19.
The freedom of sobriety
Throw out solemnity,
Reject cunning.
This is what will help people,
A hundred times the better.
People can find their sanctuary,
In taking care of those who have taken care of
them,
And receiving their love.
Throw out cleverness,
Reject negotiations.
Thieves and looters,
No longer have any bearing.
These three don’t yet paint,
The full picture.
So, pay attention to the following:
Be raw,
Embrace simplicity,
Lessen self-gratification.
Extinguish desires.
Do not try to make every piece of knowledge
useful.
In this way leave all worries behind.
絕聖棄智，
民利百倍；
絕仁棄義，
民復孝慈；
絕巧棄利，
盜賊無有。
此三者以為文不足。
故令有所屬：
見素抱樸，
少私寡欲。
☯️
20.
Worldly people, wise people
Take for instance:
“How can I help?”
And,
“What’s wrong?”
The same, but so different.
Now take good and bad.
Are they different,
In the same way?
When someone allows fear,
And then isn’t capable of
Being without fear.
So far away still,
From the end of loneliness.
Most people are so happy,
As if on the verge of feasting on a buffet,
After climbing the terraces during spring.
Meanwhile I’m sitting still,
As if I haven’t gotten the sign to go.
As a newborn child,
Not yet having learned to smile.
Lost and without purpose,
As though I don’t have a home to return to.
Most people live in abundance,
While I content myself with scraps.
Yet I, a simple soul such as myself, am also here!
Even though confused and troubled.
Shining and splendid the common people.
Yet I remain so dark and sinister,
Strict and discerning the common people.
Yet I struggle in sadness and guilt.
Blowing ever along,
As if in the middle of the ocean.
Drifting and floating,
As if without a destination.
Many plans and means the common people
have,
Meanwhile I’m rusted in place as though I’m a
distant woodcutter.
But as deeply lonely in my difference,
So immense is my love for the mother of all,
Nature itself.
絕學無憂，
唯之與阿，
相去幾何？
善之與惡，
相去若何？
人之所畏，
不可不畏。
荒兮其未央哉！
衆人熙熙，
如享太牢，
如春登臺。
我獨怕兮其未兆；
如嬰兒之未孩；
儽儽兮若無所歸。
衆人皆有餘，
而我獨若遺。
我愚人之心也哉！
沌沌兮，
俗人昭昭，
我獨若昏。
俗人察察，
我獨悶悶。
澹兮其若海，
飂兮若無止，
衆人皆有以，
而我獨頑似鄙。
我獨異於人，
而貴食母。
☯️
21.
Inscrutable Dao
The force within emptiness:
It follows only the Dao,
When the Dao acts,
Always it is vague,
Always it is elusive.
So vague,
So elusive,
Even containing many forms and images.
So vague,
So elusive,
Even containing many entities and creatures.
So distant,
So unfathomable.
Even containing all essence.
Essence of the highest truth.
Essence of the authenticity therein.
Since ancient times,
To this day,
The name has never been forgotten:
Dao.
Containing the means,
To behold the source.
How indeed can one know,
The source of all?
Only deep within.
孔德之容，
唯道是從。
道之為物，
唯恍唯惚。
忽兮恍兮，
其中有象；
恍兮忽兮，
其中有物。
窈兮冥兮，
其中有精；
其精甚真，
其中有信。
自古及今，
其名不去，
以閱衆甫。
吾何以知衆甫之狀哉？
以此。
☯️
22.
The wisdom of flexibility
In part,
Implies completeness.
Crooked,
Implies straightness.
Empty,
Implies filled.
Old,
Implies new.
Scarcity,
Implies enlightenment.
Abundance,
Implies confusion.
Therefor the wise embrace the One.
Take this therefore as the world’s example:
Not self-centered.
And enlightened.
Not directed at itself,
And shining.
Not showing off,
And accomplishing all.
Not praising itself,
And endures.
曲則全，
枉則直，
窪則盈，
弊則新，
少則得，
多則惑。
是以聖人抱一為天下式。
不自見，
故明；
不自是，
故彰；
不自伐，
故有功；
不自矜，
故長。
夫唯不爭，
故天下莫能與之爭。
古之所謂曲則全者，
豈虛言哉！
誠全而歸之。
☯️
23.
The durability of the path
Little words,
In nature.
A whirlwind thus rages,
No longer than the morning.
A downpour does not last,
An entire day.
What is behind this?
Heaven and Earth.
If Heaven and Earth cannot endure,
How will Humanity?
Let therefore all things,
Rest on the Dao.
To follow the path is to become the path.
To follow virtue is to become one with virtue.
To follow loss is to become one with loss.
Happy to be absorbed,
Becoming one with loss,
Notice loss’s eagerness to accommodate you.
Is not confidence reached,
Through confidence?
希言自然，
故飄風不終朝，
驟雨不終日。
孰為此者？
天地。
天地尚不能久，
而況於人乎？
故從事於道者，
道者，
同於道；
德者，
同於德；
失者，
同於失。
同於道者，
道亦樂得之；
同於德者，
德亦樂得之；
同於失者，
失亦樂得之。
信不足，
焉有不信焉。
☯️
24.
Avoid complexity
Always tiptoeing,
Far from being stable.
Parading and stomping around,
Far from being smooth.
Overly self-aware,
Far from shining.
Overly complacent,
Far from clarity.
Always showing off,
Far from successful.
Continuous self-praising,
Far from growing.
Dao says:
Eating too much,
Uncontrolled behavior,
Can offend.
Travelers,
Stay on the path,
Keep moving.
企者不立；
跨者不行；
自見者不明；
自是者不彰；
自伐者無功；
自矜者不長。
其在道也，
曰：餘食贅行。
物或惡之，
故有道者不處。
☯️
25.
The greatness of Dao
There existed being,
Opaque yet perfect,
Before Heaven and Earth began.
So quiet!
And so empty!
It was unto itself.
Unchanging.
Turning, churning,
Moving,
Inexhaustible.
See it as the mother of all things.
As I do not know its name,
Dao is what I call it.
If I must describe it,
I can only say: great.
Great, in the sense of unrelenting.
Unrelenting, in the sense of far-reaching.
Far-reaching, in the sense of already returning.
Therefor,
The greatness of Dao and Heaven,
The greatness of Earth and its masters,
In the center are the four greats,
To govern is just one.
Man follows Earth,
Earth follows Heaven,
Heaven follows Dao,
Dao follows its nature.
有物混成，
先天地生。
寂兮寥兮，
獨立不改，
周行而不殆，
可以為天下母。
吾不知其名，
字之曰道，
強為之名曰大。
大曰逝，
逝曰遠，
遠曰反。
故道大，
天大，
地大，
王亦大。
域中有四大，
而王居其一焉。
人法地，
地法天，
天法道，
道法自然。
☯️
26.
Serene
Heaviness lies in the essence of lightness.
It is calm that masters restlessness.
The wise walk therefor all day,
Without leaving heavy baggage behind.
Even when passing breathtaking landscapes,
The wise remain calm,
And rise above without effort.
How can one own a thousand war machines,
Be so attached to oneself,
Yet so detached from nature.
Disconnected from heaven and earth,
Lost to the source of humankind.
Restlessness,
Lost to self-control.
重為輕根，
靜為躁君。
是以聖人終日行不離輜重。
雖有榮觀，
燕處超然。
奈何萬乘之主，
而以身輕天下？
輕則失本，
躁則失君。
☯️
27.
True skillmanship
A skilled walker,
Doesn’t leave any trace.
A skilled speaker,
Doesn’t leave anyone feeling hurt.
A skilled calculator,
Doesn’t need any table or abacus.
A skilled lockmaker,
Doesn’t need rods or latches,
To make it impregnable.
A skilled binder,
Doesn’t need ropes or knots,
To make it inseparable.
The wise are therefor,
Always prepared to help people,
Without leaving one behind.
Always prepared to help animals,
Without leaving them behind.
This is called following clarity.
Take therefore the benevolent,
As guides for the narrowminded.
Take therefor the narrowminded,
As challenge to the benevolent.
This guidance,
This challenge,
To not honor them,
Is a great illusion.
善行無轍迹，
善言無瑕讁；
善數不用籌策；
善閉無關楗而不可開，
善結無繩約而不可解。
是以聖人常善救人，
故無棄人；
常善救物，
故無棄物。
是謂襲明。
故善人者，
不善人之師；
不善人者，
善人之資。
不貴其師，
不愛其資，
雖智大迷，
是謂要妙。
☯️
