
(*) ELLEN M. CHEN comments:
"The last line is an injunction to live out one's full
life span before one is called to return to one's source."}

Express yourself completely,
then keep quiet.
Be like the forces of nature:
when it blows, there is only wind;
when it rains, there is only rain;
when the clouds pass, the sun shines through.

If you open yourself to the Tao,
you are at one with the Tao
and you can embody it completely.
If you open yourself to insight,
you are at one with insight
and you can use it completely.
If you open yourself to loss,
you are at one with loss
and you can accept it completely.

Open yourself to the Tao,
then trust your natural responses;*
and everything will fall into place.

^{---
(*) EMILY DICKINSON says:
"A narrow wind complains all day how some one
treated him. Nature, like us, is sometimes caught
without her diadem."}

Nature uses few words:
when the gail blows, it will not last long;
when it rains hard, it lasts but a little while;
What causes these to happen? Heaven and Earth.

Why do we humans go on endlessly about little
when nature does much in a little time?
If you open yourself to the Tao,
you and Tao become one.
If you open yourself to Virtue,
then you can become virtuous.
If you open yourself to loss,
then you will become lost.

If you open yourself to the Tao,
the Tao will eagerly welcome you.
If you open yourself to virtue,
virtue will become a part of you.
If you open yourself to loss,
the lost are glad to see you.

"When you do not trust people,
people will become untrustworthy."

^---

The heavy is the root of the light.
The unmoved is the source of all movement.

Thus the Master travels all day
without leaving home.*
However splendid the views,
she stays serenely in herself.

Why should the lord of the country
flit about like a fool?
If you let yourself be blown to and fro,
you lose touch with your root.
If you let restlessness move you,
you lose touch with who you are.

^{---
(*) EMILY DICKINSON says:
"A bee his burnished carriage drove boldly
to a rose — combinedly alighting — himself —
his carriage was."}

Heaviness is the basis of lightness.*
Stillness is the standard of activity.

Thus the Master travels all day
without ever leaving her wagon.**
Even though she has much to see,
she is at peace in her indifference.

Why should the lord of a thousand chariots
be amused at the foolishness of the world?
If you abandon yourself to foolishness,
you lose touch with your beginnings.
If you let yourself become distracted,
you will lose the basis of your power.

^{---
(*) ELLEN M. CHEN says:
"The ancient Chinese were grateful to the earth
for patiently bearing up the weight of all beings."
---
(**) TS'AO TAO-CH'UNG [Taoist nun] says: "'Supplies' [wagon] mean the precious commodities with which we maintain ourselves and without which we cannot exist for a second."}

Know the male,
yet keep to the female:
receive the world in your arms.
If you receive the world,
the Tao will never leave you
and you will be like a little child.

Know the white,
yet keep to the black:
be a pattern for the world.
If you are a pattern for the world,
the Tao will be strong inside you
and there will be nothing
      you can't do.

Know the personal
yet keep to the impersonal;
accept the world as it is.
If you accept the world,
the Tao will be luminous inside you
and you will return to your primal self.

The world is formed from the void,
like utensils from a block of wood.
The Master knows the utensils
yet keeps to the block:
thus she can use all things.

^---

Knowing man
and staying woman,
be the riverbed of the world.
Being the world's riverbed
of eternal unfailing power
is to go back again to be newborn.

Knowing light
and staying dark,
be a pattern to the world.
Being the world's pattern
of eternal unerring power
is to go back again to boundlessness.*

Knowing glory
and staying modest,
be the valley of the world.
Being the world's valley
of eternal inexhaustible power
is to go back again to the natural.

Natural wood is cut up
and made into useful things.
Wise souls are used
to make into leaders.

Just so, a great carving
is done without cutting.

^{---
ROBIN WANG [Philosopher] comments:
"Literally, wuji is "without limit" or defining boundaries, an inchoate state that in the world may be likened to a ravine carved out by water flowing wherever the land is at its lowest point, or to unhewn wood that is unmarked by human hands but still full of potential."}

Do you want to improve the world?
I don't think it can be done.

The world is sacred.
It can't be improved.
If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.

There is a time for being ahead,
a time for being behind;
a time for being in motion,
a time for being at rest;
a time for being vigorous,
a time for being exhausted;
a time for being safe,
a time for being in danger.

The Master sees things as they are,
without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
and resides at the center of the circle.

^---

One who desires to take the world
        and act upon it,
I see that it cannot be done.

The world is a spirit vessel
Which cannot be acted upon.*
One who acts on it fails.
One who holds onto it loses.

Therefore things either move forward
        or follow behind;
They blow hot or blow cold;
They are strong or weak;
They get on or they get off.

Therefore the sage gets rid of over-doing,
Gets rid of extravagances,
Gets rid of excesses.

^{---
(*) HO-SHANG-KUNG [an ancient commentator] says:
"Spiritual things like peace and rest.
They cannot be governed by activity."}

The Tao can't be perceived.
Smaller than an electron,
it contains uncountable galaxies.

If powerful men and women
could remain centered in the Tao,
all things would be in harmony.
The world would become a paradise.
All people would be at peace,
and the law would be written in their hearts.

When you have names and forms,
know that they are provisional.
When you have institutions,
know where their functions should end.
Knowing when to stop,
you can avoid any danger.

All things end in the Tao
as rivers flow into the sea.

^---

The Tao is nameless and unchanging.
Although it appears insignificant,
nothing in the world can contain it.

If a ruler abides by its principles,
then her people will willingly follow.
Heaven would then reign on earth,
like sweet rain falling on paradise.
People would have no need for laws,
because the law would be written on their hearts.

Naming is a necessity for order,
but naming cannot order all things.
Naming often makes things impersonal,
so we should know when naming should end.
Knowing when to stop naming,
you can avoid the pitfall it brings.

All things end in the Tao
just as the small streams and the largest rivers
flow through valleys to the sea.

^---

The way goes on forever nameless.
Uncut wood, nothing important,
yet nobody under heaven
dare try to carve it.
If rulers and leaders could use it,
the ten thousand things would drop sweet dew,
and people without being ordered,
would be fair to one another.

To order, to govern,
is to begin naming;
when names proliferate
it's time to stop.
If you know when to stop
You're in no danger.

The Way in the world
is as a stream to a valley,
a river to the sea.

^---

Tao everlasting
Is the nameless uncarved wood.
Though small,
Nothing under heaven can subjugate it.
If kings and barons can abide by it,
All creatures will arrive as guests to a banquet.

Heaven and earth unite,
To send down sweet rain.
Without being commanded by the people
It falls evenly by itself.

At the beginning of institutions names come to be.
Once there are names,
One must know when to stop.
One who knows when to stop does not become exhausted.

Tao in the world is like
Valley streams flowing into rivers and seas.

^---

Hold aloft the Great Image,
The whole world will go to it.
Going to it, they will meet with no harm,
Only safety, peace, and contentment.

When music* and dainty dishes are offered,
The passers-by stop.

Tao, when it is uttered by the mouth,
Is so bland it has no flavor.
When looked at, it is not enough to be seen.
When listened to, it is not enough to be hear,
When used, it is inexhaustible.

^{---
(*) ELLEN M. CHEN says:
"This chapter continues to sing a hymn to Tao
as the peace and benediction of the world."}   

Lay hold on the great form (of Tao),
and the whole world will go to you.
It will go to you and suffer no injury;
and its rest and peace will be glorious.

(If you have) music and dainties,
the passing stranger will stop (at your door).

Tao, in its passing out of the mouth,
is weak and tasteless.
If you look at it, there is nothing to fill the eye.
If you listen to it, there is nothing to fill the ear.
But if you use it, it is inexhastible.*

^{---
(*) RALPH WALDO EMERSON says:
"The simplicity of nature is not that which
is easily read, but is inexhaustible."
---
(*) EMILY DICKINSON says:
Emblem is immeasurable — that is why it is better
than fulfillment, which can be drained."}

She who follows the way of the Tao
will draw the world to her steps.
She can go without fear of being injured,
because she has found peace and
tranquility in her heart.      

Where there is music and good food,
people will stop to enjoy it.
But words spoken of the Tao
seem to them boring and stale.
When looked at, there is nothing
for them to see.      
When listened for, there is nothing
for them to hear.      
Yet if they put it to use, it would
never be exhausted.      

^---

Hold up the Great Image
and the world will come
and be beyond harm
safe serene and at one
fine food and song
detain passing guests
when the Tao speaks
it's senseless and plain
we look and don't see it
we listen and don't hear it
but we use it without end

^---

Return to the movement of the Tao.
Yielding is the way of the Tao.

All things are born of being
Being is born of non-being.

---

Return to how the Way moves.
Weakness is how the Way works.

Heaven and Earth and the ten thousand things
are born of being.
Being is born of nothing.

---

The Tao moves the other way*
the Tao works through weakness
the things of this world come from something
something comes from nothing

^{---
(*) HO-SHANG-KUNG [an ancient commentator] says:
"Subversion is Tao's movement."}

Returning is the motion of Tao.
Weakness is the character of Tao.

All things in the world are produced from existence;
and existence is produced from non-existence.*

^{---
(*) LORENZ OKEN [nature philosopher, 1847] says:
"Zero is the essence of mathematics.
Out of nothing everything arose."}

The gentlest thing in the world
overcomes the hardest thing in the world.
That which has no substance
enters where there is no space.
This shows the value of non-action.*

Teaching without words,
performing without actions
that is the Master's way.

^{---
(*) WITTER BYNNER [translator, 1944] says:
"As the soft yield of water cleaves obstinate stone,
so to yield with life solves the insoluble."}

What's softest in the world
rushes and runs
over what's hardest in the world.

The immaterial
enters
the impenetrable.

So I know the good in not doing --
not many people understand it.*

^{---
(*) EMILY DICKINSON says:
"How strange that Nature does not knock
and yet does not intrude!"}

The softest in the world,
Gallops in the hardest in the world.
That which is not penetrates that
      which has no crevice.

I thereby know the benefit of no-acition.
The teaching without words,
The benefit of no-action,
Hardly anything in the world can
      compare with them.

^---

The softest of stuff in the world
Penetrates quickly the hardest;
Insubstantial, it enters
Where no room is.

By this I know the benefit
Of something done by quiet being;
In all the world but few can know
Accomplishment apart from work,
Instruction when no words are used.

^---

The weakest things in the world will gallop
over the strongest.      
The non-existent enters into all things
without any crevice.      
And I by this understand how useful
non-action is.      
Silent teaching, passive usefulness, --      
few in the world attain to this.

^---

The softest under Heaven can ride roughshod
      over the hardest.
That without substance can enter even
      into the smallest space.
That is why I know the benefit of doing nothing.
Teaching without words, benefiting without doing:
there are unfortunately very few people
      under Heaven who can reach these goals.

^---

True perfection seems imperfect,
yet it is perfectly itself.
True fullness seems empty,
yet it is fully present.*

True straightness seems crooked.**
True art seems artless.

The Master allows things to happen.
She shapes events as they come.
She steps out of the way
and lets the Tao speak for itself.

^{---
(*) ISABELLA MEARS [translator, 1916/1922] says:
"Esteem lightly your greatest accomplishment,
your patience will not fail. Reckon your great
fullness to be emptiness, your strength will not
become exhausted."
---
(**) HO-SHANG-KUNG [an ancient commentator] says:
"Who seem bent, do not contend with the vulgar,
as if they were able to bend or to break."}

The greatest accomplishments seem imperfect,
yet their usefulness is not diminished.
The greatest fullness seems empty,
yet it will be inexhaustible.

The greatest straightness seems crooked.
The most valued skill seems like clumsiness.
The greatest speech seems full of stammers.

Movement overcomes the cold,
and stillness overcomes the heat.
That which is pure and still is the universal ideal.*

^{---
(*) ELLEN M. CHEN says:
"The first part offers a theology of the coincidence
of opposites. The second part gives a theology of the
round whose center is at rest."}

Great perfection appears lacking,
Its use is unending.
Great fullness appears empty,
Its use is inexhaustible.
Great straightness appears bent,
Great ingenuity appears crude,
Great eloquence appears inarticulate.
When agitation wins, the cold arrives,
When tranquillity wins, the hot arrives.
Clear and tranquil the world is in the right mode.

^---

Great achievement seems imperfect,
      yet its usefulness is not diminished.
Great fullness seems empty,
      yet it is inexhaustible.
Great frankness seems to succumb.
Great discussion seems silent.
Activity overcomes coldness.
Stillness overcomes heat.
Purity and stillness are the ideal for the world.

^---

Without opening your door,
you can open your heart to the world.
Without looking out your window,
you can see the essence of the Tao.*

The more you know
the less you understand.**

The Master arrives without leaving,
sees the light without looking,
achieves without doing a thing.

^{---
(*) WITTER BYNNER [translator, 1944] says:
"There is no need to run outside for better seeing,
nor to peer from a window. Rather abide at the
center of your being; for the more you leave it
the less you learn. Search your heart and see...
the way to do is to be."
---
(**) EMILY DICKINSON says:
"By intuition, mighty things assert themselves — and
not by terms — 'I'm Midnight' — need the midnight
say — 'I'm Sunrise' — need the majesty? [...]
'How shall you know'? Consult your eye!"}

You don't have to go out the door
to know what goes on in the world.
You don't have to look out the window
to see the way of heaven.
The farther you go
the less you know.

So the wise soul
doesn't go, but knows;
doesn't look, but sees;
doesn't do, but gets it done.

^{---
(*) URSULA K. LE GUIN comments:
"We tend to expect great things from 'seeing the world' and 'getting experience.' A Roman poet remarked that travelers change their sky but not their soul. Other poets, untraveled and inexperienced, Emily Brontë and Emily Dickinson, prove Lao Tzu's point: it's the inner eye that really sees the world."}

Without opening your door,
you can know the whole world.
Without looking out your window,
you can understand the way of the Tao.

The more knowledge you seek,
the less you will understand.

The Master understands without leaving,
sees clearly without looking,
accomplishes much without doing anything.

^---

Without going outside
one can know the whole world.
Without looking out of the window
one can see the Tao of Heaven.
The further one goes, the less one knows.
Therefore the sage
without walking, knows everything,
without seeing, identifies everything,
without doing, accomplishes everything.

^---

In pursuit of knowledge,
every day something is added.
In the practice of the Tao,
every day something is dropped.
Less and less do you need to force things,
until finally you arrive at non-action.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.

True mastery can be gained
by letting things go their own way.*
It can't be gained by interfering.

^{---
(*) ELLEN M. CHEN comments:
"Simone Weil says that if God's process of making the
world is creation, our process of getting back to God is
uncreation."}

One who seeks knowledge learns something
      new every day.
One who seeks the Tao unlearns something
      new every day.
Less and less remains until you arrive at non-action.*
When you arrive at non-action,
nothing will be left undone.

Mastery of the world is achieved
by letting things take their natural course.**
You cannot master the world by changing the
      natural way.

^{---
(*) HO-SHANG-KUNG [an ancient commentator] says:
"The decrease is the decrease of desire.
The repeated decrease is that by which
it slowly vanishes."
---
(**) TS'AO TAO-CH'UNG [Taoist nun] comments:
"When someone rules by means of the Tao,
the world follows without thinking. The world
refers to the ten thousand things."}

The master has no mind of her own.
She works with the mind of the people.

She is good to people who are good.
She is also good to people who aren't good.
This is true goodness.

She trusts people who are trustworthy.
She also trusts people who aren't trustworthy.
This is true trust.

The master's mind is like space.
People don't understand her.
They look to her and wait.
She treats them like her own children.

^---

The Master has no mind of her own.
She understands the mind of the people.

To those who are good she treats as good.
To those who aren't good she also treats as good.
This is how she attains true goodness.

She trusts people who are trustworthy.
She also trusts people who aren't trustworthy.
This is how she gains true trust.

The Master's mind is shut off from the world.
Only for the sake of the people does she
        muddle her mind.
They look to her in anticipation.
Yet she treats them all as her children.

^---

Every being in the universe
is an expression of the Tao.
It springs into existence,
unconscious, perfect, free,
takes on a physical body,
lets circumstances complete it.
That is why every being
spontaneously honors the Tao.

The Tao gives birth to all beings,
nourishes them, maintains them,
cares for them, comforts them, protects them,
takes them back to itself,
creating without possessing,
acting without expecting,
guiding without interfering.*
That is why love of the Tao
is in the very nature of things.

^{---
(*) HO-SHANG-KUNG [an ancient commentator] says:
"Tao induces everything to become perfect
according to its own nature."}

The Way begets them
Virtue keeps them
matter shapes them
usage completes them
thus do all things honor the Way
and glorify Virtue
the honor of the Way
the glory of Virtue
are not conferred
but always so
the Way begets and keeps them
cultivates and trains them
steadies and adjusts them
nurtures and protects them
but begets without possessing
acts without presuming
and cultivates without controlling*
this is called Dark Virtue.

^{---
(*) ELLEN M. CHEN says:
"When things follow tao and te, they follow the
freedom and spontaneity of their own natures,
'not by command, but by nature.'
Te is the specific inborn nature in each thing."}

The Way bears them;
power nurtures them;
their own being shapes them;
their own energy completes them.
And not one of the ten thousand things
fails to hold the Way sacred
or to obey its power.

Their reverence for the Way
and obedience to its power
are unforced and always natural.
For the Way gives them life;
its power nourishes them,
mothers and feeds them,
completes and matures them,
looks after them, protects them.

To have without possessing,
do without claiming,
lead without controlling;
this is mysterious power.

^---

Tao gives Life to all beings.
Te nourishes them.
It gives to each being its form,
It gives the inward urge towards perfectness.

That is why there is no living creature
      that does not reverence Tao!
      and honor Te!
No Master has decreed it,
But eternally it affirms the Self.

Therefore Tao gives Life to all beings,
It nourishes and makes them grow,
It rears them and perfects them,
It sustains, feeds, and protects them.

It gives them Life, but does not possess them.
It gives them activity, but does not depend on them.
It urges them to grow, but does not rule them.
This is called profound Te.

^---

The world has a maiden
she becomes the world's mother
who knows the mother
understands the child
who understands the child
keeps the mother safe
and lives without trouble
who blocks the openings
who closes the gate
lives without toil
who unblocks the opening
who meddles in affairs
lives without hope
who sees the small has vision
who protects the weak has strength
who uses his light
who trusts his vision
lives beyond death
this is the Hidden Immortal.*

^{---
(*) RED PINE comments:
"While translating this verse, I have often recalled
Confucius' words: 'When I was young, historians
still left blanks.'"}

That which was the beginning of the world
may be regarded as the Mother of the world.
Having once known the Mother,
you may next know the child.
And if, knowing the child,
you still keep the Mother,
though your body perish,
you will be in no danger.

Shut the lips
and close the portals (of eyes and ears),
and as long as you live
you will have no trouble;
but open your lips and meddle with things,
and as long as you live
you will not get out of trouble.

To see the small beginnings of things
is called clearness.
To keep tenderness, I pronounce strength.
Use the light to (guide you) home
to its own brightness,
and do not give yourself up to calamity.
This I call practicing the eternal (Tao).

^---

In the beginning was the Tao.
All things issue from it;
all things return to it.

To find the origin,
trace back the manifestations.
When you recognize the children
and find the mother,
you will be free of sorrow.

If you close your mind in judgements
and traffic with desires,
your heart will be troubled.
If you keep your mind from judging
and aren't led by the senses,
your heart will find peace.

Seeing into darkness is clarity.
Knowing how to yield is strength.*
Use your own light
and return to the source of light.
This is called practicing eternity.

^{---
(*) WITTER BYNNER (translator, 1944) says:
"Discover that nothing is too small for clear
vision, too insignificant for tender strength."}

While in the world gain possession of
      the Life Spring
      in order that you may become a World-Mother.

When you have attained to Motherhood
      you will know your children
When you know your children
      you will retain your Motherhood.
Then, though the body may disappear,
      You will not be hurt

Close the door of the mouth,
Shut the doors of the senses,
Throughout life your body will not be fatigued.

Open the mouth,
Increase your business affairs,
Throughout life your body will not be safe.

To perceive the small is called clear vision.
To guard the weak is called strength.*

Follow the Light, you will reflect its radiance.
Neglect the Inner Life, your body will meet
      with calamity.
This is called the eternal heritage.

^---

The world has an origin
Which is the world's mother.
Having reached the mother,
(We) know her child.
Having known the child,
Return and abide by its mother.
(In this way) one loses the body without
becoming exhausted.      

Stop the apertures,
Close the doors,
(In this way) one's whole life is without toil.
Open the apertures,
Going about the affairs,
(In this way) one's whole life
cannot be saved.      

To see the small is called illumination.
To abide by the soft is called strength.
Use the bright light,
But return to the dim light,
Do not expose your life to perils,
Such is to follow the everlasting.

^---

It began with a matrix:
The world had a mother
Whose sons can be known
As ever, by her.
But if you know them,
You'll keep close to her
As long as you live
And suffer no harm.

Stop up your senses;
Close up your doors;
Be not exhausted
As long as you live.
Open your senses;
Be busier still:
To the end of your days
There's no help for you.

You are bright, it is said,
If you see what is small;
A store of small strengths
Makes you strong.
By the use of its light,
Make your eyes again bright
From evil to lead you away.

This is called "practicing constancy."

^---

Those who know don't talk.
Those who talk don't know.*

Close your mouth,
block off your senses,
blunt your sharpness,
untie your knots,
soften your glare,
settle your dust.
This is the primal identity.

Be like the Tao.
It can't be approached or withdrawn from,
benefited or harmed,
honored or brought into disgrace.
It gives itself up continually
This is why it endures.

^{---
(*) TS'AO TAO-CH'UNG [Taoist nun] comments:
"Those who grasp the truth forget about words.
Those who don't practice what they talk about
are the same as those who don't know."}

Those who know do not talk.
Those who talk do not know.*

Stop talking,
meditate in silence,
blunt your sharpness,
release your worries,
harmonize your inner light,
and become one with the dust.*
Doing this is called the dark and
      mysterious identity.

Those who have achieved the mysterious identity
Cannot be approached, and they cannot
      be alienated.
They cannot be benefited nor harmed.
They cannot be made noble nor to suffer disgrace.
This makes them the most noble of all
      under the heavens.

^{---
(*) RALPH WALDO EMERSON says:
"Good is discourse, silence is better and shames it."}

Those who know don't talk
those who talk don't know
seal the opening
close the gate
dull the edge
untie the tangle
soften the light
join the dust
this is called the Dark Union*
it can't be embraced
it can't be abandoned**
it can't be helped
it can't be harmed
it can't be exalted
it can't be debased
thus does the world exalt it

^{---
(*) HO-SHANG-KUNG (an ancient commentator) says:
"This is called union with the dark one.
The dark one is heaven."
---
(**) WANG PI [an ancient commentator] says:
"If something can be embraced, it can be
abandoned. If something can be helped, it
can be harmed. If something can be exalted,
it can be debased."}

One who knows does not speak.
One who speaks does not know.

Stop the apertures,
Close the door;
Blunt the deep,
Untie the entangled;
Harmonize the bright,
Make identical the dust.*
This is called the mystical identity.

Therefore with this person you cannot
    get intimate.
Cannot get distant,
Cannot benefit,
Cannot harm,
Cannot exalt,
Cannot humiliate.
Therefore such person is the exalted
    of the world.

^{---
(*) ELLEN M. CHEN (2) comments:
"The ruler/mystic takes the world back to Tao."
"Like Tao, the ruler/mystic accepts all, blends
and harmonizes all."}

Those who know do not speak;
Those who speak do not know.
Block the passages,
Shut the doors,
Let all sharpness be blunted,
All tangles untied,
All glare tempered.
All dust smoothed.
This is called the mysterious leveling.
[S]he who has achieved it cannot either be
drawn into friendship or repelled,      
Cannot be benefited, cannot be harmed,
Cannot either be raised or humbled,
And for that very reason is highest of all
creatures under heaven.     

^---

They that know don't speak;
and they that speak don't know.*
To shut the lips, and close the portals,
to blunt the sharp angles,
to unravel disorder,
to soften the glare,
to share the dust, —
this I call being the same as deep heaven.

Such a character as this
is equally incapable of familiarity and of distance,
of profit and of injury,
of honor and of meanness.
Therefore [s]he is the most honorable in the world.

^{---
(*) HO-SHANG-KUNG (an ancient commentator) says:
"The knowing ones esteem walking in Tao,
they do not esteem words."}

Act without doing;
work without effort.
Think of the small as large*
and the few as many.
Confront the difficult
while it is still easy;
accomplish the great task
by a series of small acts.

The Master never reaches for the great;
thus she achieves greatness.
When she runs into a difficulty,
she stops and gives herself to it.
She doesn't cling to her own comfort;
thus problems are no problem for her.

^{---
(*) JOHN CHALMERS [translator, 1868] says:
"Act non-action. Be occupied with non-occupation.
Taste the tasteless. Find your great in what is little,
and your many in the few. Recompense injury
with virtue (kindness)."}

Do without doing,
Act without action.
Savor the flavorless.
Treat the small as large,
the few as many.

Meet injury
with the power of goodness.*

Study the hard while it is still easy.
Do big things while they are small.
The hardest jobs in the world start out easy,
the great affairs of the world start small.

So the wise soul,
by never dealing with great things,
gets great things done.

Now, since taking things too lightly
      makes them worthless,
and taking things too easy makes them hard,
the wise soul
by treating the easy as hard,
doesn't find anything hard.

^{---
(*) TS'AO TAO-CH'UNG [Taoist nun] comments:
"If we repay wrongs with kindness, we put an end
to revenge. If we repay wrongs with wrongs,
revenge never ends."}

Some say my teaching is nonesense.
Others call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonesense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep.

I have just three things to teach:*
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
you return to the source of being.**
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.

^{---
(*) ELLEN M. CHEN comments:
"The three cardinal virtues according to the Tao Te Ching are motherly love, frugality and daring not to be at the front. The first treasure, tz'u, has been rendered many ways: 'deep love' by Chan, 'compassion' by Lao, Chang and Blakney, 'commiseration' by Young and Ames, and 'pity' by Waley. [...] Primarily tz'u is the love that protects and nurtures, most characteristic of a mother's love."
---
(**) HO-SHANG-KUNG [an ancient commentator] says:
"[The Taoist] keeps to modesty, retires and does not
play the leading part."}

All under heaven say that my Tao is great,
That it seems useless
Because it is great,
Therefore it seems useless.
If it were useless,
It would have long been small.

I have three treasures,
To hold and to keep
The first is motherly love,
The second is frugality,
The third is daring not to be at the world's front.

With motherly love one can be courageous,
With frugality one can be wide reaching,
Daring not to be at the world's front,
One can grow to a full vessel.

Now to discard motherly love, yet to be courageous,
To discard frugality, yet to be wide reaching,
To discard staying behind, yet to be at the front,
One dies!

One with motherly love is victorious in battle,
Invulnerable in defence.
When Heaven wills to save a people
It guards them with motherly love.

^---

My teachings are easy to understand*
and easy to put into practice.
Yet your intellect will never grasp them
and if you try to practice them, you'll fail.

My teachings are older than the world.
How can you grasp their meaning?

If you want to know me,
look inside your heart.

^{---
(*) TS'AO TAO-CH'UNG [Taoist nun] comments:
"Nothing is simpler or easier than the Tao. But because it's so simple, it can't be explained by reasoning. Hence no one can understand it. And because it's so near it can't be reached by stages. Hence no one can put it to use."}

My words are so easy to understand,*
so easy to follow.

And yet nobody in the world
understands or follows them.

Words come from an ancestry
deeds from a mastery:
when these are unknown, so am I.

In my obscurity
is my value.
That's why the wise
wear their jade under common clothes.**

^{---
(*) R. B. BLAKNEY comments:
"'My yoke is easy and my burden light'; yet it is
very hard for people to take it up."
---
(**) EMILY DICKINSON says:
"It's such a common — glory — a fisherman's — degree."}

The Tao is always at ease.*
It overcomes without competing,
answers without speaking a word,
arrives without being summoned,
accomplishes without a plan.

Its net covers the whole universe.
And though its meshes are wide,
it doesn't let a thing slip through.**

^{---
(*) STEPHEN MITCHELL comments:
"At ease with herself, the Master puts
everyone else at ease."
---
(**) ELLEN M. CHEN comments:
"This chapter shows great religious fervor.
It marvels at the inscrutable ways of heaven,
then ends with a declaration of faith in
heaven's wonderful ways."}

Brave daring leads to death.
Brave caution leads to life.
The choice can be the right one
or the wrong one.

Who will interpret
the judgment of heaven?
Even the wise soul
finds it hard.

The way of heaven
doesn't compete
yet wins handily,
doesn't speak
yet answers fully,
doesn't summon
yet attracts.
It acts
perfectly easily.

The net of heaven
is vast, vast,
wide-meshed,
yet misses nothing.*

^{---
(*) HO-SHANG-KUNG [an ancient commentator] says:
"The net of heaven has wide meshes and is very large:
it overlooks the good and bad within us, though
nothing escapes it."}

As it acts in the world, the Tao
is like the bending of a bow.
The top is bent downward;
the bottom is bent up.
It adjusts excess and deficiency
so that there is perfect balance.
It takes from what is too much
and give to what isn't enough.

Those who try to control,
who use force to protect their power,
go against the direction of the Tao.
They take from those who don't have enough
and give to those who have far too much.

The Master can keep giving
because there is no end to her wealth.
She acts without expectation,
succeeds without taking credit,
and doesn't think that she is better
than anyone else.

^---

The Tao of Heaven works in the world
like the drawing of a bow.
The top is bent downward;
the bottom is bent up.
The excess is taken from,
and the deficient is given to.*

The Tao works to use the excess,
and gives to that which is depleted.
The way of people is to take from the depleted,
and give to those who already have an excess.

Who is able to give to the needy from their excess?
Only someone who is following the way of the Tao.

This is why the Master gives
expecting nothing in return.
She does not dwell on her past accomplishments,
and does not glory in any praise.

^{---
(*) HO-SHANG-KUNG [an ancient commentator] says:
"It is the way of heaven to diminish what has
a surplus and to replete what is deficient.
It always thinks adjustment to be superior."}

Failure is an opportunity.
If you blame someone else
there is no end to the blame.

Therefore the Master
fulfills her own obligations
and corrects her own mistakes.
She does what she needs to do
and demands nothing of others.

^---

After a great enmity is settled
some enmity always remains.
How to make peace?
Wise souls keep their part of the contract
and don't make demands on others.
People whose power is real fulfill their obligations;
people whose power is hollow insist on their claims.

The Way of heaven plays no favorites.
It always stays with the good.

^---