Daodejing
Interpretation by Jim Clatfelter
The Daodejing is a poem, a collection of aphorisms, that talks about the natural design of life, the Dao, and the way we humans can live in accordance with this design rather than oppose it. It celebrates simplicity and spontaneity, naturalness and freedom. Above all, perhaps, it shows us the way to a wholeness of vision.
Just what is the Dao?
It is yin on my shoulders
And yang in my arms.
Dao is a single presence that can be viewed two ways. Look within to see the yin, your own faceless awareness. Look outward to see the yang, all that appears and occurs in this awareness. These two aspects of Dao are meant to be seen, not merely named and discussed. You can point to each of them with your finger. Point at your own face. What do you see? Certainly, you don't see a face. Isn't it more like a faceless openness to all that appears? The Daodejing often calls it emptiness, wu. But it's a living emptiness, aware of itself as empty, and it's full of ten thousand things. Dao is your own faceless embrace of the living world. Dao is awareness (wu) embracing appearance (you).
What is de? De is the power and harmony and flow that comes into a life in touch with its inner nature, and therefore with the Dao. When you see both sides of your natural presence, you are whole and fully anchored in the here and now. This is deeply satisfying. This is de, the wholeness of life.
These two views of the Dao are in no way separate or divided. They represent a single presence. They go together. They are complements. The Daodejing uses the umbrella terms yin and yang only once. More often it uses the demonstratives this and that, words that actually tell you where to look. Look in at this simple faceless capacity that embraces the world. Look out at that world of spontaneous appearances and happenings. Dao is both simple and spontaneous. Here the Dao does nothing and is nothing, and there all is done. This view of Daoist wholeness translates easily into the two prime and inseparable Daoist values of simplicity and spontaneity. Natural life is designed around these two views and values. One yin, one yang: this is Dao.
Simplicity. The Daodejing uses things in the natural world to symbolize simplicity. Pu is the uncarved block of wood. It is a symbol for simplicity, our natural state before we learn the rigid "ways" other people expect us to be and behave. Simple living, fewness of desires, and knowing when enough is enough are prime Daoist values. The infant and the child also suggest simplicity. They live from their own natures, not from what they have been told by others.
Spontaneity. The Dao does nothing and all is done. Water is a natural symbol for spontaneity. It does nothing (wuwei) but what is natural for it to do. It follows its own nature. Humans can do the same when they yield to their own natures (ziran) and allow others to do the same. We witness our experiences but do not cause them. They are given. They arise on their own.
Wholeness. There is no division between yin and yang or wu and you or this and that. They are complementary views of a single presence, of the Dao, of life, of this-here-now. Dao is both one and whole. The two are one and whole.
Look in and see the yin.
Look out and see the yang.
Look in and out and see the Dao,
And now you see the whole shebang!
Look in for nothing doing.
Look out for all is done.
Look in and out for wholeness,
And see the two as one.
The notes below are works in progress. The verses too are not necessarily final, though only minor changes will be made to those.
The Daodejing is a poetic collection of aphorisms that illuminates the natural design of life—the Dao—and the way we, as humans, can align ourselves with this flow rather than resist it. It celebrates simplicity and spontaneity, naturalness and freedom, but above all, it reveals a vision of wholeness.
Just what is the Dao?
It is yin on my shoulders
And yang in my arms. (42)
Dao is a singular presence that can be seen in two ways. Look inward, and you find yin—the faceless awareness that perceives all things. Look outward, and you find yang—the world of appearances unfolding within this awareness. These two aspects of Dao are not merely abstract concepts to be named and discussed; they are meant to be seen directly. You can test this for yourself: point to your own face. What do you see? Not a face, but an open, faceless space that receives the world. The Daodejing often calls this emptiness (wu), yet it is a living emptiness—aware, present, and filled with the ten thousand things. Dao is this very embrace of existence: awareness (wu) receiving and holding appearance (you).
What, then, is de? De is the power, harmony, and effortless flow that emerges when a life is in touch with its true nature, and therefore with Dao. When you recognize both aspects of your presence—inner emptiness and outer fullness—you become whole, anchored in the here and now. This wholeness is deeply fulfilling. It is de, the effortless grace of a life lived in harmony with itself.
These two aspects of Dao—yin and yang, wu and you, inner and outer—are not separate or opposed, but complementary expressions of a single presence. The Daodejing rarely speaks in abstract terms of yin and yang; more often, it uses simple demonstratives: this and that. Look inward at this—the empty, boundless capacity for awareness. Look outward at that—the ceaseless, spontaneous unfolding of existence. Dao is both simple and spontaneous. Here, within, it does nothing and is nothing; there, without, all things are done. This wholeness translates naturally into the two essential Daoist values: simplicity and spontaneity. One yin, one yang—this is Dao.
Simplicity
The Daodejing often draws from the natural world to symbolize simplicity. Pu, the uncarved block of wood, represents our original nature—untouched by imposed structures and expectations. Simplicity means living with few desires, knowing when enough is enough, and embracing life as it is. The infant and child, often cited in Daoist writings, embody this simplicity, moving with their own nature rather than conforming to external dictates.
Spontaneity
“The Dao does nothing, and yet all is done.” Water, another key Daoist symbol, flows effortlessly, yielding to its own nature without resistance. Likewise, when humans align with ziran—the natural spontaneity of existence—they move in harmony with life. Experiences arise on their own, given rather than forced. To live according to Dao is not to impose control, but to allow life to unfold as it will.
Wholeness
There is no real separation between yin and yang, wu and you, inner and outer, this and that. They are but two perspectives of a single, undivided presence—the Dao, life itself, the ever-unfolding moment of this-here-now. Dao is both one and whole, a unity that encompasses all things.
Look in and see the yin.
Look out and see the yang.
Look in and out and see the Dao,
And now you see the whole shebang!
Look in for nothing doing.
Look out for all is done.
Look in and out for wholeness,
And see the two as one.
1 DAO JING
A spoken Dao is not the constant Dao.
No name can name the absolute.
Absence is the source of heaven and earth.
Presence is the mother of all things.
As absence one sees awareness.
As presence one sees appearance.
Though they go by different names
The two are truly one and the same.
They are both subtle and deep,
These gateways to perception.
1 Awareness and Appearance
Laozi begins the Book of Dao by telling us that the spoken Dao, the word Dao, is not the constant Dao, not the experience of Dao. This verse describes the grand design of perception and thereby defines the Dao. I have translated wu and you as absence and presence, which point to awareness and appearance, the two complementary aspects of this-here-now, of present moment experience. Look within for awareness, the essence of Dao, which is objectless, pure subjectivity. Look without to see the presence of all that appears and occurs. Look both ways at once. There is no division between the two views. Dao is this single presence or awareness/appearance. See both ways at once and you are wholly present. This is Dao, life, presence. This is what we are, our real identity. Yet most of us remain cases of mistaken identity. Laozi will have more to say on this matter in the verses that follow.
2
When all see beauty as beauty,
There is ugliness too.
When all see kindness as kindness,
There is unkindness as well.
Thus it is that
Presence and absence arise together.
Difficult and easy complete each other.
Long and short shape each other.
Lofty and lowly lean on each other.
Sound and song harmonize each other.
Front and back accompany one another.
Thus seers act without acting
And teach without speaking.
All beings arise in the present,
And none is rejected.
They are nourished but not owned
And served but not claimed.
Ends are achieved,
But credit isn't taken.
Since it isn't taken, it isn't lost.
2 Judgment and Emptiness
"See things for what they are, exactly as given in your Emptiness -- in this Openness, which manifestly has no preferences, no resentments, no checklist of good and bad things, no categories of beautiful and ugly, acceptable and unacceptable. And see what comes from paying attention to the way you already are." Douglas Harding
3
Not praising the talented
Ensures that people won't contend.
Not valuing rare treasures
Ensures that people won't steal.
Not displaying what people desire
Ensures them calm hearts.
Seers prefer empty hearts and full bellies,
Weak ambitions and strong bones.
They lead us away from knowing and wanting,
So the clever ones don't dare to act.
Act without acting and order prevails.
3 Simplicity
This verse talks about two kinds of simplicity. The first is the material of simple living. Much of what we desire is based on what others have and what merchants want us to buy. How much do we really need? Very little, in Laozi's view. Few of us would not profit by paring down our possessions and desires.
A Daoist recluse says that Daoists "...believe the secret of happiness lies in learning to have few wants. A simple dwelling, a few sets of garments to suit the changing seasons, plain food tasty enough to tempt the appetite -- these are all that is needed for tranquil living. If people were content to have no more, there would be so much to share with others that poverty would be rare." from John Blofeld / p56 / Beyond the Gods / 1974
The second kind of simplicity is our own natural inner simplicity, our capacity or awareness. Nothing is simpler or more central than this capacity. It is the inner "space" in which everything appears. It is your essence. It's the ground of what you are. It can't be lost, but it can be forgotten. Laozi reminds us not to forget.
4
Dao is empty and never needs filling,
So empty and deep it precedes all beings.
It blunts the sharp
And loosens the tangled.
It softens the glare
And unites with the dust.
So deep and clear it seems everlasting.
I don't know whose child it is.
It appears to be the original.
4 Loosen the tangles
This verse shows what seeing (or alignment with Dao) does. It blunts the sharp by bringing back to awareness the place where there are no sharp divisions. It unties the tangles and knots of life by centering us in the place where there is no-thing to get tangled or knotted. It tells us how seeing works to soften the glares of the world and settle the dust of disagreement.
It is about the wu-you complements again. We are made whole when we have both sides in our awareness, when we see them as one presence. We aren't totally caught up in the world of affairs. We aren't centered in the world. Instead, we have a center that softens and settles the world.
Douglas Harding often said that with headless seeing there is only one thing to do. Everything else follows from that and takes care of itself. So when life is giving us sharp jabs, we can return to the place where there is no sharpness. See who you are at center, and let that seeing do the work. Maybe the jabs won't be as painful. Maybe your tangled affairs will work themselves out. Maybe you won't be as anxious about them. This is the power or virtue (de) of first person seeing, of alignment with Dao. It seems to me that Laozi is telling us the same thing that Douglas did. There is only one thing to do. Go back to the place where it all begins, before all images.
In that way seeing falls into the heart. It's not withdrawal. It's a return to your original nature. You still live in the world, but now that world lives in you as well. Nature wears down mountains slowly. Seeing in the world works slowly too. It softens the glare. It doesn't eliminate it. It settles the blowing dust. The dust is still there, but now it is fertile and productive. It works slowly, and only in the present moment.
5
Heaven and earth are not benevolent.
They regard all things as straw dogs.
Seers are not benevolent.
They regard the people as straw dogs.
Isn't the space between heaven and earth
Like a bellows?
Though it is empty,
The more it is used, the more it gives.
Talk of it counts for little.
Better to watch the inner core.
5 Straw Dogs
Both nature and seers are impartial. They play no favorites.
Holmes Welch in his 1957 book Taoism, The Parting of the Way paraphrases Verse Five as follow "The universe is not moral, not 'our kind,' not kind the way the Rites requires. The universe regards the things in it as straw dogs. The Sage is not moral, not 'our kind,' not kind the way the Rites requires. He regards men -- including himself -- as straw dogs. But the universe, amoral as it is, supports us. If we call on its orderliness, it never fails us -- any more than the law of gravity will fail us. Try to call on morality the same way, and you will quickly exhaust its support. Forget morality; follow your inner nature."
6
The valley spirit doesn't die.
It is called the mysterious female.
The gateway of the mysterious female
Is called the root of heaven and earth.
It is always present
And seen without effort.
6 The Valley Spirit
This verse uses four different images to symbolize aspects of Dao -- the valley, the spirit, the female, and the root. These include receptivity, support, creativity, and nourishment. All of these can describe what we are to ourselves as first-person. We are this faceless awareness in receipt of the world.
7
Heaven lasts and earth endures.
They last and endure because
They have no selves.
Thus they last forever.
Seers keep to the back
Yet find themselves in front.
Free of selves they are preserved.
Is it not because they have no selves
That they are themselves?
7 No Selves
Heaven and earth have no selves. They operate on the basis of intricate natural processes. Can you see that this is true of human beings as well? There is no self-contained conscious entity at the helm of one's life.
The design of volition is exactly parallel with the design of vision and other areas of perception. Decisions are given in and to our void nature, our capacity. Decisions are perceived just as sounds are perceived. Where do they come from? Their origins are perceptible only as emptiness or as capacity. There is no need to go beyond this understanding. There is no need to posit a phantom entity that chooses. That's just a complication, legs on a snake. Choices appear. Decisions appear. They show up, just like everything else does. They show up in our capacity. They aren't put there by phantom agent called a self. Self is the wholeness of capacity and its contents. Nothing beyond this two-way design is necessary. We don't need a third wheel on the bicycle.
8
The highest good is like water.
Water benefits all beings
And contends with none.
It occupies the places that people revile.
In this it is close to Dao.
In dwelling it values the ground.
In feeling it values the deep.
In giving it values the true.
In speaking it values trust.
In leading it values order.
In working it values ability.
In acting it values timing.
When no one contends,
No one is blamed.
8 Like Water
Water goes where it must, sometimes gently and sometimes with frightful power. Isn't this true of us too? We go where we must. We act spontaneously even when it seems we are uncertain and don't know what to do. We are designed to be uncertain at times. Water has no self. It doesn't know it's obeying the rule of gravity. It just lives its own nature. We go where we must too. We follow our own way. We don't have to understand it. We can't understand it. It's too complicated. But we are it -- spontaneously and automatically and by definition.
Like water, we go where we go, and we are never right or wrong. Water has only one way to go, and it doesn't 'know' that way until it goes there. We don't know the way to go either -- until we find ourselves already there. All we can do is "see -- and see what happens."
9
Keep on filling,
Better to stop in time.
Pound and hone,
Sharpness can't endure.
Fill a room with gold and jade,
It can't be protected.
Pride in wealth and fame,
How you have failed.
Complete your task and then withdraw.
This is the nature of Dao.
9 Enough!
We fill and hone the outer world and line it with treasures. We establish our position in the world, while we ignore its position in us. Time to stop! Do your work, then quietly step back to the near side, to the center, to your true position, to the Dao. To do otherwise you invite disaster, retribution, and a downfall.
10
Can you embrace...
Awareness with no separation?
Breath as soft as a newborn child?
Vision deep and open and without flaw?
Guidance of people without artifice?
A gentle passage through heaven's gate?
Clear seeing by means of unknowing?
To produce and encourage,
To produce without owning,
To act without prescribing,
To lead without controlling,
This is called deep virtue.
10 Embracing Life
Resisting or not resisting either can happen. "See, and see what happens," as Douglas Harding used to say. That seems to cover it. Life is on its own course. Even resisting happens on its own. Even resisting is "going with the flow." There's no way to get outside of life and affect it from that position. I am what is happening -- no exceptions. Noticing this can affect the flow. If I notice I am resisting what is happening, I may laugh at myself and relax. Or I may just accept that I am resisting the flow. I can't see that there's any way of getting a wedge into a situation that will be outside the spontaneous flow of events. There is no separate me outside of and beyond life itself, beyond the whole. Laozi says "do nothing" because there is no doer separate from all the doings. All that I do, and all that is done to and for me, is happening on its own. I can't help but laugh when I catch myself thinking otherwise. Life is living me, not the other way around.
11
Thirty spokes share one hub.
Its emptiness makes the cart useful.
Mold clay into a bowl.
Its emptiness makes the bowl useful.
Cut doors and windows to make a room.
The empty spaces make the room useful.
What exists is beneficial because
Emptiness allows it to function.
11 The Wheel
The wheel is a wonderfully precise image for the Dao. Douglas Harding had wheels of his own. He called them maps. One of his maps is pictured on the left. His maps are wheels with their spokes going out in all directions from the hub. This wheel is a map of my first-person private identity, of myself as I am to myself. At the center is the hub, the empty (Laozi's word) and faceless (Douglas's word) center of my presence (you), a nonpresence (wu) in fact. Here at the hub I AM pure capacity or awareness. How do I look to myself from this hub? What do I see when I look outward and downward at the spokes of the wheel? You can try it for yourself. Spread your arms in front of you by about 160 degrees, just to the point where they come into view and frame your world. Look down at your feet. Bring your attention up to your chest. Do you see the line on your chest where your view of your body ends? Below that line is awareness only (I AM) and absence or nonpresence (I AM NOT), both clearly in your view as shown on the map or wheel. Now look straight out. In the nearer regions, you see the place where humans reside. With a large mirror you can even see your own public appearance. Look beyond this human region and you see the scenery. Farther still you see the heavens, the sun, planets, stars, and galaxies. It's all part of who you really are. It's what's presented to the hub of the wheel, to your own aware center. Now look within. It's easy to do. Point a finger at the place where others see your face. Do you see a face? Or do you see emptiness (wu), empty and aware capacity for the world of appearances, the realm of I AM NOT?
The hub is the center, the heart, the place of faceless awareness. It's also still, empty, single, and constant. The spokes are many, but they converge in the one hub of all. The spokes are not constant. They change positions. This verse sums it all up in one homely image, the wheel.
So what is the Dao? What is my real identity? Is it the Hub? Is it the Whole wheel -- both the hub and the spokes? Inwardly I AM NOT. Outwardly I AM ALL. At the hub and center I AM.
12
The five colors blind the eye.
The five tones deafen the ear.
The five flavors dull the palate.
Racing and hunting madden the heart.
Rare goods block one's advance.
Seers act from the belly, not the eye,
Dismissing that, accepting this.
12 (and 72) Dismissing That, Accepting This
"Emptiness is a favourite synonym for the Tao, which is like enclosed by a pot and without which it is useless, and like the still hub without which a wheel cannot turn, Taoists also describe it as the Void, the Valley, the inexhaustible and bottomless and formless Origin of all forms, the Uncarved Block, the Always-so, the Primal Simplicity, the Quietness, Darker than any Mystery. Most significant of all, it it This and not That. In other words, it is right here. What one really is, one's own True Nature as well as the Nature of Things." Douglas Harding, Religions of the World, p 57.
13
Favor and disgrace are equally frightful.
Greatness and adversity are both selfish.
Why are favor and disgrace equally frightful?
Favor implies a fall.
Thus to gain favor is as frightening
As it is to lose it.
And so it is said that favor and disgrace
Are equally frightful.
Why are greatness and adversity both selfish?
I believe greatness and adversity
Are consequences of self-concern.
If I had no concern for myself
What adversity could I have?
Regard all actions on earth as your own,
Then all the world can depend on you.
Value all actions on earth as your own,
Then all the world can be entrusted to you.
13 Occurrence Appearing of Itself
Why are favor and disgrace equally frightful? Because favor and disgrace establish you as a self, as one among many. Why are greatness and adversity both selfish? Because greatness and adversity are terms used to give you a rank and a rating. A self with a rating -- is that what you want to be?
To Laozi you are an expression of the whole, of the Dao. You are like a wave on the ocean -- a spontaneous expression of the whole. Your doings are not separate and self-contained. To use David Hinton's words, your doings are "occurrence appearing of itself." See your wider identity and you will regard all actions on earth as your own. And since they are your own, you will value them as your own.
14
It isn't seen by looking.
Call it invisible.
It isn't heard by listening.
Call it inaudible.
It isn't held by grasping.
Call it intangible.
These three can't be fathomed.
They blend into one.
Not bright above,
Not dark below,
Forever without a name,
It turns back to nonexistence.
Call it form without form,
The image of nonexistence.
Call it vague and elusive,
With no face to see and no back to follow.
Behold the ancient Dao to keep the present,
And follow Dao's thread to the source.
14 No Face to See
Dao is awareness, which appears as void or emptiness. Can you see the emptiness in the place where others see your face? This is the emptiness or void that is your no-face or no-head. It is wide open for the world, for the ten thousand things of creation.
Your only task is to see this emptiness whenever it occurs to you to look. See your empty face, the void in its infinity and eternity each moment. You will also see the ten thousand things that occur in time and space.
Your own body is one of these ten thousand things that are manifested in you, in your awareness, in the Dao. See the truth of who you are. To yourself, you are not the body topped off with a head. That is your image to other people.
15
Seers of old were adept at cultivating Dao
Subtle and mysterious, open and deep,
Deep beyond understanding.
Because they can't be understood,
One can only relate how they appeared.
Alert as if crossing a stream in winter.
Watchful as if wary of their neighbors.
Deferential as a guest.
Generous as melting ice.
Simple as an uncarved block.
Expansive as a valley.
Opaque as murky water.
Who can let murkiness calmly clear?
Who can let this clarity come alive?
Those who guard Dao desire no excess.
Desiring no excess,
They are not worn out
But renewed instead.
15 Appearance
The seers of old were adept at cultivating Dao, the wholeness of perception. The headless seers of today are adept in the same ways. They see that their essence is subtle and mysterious, open and deep. It is the experience of the central or inner voidness of this-here-now, the hole at the center of the whole of present moment experience.
How do seers appear to others? Laozi tells us a few of the ways. Seers are alert and watchful, and so they appear to others. Alertness is the watchword of headless seeing, conscious attention to one's nature as empty capacity for the world to happen in and to, awareness itself.
Seers are deferential to others, because they see that there are only others. Seeing their emptiness, seers count as nothing themselves. Seers are generous, because nothingness is their most precious possession. This nothingness is both simple and expansive, simple in itself and expansive in its ability to include all that appears. Seers are opaque in appearance to others, but calm and clear and alive to themselves.
Seers already have the wholeness of Dao. They don't wear themselves out seeking more than they need from the world. They are renewed instead by the seeing the depth and fullness of the experience of living.
16
Attain complete openness.
Maintain a steady calm.
All things arise together,
And I watch them return.
Each of the multitude returns to the root.
Return to the root brings stillness.
It is called a return to the real.
Return to the real reveals the constant.
Seeing the constant brings clarity.
Not seeing the constant invites adversity.
To see the constant is to accept what is.
To accept is to be fair.
To be fair is to be whole.
To be whole is to be natural.
To be natural is to hold Dao.
To hold Dao is to endure.
When self dies so does danger.
16 The Place of Openenss
Where is this place of complete openness? Point a finger to your own headlessness. Where else can you find total openness and imperturbability but here at the calm center of perception? Return your attention to the only constant in life, the constant Dao of Laozi's first verse.
17
The best leaders are barely known to exist.
The next best are loved and praised.
The next are feared,
And the next despised.
Without enough trust you will not be trusted.
If you are wise and consider your words,
When your task is complete
And your work is finished,
The people will say
It happened on its own.
17 (and 23, 25, 51, 64) ziran
In each of these verses David Hinton translates ziran as occurrence appearing of itself. Everything that happens appears on its own. Everything that appears occurs of itself, spontaneously, self-so, a se. This is the deep meaning of ziran. All that appears does so on its own. I have not been so consistent in my translation. In verse 17 I translate ziran as "it happened on its own." In 23 as "natural." In 25 as "the ways that are." In 51 as "spontaneously." And in 64 as "their own natures."
18
When the great Dao is abandoned,
Kindness and justice arise.
When learning and wisdom appear,
The great pretense follows.
When families are not at peace,
Filial piety appears.
When the country is in turmoil,
Loyal servants abound.
18 The Great Pretense
I find the DDJ to be about both values and vision. And when it comes to the vision aspect, "Putting on a False Face" is a very apt expression, because it's exactly what we do. We identify so closely with our faces, yet we never see them. We only imagine them. A face above my shoulders is a fabrication, a lie, and a put-on. It's a false face. And it messes with our values. Zen wants us see our Original Face, the face we had before our ancestors were born. So how do we see it? The word itself gives us a clue. One of the opposites of original is reflection, as when we look in a mirror. I don't know if anyone is willing to actually go up to a mirror and actually look at the face you see there. I suspect it will seem childish or that you will think that you can follow the idea in your mind to the same effect. But I don't think you will get what I am saying just from the words. It's a matter of Seeing, not of understanding. Anyway, if you do go and look at the face in the mirror, you will see just what a reflected (false) face looks like. And you will also see what your original face looks like, which is like no face at all. You are the pure original. The face in the mirror is a reflection, and if you think this face is on your shoulders, you have put on a false face and are living from a fabrication. There is nothing but capacity, transparency, or aware spaciousness on you shoulders. That's your original face, your true face, and it's empty and open and accepting of everything in view. It's the only face you will ever see directly.
19
Abandon wisdom and discard knowledge.
People gain a hundredfold.
Abandon kindness and discard judgment.
People return to respect and affection.
Abandon cleverness and discard profit.
Robbers and thieves cease to exist.
These three are helpful but not sufficient.
Something more is needed.
See the plain and embrace the simple.
Reduce the self and diminish desire.
19 See the Plain
Behold the Great Image.
It's yours to acquire.
It brings satisfaction
And tempers desire.
JC
20
Abandon learning and worries end.
Yes and yeah.
How great is the difference?
Admirable and offensive.
How different are these?
People fear what must be feared.
How crude and off center!
Others seem so bright and cheerful,
As if enjoying a great feast
Or climbing a terrace in springtime.
I alone am calm, giving no sign,
Like a newborn child who has yet to smile,
Weary and forlorn like one without a home.
Others have more than enough.
I alone seem wanting.
I am such a fool!
Others are so bright and cheerful.
I alone am dim and dark.
Others are so keen and alert.
I alone am dim and dull,
Quiet like the sea,
Aimless like the wind.
Others all have their goals.
I alone am stubborn and mean.
I alone, different from the rest,
Value sustenance from the source.
20 Calm at the Center
Laozi's three treasures (67) are compassion, frugality, and humility. This verse goes deeply into the value of humility. One who adopts this Dao of seeing may appear to others to be dim and dark and dull. Could this be a reflection of the dim and dark and dull nature of awareness itself? It has no properties. It doesn't shine. It makes no appearance. Its function is to allow for the appearance of everything in its embrace. It embraces what appears naturally. It isn't the director. It is aimless like the wind. It has no goals. Laozi calls it the source. It is the source of our capacity to experience the world of appearance. It is our central identity.
Let others identify with what they know, with the opinions of others. Approval may make them seem bright and cheerful, but this does not last. Everything changes. The only constant in the inner Dao, the headless space. Awareness remains awareness, while nothing that appears in awareness changes constantly. Awareness is the anchor, stubborn and humble. It's always here, and though it's quiet like the sea, it's what allows for the tides of life, the changes that every year, indeed every moment, of life brings. Awareness and occurrence, the constant and the changing, these are the complementary elements of complete living. Though awareness in itself appears empty and bland, it is the ground of living experience. Add that back to your life. It is the capacity for experiencing. Being consciously aware of this constant openness at one's center brings a richness to living that is always available. The more you include it in your perception, the more completely satisfying your life will be.
21
Great virtue comes only from Dao.
Dao seems elusive and vague.
Vague and elusive, yes,
But it reveals all that appears.
Elusive and vague, yes,
And it holds all that lives.
Quiet and obscure, yes,
But it contains all essence.
This essence is deeply real
And, at center, worthy of your trust.
From long ago past to present day,
Its name is not forgotten.
Use it to see the ancestor of all.
How do I know the ancestor of all?
Through this-here-now!
21 Vague and Elusive
Great virtue, meaning the fullness of life, comes only from Dao, from seeing the whole of this-here-now. The great void at your center, meaning your own facelessness, may seem vague and elusive, yet it is the very essence of your life and identity. It may be quiet and obscure, yet without it nothing would appear, nothing would occur. It reveals. It holds. It contains. It is the power or virtue behind it all, behind life itself. See this (this-here-now) as your essence, and trust this seeing to bring balance to your life. Use it in your life as our ancestors used it in theirs.
22
To yield is to be made whole.
To bend is to be straightened.
To empty is to be filled.
To age is to be renewed.
To have little is to gain much.
To have much is to be confused.
Therefore seers embrace oneness
And become examples for all.
They don't show off, and so they are clear.
They don't claim truth, and so they appear.
They do not brag, and so they produce.
They do not boast, and so they survive.
Because they don't contend
No one in the world contends with them.
The old saying is
Yield and be whole.
Are these empty words?
Look within and wholeness returns.
22 Yield and Be Whole
What are you being asked to yield? Nothing but your false view of yourself as one among many. To have little is to gain much. Can you go further? Yield until you have nothing left. When you are nothing at your core, you will be filled with all that appears. Being nothing, you are empty and clear of heart. Being empty, there is nothing to brag about. At center I am the same as everyone else.
23
To speak but little is natural. ziran
A wind storm doesn't last the morning.
A downpour doesn't last the day.
What causes these?
Heaven and earth.
If heaven and earth can't make them last,
How could a person?
Follow Dao and be one with Dao.
Value virtue and be one with virtue.
Accept loss and be one with loss.
At one with Dao, Dao welcomes you.
At one with virtue, virtue welcomes you.
At one with loss, loss welcomes you.
Not trusting enough, you won't be trusted.
.....
24
Standing on tiptoe, one isn't steady.
Walking astride, one has no pace.
Showing oneself, one isn't clear.
Sure of oneself, one isn't seen.
Asserting oneself, one has no merit.
Proud of oneself, one doesn't endure.
Those with Dao call these
Excess food and useless effort,
Things which all deplore.
Those with Dao avoid them.
.....
25
Something exists formless and complete
Before heaven and earth are born.
Silent and empty,
It stands alone and doesn't move.
Occurring everywhere and never in danger,
Take it as the mother of heaven and earth.
I don't know its name.
Needing to find a word, I call it Dao.
Needing to name a name, I call it great.
Great means going on.
Going on means going far.
Going far means returning.
Therefore, Dao is great.
Heaven is great.
Earth is great.
People are also great.
In our world there are four great things,
And people are one of them.
People heed the ways of earth.
Earth heeds the ways of heaven.
Heaven heeds the ways of Dao.
Dao heeds the ways that are.
25 a) Formless and Complete, b) and Four Great Things
a) Before heaven and earth are born, something exists formless and complete. What is this? It's the awareness that allows the world to appear. Laozi calls it the mother of heaven and earth.
Zhuanzi tells the story of Hundun. "Hundun had a perfect and permanent life at the center of the world, but was devoid of personal features -- he had no face. The kings from the periphery decided to come to the center and do Hundun a favor by giving him a facial shape. They drilled seven holes into his body, the facial openings, and he immediately perished." ...from Daoism Explained, Hans-Georg Moeller, page 35.
Hundun represents the private and faceless identity that lies at the center of your being. The kings from the periphery represent all the well-meaning people in your world who want you to identify with your public appearance, to believe that you are at center what you look like from a distance. The outcome, of course, is the immediate death of your central identity.
What you are for yourself at no distance is a faceless embrace of the world, capacity for all things, awareness itself. Others see your face. That is your public identity, your appearance to others. To accept that as your central identity is tantamount to death, the death of your true view of yourself. Don't let others drill holes in your facelessness.
b) People heed the ways of earth. Earth heeds the ways of heaven. Heaven heeds the ways of Dao. Dao heeds the ways that are. Resisting or not resisting, either can happen. "See, and see what happens," as Douglas Harding used to say. That seems to cover it. Life is on its own course. Even resisting happens on its own. Even resisting is "going with the flow." There's no way to get outside of life and affect it from that position. I am what is happening -- no exceptions. Noticing this can affect the flow. If I notice I am resisting what is happening, I may laugh at myself and relax. Or I may just accept that I am resisting the flow. There is no way of getting a wedge into a situation that will be outside the spontaneous flow of events. There is no separate me outside of and beyond life itself, beyond the whole. Laozi says "do nothing" because there is no doer separate from all the doings. All that I do, and all that is done to and for me, is happening on its own. I can't help but laugh when I catch myself thinking otherwise. Life is living me, not the other way around.
26
Heavy is the root of lightness.
Calm is the master of haste.
Thus seers wander all day
Without leaving their provision.
Though the views are beautiful,
They are not swayed.
When a master of 10,000 chariots
Takes the self lightly in the world,
Lightness loses its root,
And haste surrenders command.
.....
27
Good walkers leave no track.
Good speakers make no error.
Good reckoners need no counter.
Good closers don't bolt the gate,
Yet it can't be opened.
Good binders don't knot the rope,
Yet it can't be loosened.
This is why seers excel at assisting others
While rejecting no one,
And excel at saving situations
While rejecting nothing.
Call this the practice of clarity.
The skilled are examples to the unskilled.
And the unskilled are helpful to the skilled.
If you don't value example or cherish help,
Though clever, you are much confused.
Call this a deep mystery.
.....
28
Knowing the male while guarding the female,
You are like a river to all the world.
As a river to the world,
Virtue is constant and does not depart.
Go back to the infant.
Knowing the white while guarding the black,
You are a model for all the world.
As a model for all the world,
Virtue is constant and does not falter.
Go back to the infinite.
Knowing the lofty while guarding the lowly,
You are like a valley for all the world.
As a valley for all the world,
Virtue is constant and always enough.
Go back to the uncarved block.
Carving the block makes the tools
That seers use to show the way.
Yet the greatest rule does not divide.
.....
29
Some want to make over the world.
I see that it can't be accomplished.
The world is a sacred occurrence
And can't be directed.
Meddle and spoil it.
Grasp and lose it.
Some lead and some follow.
Some blow hard and some breath easy.
Some are strong and some are gentle.
Some build up and some tear down.
Thus seers shun the extreme,
Shun the extravagant,
Shun the excessive.
.....
30
Those who use Dao to assist a ruler
Don't use weapons of war on the world.
Such deeds tend to backfire.
An army yields a crop of brambles.
A battle yields a year of hunger.
The skilled achieve their ends then stop,
Not daring to consider force.
They achieve but don't revel.
They achieve but don't assert.
They achieve but don't boast.
They achieve but aren't smug.
They achieve but don't compel.
Strength as a rule grows old.
This isn't Dao,
And not being Dao,
It soon expires.
.....
31
Even the best weapons are
Implements of ill omen,
Vile things to possess.
Seers of Dao do not abide them.
Worthy people at home favor the left.
In war they favor the right.
Weapons are instruments of ill omen,
Not proper for worthy people.
When weapons must be employed
It's best to be calm and restrained.
Triumph is not beautiful.
To find it beautiful
Is to delight in killing.
Those who delight in killing
Do not gain their ends in this world.
Fortune favors the left.
Adversity favors the right.
Lower commanders occupy the left.
Higher commanders occupy the right.
This is protocol for a funeral.
The slaying of multitudes
Calls for sorrow and weeping.
Observe a victory as a funeral.
.....
32
Dao is always nameless.
It is simple and ordinary,
And no one can suppress it.
If leaders and rulers could guard it
All beings would naturally follow.
Heaven and earth would rain sweet dew.
Unbidden, people would live in balance.
Rules arise and naming begins.
Naming appears and it's time to stop.
Knowing when to stop prevents danger.
The presence of Dao is an example to all
Like river valleys streaming to the sea.
.....
33
Who knows others has learning.
Who knows oneself has insight.
Who bears others is capable.
Who bears oneself is strong.
Who knows satisfaction is rich.
Who holds a point of view advances.
Who stays in place endures.
Who dies without perishing lives long.
.....
34
Great Dao is overflowing,
Going left and going right.
All things depend on it for life,
And it never turns away.
It works and achieves
But never claims credit.
It clothes and nourishes
But won't take the lead.
Since it has no desires,
It can be called ordinary.
All things return to it,
Though it doesn't force them back.
It can be called great.
Since it doesn't assume greatness,
Its greatness is assured.
.....
35
Behold the great image
And life comes home,
Calmly and beyond all harm,
Satisfied with wholeness.
Music and food attract the stranger.
But talk of Dao plainly lacks flavor.
Look for it, and it isn't seen.
Listen for it, and it isn't heard.
But use it, and it's never used up.
35 The Great Image
The great image is the big picture or the grand design, the image of wholeness. It's what you see when you notice the whole field of vision. It includes all the appearances and occurrences you are looking at. It also includes the unchanging and faceless emptiness you are looking from.
The character for great can indicate a simple experiment in perception. Stand with your arms in front of you and just barely visible on either side, that is, spread out about 160 degrees. Do you see that with this gesture you, physically and consciously, embrace the world?
36
To be diminished
It must have been inflated.
To be weakened
It must have been strong.
To be abolished
It must have been established.
To be taken away
It must have been granted.
Call these subtle insights.
The soft and weak overcome
The hard and strong.
Fish must remain in deep water
And weapons remain out of view.
.....
37
Dao does nothing and all is done.
If those in the lead could do the same,
All beings would thrive on their own.
When desires grow and striving begins,
I will call on nameless simplicity,
And the people will no longer want.
With not wanting comes peace
And natural order in the world.
.....
38 DE JING
High virtue is not virtuous,
Thus it has virtue.
Common virtue holds on to virtue,
Thus it lacks virtue.
High virtue neither acts
Nor ponders action.
Common virtue acts
And ponders each act.
High kindness acts
But doesn't ponder action.
High manners acts
And ponders each deed.
High ritual acts,
And getting no response,
Bares it arms and throws punches.
Lose Dao and virtue remains.
Lose virtue and benevolence remains.
Lose benevolence and morality remains.
Lose morality and ritual remains.
Ritual means loyalty and trust are thin
And confusion has begun.
Ready certainty is the flower of Dao
And the beginning of folly.
This is why seers
Stay with the core and not the surface,
Stay with the essence and not the blossom.
They refuse that and admit this.
.....
39
Of old, these have gained oneness.
Heaven gained oneness
And became clear.
Earth gained oneness
And became calm.
Spirit gained oneness
And became perceptive.
Valleys gained oneness
And became bountiful.
The myriad beings gained oneness
And became prolific.
Leaders and rulers gained oneness
And became sovereign.
These all have attained.
If heaven were not clear,
It might crack.
If earth were not calm,
It might falter.
If spirit were not perceptive,
It might perish.
If valleys were not bountiful,
They might wither.
If the myriad beings were not lively,
They might die.
The high is rooted in the low.
The prominent is grounded in the humble.
Thus leaders and rulers call themselves
Orphaned, alone, and unworthy.
Don't they all see the common root?
The humble counts in wholeness.
Prefer the clatter of stone
To the dazzle of jade.
39 Beautiful Pattern
"I don't believe anything is accidental, in the larger sense. There's a beautiful pattern. Not plan -- plans always have to be thought up. But the universe works together; everything connects. Otherwise it would fall apart." James Broughton
40
Returning is the movement of Dao.
Yielding is the way of Dao.
All in the world are born in presence,
And presence is born in absence.
40 Returning
All things are born and live and die in your clear and empty awareness, in your sight. Only awareness remains forever open and unchanged. You are origin and eternity. Can you reverse the arrow of attention and return it to the source and enabler of all that appears, to the ground of "occurrence appearing of itself?"
See the Seer. View the view.
Mark the two as one.
You have captured all there is.
That's it! Fini! You're done!
41
Keen people hear of Dao
And apply it in earnest.
Average people hear of Dao
And keep it now and then.
Dull people hear of Dao
And laugh out loud.
If they didn't laugh,
It wouldn't be Dao.
Thus the old sayings:
Bright Dao seems dark.
Advanced Dao seems withdrawn.
Plain Dao seems rough.
High virtue seems hollow.
Great clarity seems opaque.
Ample virtue seems deficient.
Proven virtue seems corrupt.
Natural truth seems fickle.
The great whole has no corners.
The great container holds at last.
The great tone is rarely heard.
The great image is never fixed.
Dao is hidden and without a name.
Because Dao accepts, it also fulfills.
41
Can you see your own face in the same direct way you can see your hand? No one would answer yes to this question. No one is getting this wrong. You can see your hand directly, and you can see its reflection in the mirror. You can see the reflection of your face in the mirror, but is this you? Are you a reflection? Or are you the original? Aren't you the original, faceless, open and transparent awareness centered right here on your shoulders? You aren't the face in the mirror. You aren't like that. You aren't solid and opaque. You have no color. You have no features. You are the one in receipt of all these.
This brightest and most obvious of all spots in the universe is just not seen. This empty center of awareness is not noticed. Even if it is noticed when it is pointed out, most people fail to see its worth. They seldom attend to attention itself. Others don't even give it a chance. They laugh at it without hesitation. Laozi playfully tells us that their laughter proves its truth.
42
Dao is born as one.
One is born as two.
Two is born as three.
Three is born as 10,000 beings.
All beings shoulder yin and embrace yang,
Whose energies blend in harmony.
People have reason to hate
Being orphaned, alone, and poor.
Yet those who lead take these as titles.
Thus one might gain through loss
Or lose through gain.
What others have taught, I teach as well.
Those who live by violence
Prepare their own demise.
I will make this my main tenet.
42 yin and yang
Look in and see the yin.
Look out and see the yang.
Look in and out and see the Dao,
And now you see the whole shebang!
From one comes two, and these makes three, and thus ten thousand come to be. Laozi is talking of the grand design of immediate perception. The three terms Dao, yin and yang are not metaphysical terms. They are not mere words or names. They are concrete, physical, and visible. You can literally point to them with a finger. To look in at the yin, point your finger to your own faceless awareness. To look out at the yang, point your finger to the world of appearances directly in front of you. See that nothing separates these two views of your presence, of your life in the moment, of Dao. To see both ways is see wholeness.
Just what is the Dao?
It is yin on my shoulders
And yang in my arms.
43
In this world the softest approach
Quickly overcomes the hardest,
And absence goes where there is no space.
Thus I know the value of not acting.
The lesson of not speaking
And the value of not acting
Are seldom realized in this world.
43 Yielding
Is it possible to overcome limitations by yielding? Yield your limited identity as a someone. See that you are nothing now. You are an absence. Accept your unlimited ability as capacity to receive the world. Yield all contention and opposition. All is as it must be. You are not a somebody up against others. Others live in you. You are unlimited capacity to host the world.
44
Name or life, which is nearer?
Life or wealth, which means more?
Gain or loss, which hurts more?
Attachment comes with great cost,
And possession brings a heavy loss.
To know sufficiency means no disgrace.
To know limitation means no danger.
This is the way to a long life.
44 Name or Life
Your life, your presence is nearer than your name. It's nearer than your wealth. It's not a possession. It's your essence, your true nature. It's your sufficiency and safety and satisfaction. It's your true center, your lasting nature.
45
Great accomplishment seems lacking,
Yet its use is not impaired.
Great fullness seems empty,
Yet its use is not depleted.
Great honesty seems crooked.
Great skill seems awkward.
Great eloquence seems halting.
While activity conquers cold,
And tranquility conquers heat,
Calm and clear set the world aright.
.....
46
When Dao is observed
Race horses manure the fields.
When Dao is ignored
War horses breed on the farms.
No disaster exceeds
Not knowing what is enough.
No fault exceeds
The desire to gain.
One who knows what is enough
Always has enough.
.....
47
Without going out the door,
One knows the world.
Without looking out a window,
One sees the nature of Dao.
The farther one goes,
The less one knows.
Seers don't go out, yet they perceive.
They don't appear, yet they are clear.
They don't act, yet they achieve.
.....
48
In the pursuit of learning one gains daily.
In the pursuit of Dao one loses daily,
Loses and loses through doing nothing.
Though one does nothing,
There's nothing not done.
Exerting effort to gain the world
Is always overreaching.
No effort is ever enough for this.
48
Lose your beliefs. Lose your certainty. We humans know nothing about ultimate matters.
49
Seers have no consistent heart.
They take on the heart of the people.
I am kind to the kind.
I am kind to the unkind too.
Virtue is kind.
I trust the trustworthy.
I trust the untrustworthy too.
Virtue is trusting.
Seers act to unite the world.
They merge their hearts with other hearts.
The people strain to hear and see.
Seers hear and see as children do.
.....
50
Life arises linked to death.
Life's adherents are three in ten.
Death's adherents are three in ten.
People whose lives
Are on the way to death's domain
Are also three in ten.
Why is this so?
Because they live in the thick of life.
Some are good at managing their lives.
Meeting no rhinos or tigers in their travels,
They carry no armor or weapons for battle.
The rhino's horn finds no place to gore.
The tiger's claw finds no place to seize.
A weapon's blade finds no place to stab.
Why is this so?
They have no place for death to enter.
.....
51
Dao bears them.
Virtue raises them.
Existence forms them.
Circumstance completes them.
Thus it is that all beings
Honor Dao and cherish virtue.
Honoring Dao and cherishing virtue
Happens spontaneously, without coersion. ziran
Dao gives them life.
Virtue rears them,
Nourishes them,
Shelters and heals them,
Fosters and protects them.
Giving life, making no claim,
Acting without expectation,
Guiding without rules:
This is called deep virtue.
.....
52
The origin of all is called the mother.
Find the mother
And know the children.
Know the children
And return to the mother.
When self ends, so does danger.
Block the passages,
Close the doors,
And all your life there is no struggle.
Open the passages and,
Wrapped up in affairs,
All your life there is no help.
Seeing the ordinary is called clarity.
Keeping the pliant is called strength.
In light of this,
One returns to clarity
And precludes disaster.
Call this the practice of the constant.
.....
53
If I perceive the great Dao,
My only fear is to stray from it.
Though the great Dao is plain and obvious,
Most people prefer the sidetracks.
While the courts are divided,
The fields are weedy
And the granaries are empty,
Some dress in showy clothes,
Wear sharp swords,
Eat and drink their fill,
And have wealth in excess.
This is robbing and bragging
And far indeed from Dao.
.....
54
What is well planted won't be uprooted.
What is well embraced won't be lost.
Each generation will serve and honor it.
See this in life,
And your virtue is real.
See it in the family,
And your virtue is ample.
See it in the community,
And your virtue is lasting.
See it in the country,
And your virtue is abundant.
See it in the world,
And your virtue is everywhere.
See other lives through your own
And other families, other communities,
And other countries through your own
See other worlds through your own.
How to perceive the nature of the world?
Through this-here-now!
.....
55
Holding virtue's wholeness,
One is like a newborn baby.
Poisonous insects do not sting.
Wild beasts do not pounce.
Birds of prey do not strike.
Despite weak bones and soft muscles,
Its grip is firm.
Not yet aware of male and female,
Its wholeness stands out.
Its vitality is complete.
It can scream all day and not get hoarse.
Harmony is at its peak.
Perceiving harmony is to see the constant.
Seeing the constant is to know clarity.
Enhancing life is to meet good fortune.
Living by the will may be called strength,
But when things grow strong,
They then grow old.
This isn't Dao.
What isn't Dao soon passes.
.....
56
Those who know do not speak.
Those who speak do not know.
Block the passages.
Close the doors.
Blunt the sharpness.
Loosen the tangles.
Soften the glare.
Unite with the dust.
Call this original oneness.
It can't be used to accept or reject.
It can't be used to profit or harm.
It can't be used to honor or humiliate.
Thus the world holds it high.
.....
57
One uses principle to rule a country.
And surprise to wage a battle,
But no effort at all to gain the world.
How do I know this is so?
Through this-here-now!
With so many restrictions in the world,
The people still grow poor.
People have effective tools
Yet the country remains confused.
People are clever and cunning,
Yet strange events occur all the time.
The laws are broadcast more and more,
Yet robbers and thieves abound.
Thus the seers declare:
I do nothing,
And people reform themselves.
I remain calm,
And people correct themselves.
I don't interfere,
And people enrich themselves.
I renounce desire,
And people simplify themselves.
.....
58
When the rule is subdued and muted,
The people are honest and sincere.
When the rule is able and exacting,
The people are hopeless and lacking.
Disaster depends on good fortune,
And good fortune hides in disaster.
Who knows where it ends?
If there is no fairness,
Order becomes impairment,
And benefit becomes calamity.
The people have long been confused.
Thus the seers say:
Define but don't divide.
Exact but don't damage.
Direct but don't strain.
Shine but don't dazzle.
.....
59
In ruling people and serving heaven,
There is nothing like frugality
Frugality calls for a timely commitment,
And with this comes abundant virtue.
With abundant virtue, all is possible.
When all is possible, one knows no limits.
Who knows no limits can hold the country.
Hold the country's mother to last forever.
Call this being deeply and firmly rooted
In a life-long vision of Dao.
.....
60
Rule a large country
As you would cook a small fish.
When the world is in tune with Dao,
Hostile intentions have no power
And cause no harm to others.
Seers likewise do no harm.
Thus virtue abides and no harm arises.
.....
61
A great country flows downstream
To where all the world meets
The world's female.
The female using calm
Always overcomes the male.
One uses calm to keep low.
Therefore, a great country keeps low
To win over the small country,
And a small country keeps low
To win over the great country.
Thus, one wins by bowing,
While the other bows and wins.
Great countries only want to unite
And support the people.
Smaller countries only want to join
And serve the people.
Both will get what they desire
When the great country is properly humble.
.....
62
Dao is the depth of all beings,
A treasure for the skilled,
A refuge for the unskilled.
Fine words can be used to barter.
Noble deeds can build renown.
But if people lack skill
Why reject their existence?
When a ruler is established
And the three ministers are installed,
Presenting large discs of jade
Drawn behind four horses
Is not equal to sitting still and offering Dao.
Why did the ancients values this Dao?
Was it not claimed that seekers will find
And faults will be forgiven?
Thus it is valued by all in the world.
.....
63
Do without doing.
Work without effort.
Savor without tasting.
Greatness is ordinary, and much is little.
Answer blame with virtue.
Plan the difficult while it is still easy.
Accomplish the great while it is still small.
In this world difficult affairs
Surely arise from easy ones.
In this world great affairs
Surely arise from small ones.
Seers are complete without acting great.
Thus they achieve their greatness.
Easy promises prompt little trust,
And too much ease bodes much trouble.
So seers expect difficulty
Yet have none in the end!
.....
64
What is calm is easy to hold.
What hasn't yet begun is easy to plan.
What is brittle is easy to break.
What is tiny is easy to scatter.
Take action from what doesn't exist.
Create order from what isn't confused.
A tree that fills your embrace
Grows from a tiny sprout.
A nine story tower
Rises from a heap of earth.
A journey of a thousand miles
Begins beneath your feet.
Act and you spoil it.
Grasp and you lose it.
Seers do nothing and thus spoil nothing,
Grasp nothing and thus lose nothing.
People often spoil matters
Just before completion.
With care at the end
As well as the beginning,
Affairs are not spoiled.
Thus seers desire no desires
And don't value rare goods.
They learn without study
And return to what others miss.
Helping all to find their own natures, ziran
They do not meddle.
.....
65
The ancients were skilled in following Dao
Not to make people bright,
But to keep them simple.
People are difficult to rule
When they are too clever.
Using cleverness to rule
Is a country's ruin.
Not using cleverness to rule
Is a country's boon.
To know these two is
Also to study the design.
To constantly study the design
Is called deep virtue.
Profound and remote indeed!
All beings turn around completely
And thus attain the grand accord.
.....
66
Rivers and seas command the valleys
Because they are good at keeping below,
Thus they command a hundred valleys.
Wanting to be above others,
One keeps oneself below them.
Wanting to be ahead of others,
One keeps oneself behind them.
This is how seers stay above
But do not burden others,
Stay ahead but do not harm others.
All the world gladly supports them
And never tires of it.
Because they don't contend
No one is able to contend with them.
.....
67
All the world calls my Dao great.
There is nothing like it.
It is great because it has no likeness.
If it had a likeness surely
It would have been diluted long ago.
I have three treasures.
The first is compassion.
The second is frugality.
The third is humility.
Compassion allows boldness.
Frugality allows generosity.
Humility allows enduring capacity.
To be bold without compassion,
To be generous without frugality,
To lead without humility,
These are deadly indeed!
With compassion the battle is won
And the defense is certain.
What heaven sustains
It protects with compassion.
.....
68
Skilled warriors are not aggressive.
Skilled fighters are not angry.
Skilled victors engage no foe.
Skilled leaders stay below.
Call it the virtue of not contending.
Call it using the power of others.
Call it being one with nature's original end.
.....
69
There is an adage in time of war:
We dare not act the host,
But act the guest instead.
Rather than advance an inch,
We withdraw a foot instead.
Call this to advance without marching,
To capture without arms,
To depose without a fight,
And to seize without weapons.
There is no greater disaster
Than to underrate the foe.
This can cost us our treasure.
When opposing forces meet
Victory goes to the side that grieves.
.....
70
My words are very easy to understand
And very easy to apply.
Yet no one can understand them,
And no one can apply them.
My words have an ancestor.
My deeds have a rule.
When people don't understand this,
They don't understand me.
Those who understand me are rare,
And to me they are precious.
Thus seers wear coarse clothing
While hiding jade within.
.....
71
Knowing one doesn't know is best.
Not knowing this is a delusion.
To be sick of this delusion is to end it.
Seers are not sick
Because they are sick of the delusion.
Thus they are not delusional.
.....
72
When people don't fear power,
Greater power is on the way.
Never confine their homes.
Never burden their lives.
Only when you do not burden them
Will they feel no burden.
Hence seers perceive the self
Without showing the self.
They esteem the self
Without exalting the self.
They dismiss that and prefer this.
.....
73
Courage to dare leads to death.
Courage not to dare leads to life.
Of these two, one benefits and one harms.
Heaven spurns one, and who knows why?
For this reason seers expect difficulties.
Heaven's Dao prevails without striving,
Responds without speaking,
Attracts without calling,
And plans at its ease.
Heaven's net is vast and wide.
Its mesh is loose,
Yet nothing slips through.
.....
74
If people don't fear death,
Why use death to threaten them?
Suppose they were always afraid of death
And still caused trouble.
We can detain them and kill them,
But who would dare?
There is an executioner to do the killing.
Taking the executioner's place in killing
Is like replacing the carpenter in carving.
In taking the place of the master carpenter,
Few will fail to cut their hand.
.....
75
The people go hungry
When their leaders tax too much.
This is why they go hungry.
The people are hard to rule
When their leaders meddle.
This is why they are hard to rule.
The people take death lightly
When their leaders crave life's riches.
This is why they take death lightly.
Only by not chasing after life
Are you good at valuing life.
.....
76
People are born soft and weak.
They die stiff and firm.
Plants are soft and supple while alive,
But dry and brittle when they die.
The stiff and firm are the friends of death,
The supple and soft are the friends of life.
This is why strong armies do not triumph,
And strong trees are cut down.
The strong and great belong below.
The soft and weak belong above.
.....
77
Heaven's Dao is like the bending of a bow.
What is high is lowered.
What is low is raised.
Where there is excess it is diminished.
Where there is not enough it is increased.
Heaven's Dao takes where there is excess
And gives where there is not enough.
Humanity's way is not like this.
It takes where there is not enough
And gives where there is plenty.
Who can offer their excess to the world?
Only those who have Dao.
This is why seers act but don't demand
And accomplish but don't dwell on it.
They have no desire to show their worth.
.....
78
Nothing is as soft and yielding as water.
Yet in attacking the rigid and strong,
It is unsurpassed.
This is by no means easy.
The weak overcomes the strong.
The soft overcomes the rigid.
Everyone knows this,
Yet no one applies it.
Thus the seers say:
Accept a country's humiliation.
Beome a master of the land and harvest.
Accept a country's misfortune.
Become a ruler of the world.
True words seem just the reverse.
.....
79
When great hostilities are reconciled,
Surely some hostility lingers.
How can this be considered good?
This is why seers take the debtor's part
And make no demands on others.
Those with virtue honor the contract.
Those without virtue assert their claim.
Nature's Dao has no favorites
But always favors people with skills.
.....
80
Small countries with few people!
Though they have hundreds of implements,
None of them are used.
Though they know death is coming,
They don't wander off.
Though they have boats and carriages,
They have no cause to use them.
Though they have arms and armor,
They have to cause to show them.
Let the people return to knotted cords
For keeping count.
Let them relish their food,
Admire their clothes,
Enjoy their dwellings,
And delight in their lives.
Though adjacent countries are so near
Their dogs and roosters can be heard,
People there grow old and die
Without ever visiting one another.
.....
81
True words are seldom eloquent.
Eloquent words are seldom true.
Worthy people rarely argue.
Those who argue are rarely worthy.
Perceptive people are seldom learned.
Learned people are seldom perceptive.
Seers don't hoard.
The more you help others,
The more you gain.
The more you support others,
The more you have.
The Dao of nature helps without harming.
The Dao of seers acts without contending.