55.
The power of soundness
Draw all strength from yourself only,
like a newborn child.
Hornets, scorpions, snakes,
Will not sting it.
Wild beasts do not pounce on it,
Birds of prey do not put their claws in it.
Weak bones, frail tendons they have,
And yet so strong their grip.
Without being able to comprehend,
How it came into the world,
And yet made in its entirety,
The pinnacle of life force.
Crying day and night
Without getting hoarse,
The pinnacle of harmony.
Understanding harmony is also called eternity.
Understanding eternity is also called,
Enlightenment.
Forcing your way through life,
This is called the invitation of disasters.
Wasting life force on obsession,
This is called violence.
All beings fully grown,
Start to decline.
The less on the path,
The earlier their end.
含德之厚，
比於赤子。
蜂蠆虺蛇不螫，
猛獸不據，
攫鳥不搏。
骨弱筋柔而握固。
未知牝牡之合而全作，
精之至也。
終日號而不嗄，
和之至也。
知和曰常，
知常曰明，
益生曰祥。
心使氣曰強。
物壯則老，
謂之不道，
不道早已。
☯️
56.
Silent enlightenment
You don't always have to speak to know.
And those who always speak often do not know.
Lock your lips tight,
Close the gate:
A softening for sharpness,
Knots come loose.
It softens the dazzling glare,
To see the sands of existence.
The Mystery of unifying,
As it is known.
You cannot own it by being close to it.
You cannot own it by being far from it.
You cannot own it through profits.
You cannot own it through violence.
You cannot own it by extolling it.
You cannot own it by offending it.
Most precious treasure on Earth.
知者不言，
言者不知。
塞其兑，
閉其門，
挫其銳，
解其分，
和其光，
同其塵，
是謂玄同。
故不可得而親，
不可得而踈；
不可得而利，
不可得而害；
不可得而貴，
不可得而賤。
故為天下貴。
☯️
57.
Quiet, simple righteousness
With righteousness instead of law,
And knowledge instead of weapons,
Conquer the world with the immaterial.
How do I know it is so?
Because of this:
The more taboos,
The more poverty.
The more machinelike people become,
The more confused the homeland.
The more ingenious the deceptions,
How many more bizarre phenomena.
The more laws are written,
The more thieves and robbers.
The wise say:
I don’t get involved,
And yet people get out of it themselves.
I prefer only silence,
And yet one spontaneously becomes virtuous.
I have no business,
And yet people naturally become prosperous.
I don't want for myself,
And yet I reach the essence of individuality.
以正治國，
以奇用兵，
以無事取天下。
吾何以知其然哉？
以此：
天下多忌諱，
而民彌貧；
民多利器，
國家滋昏；
人多伎巧，
奇物滋起；
法令滋彰，
盜賊多有。
故聖人云：
我無為，
而民自化；
我好靜，
而民自正；
我無事，
而民自富；
我無欲，
而民自樸。
☯️
58.
A gentle lead
Whose leadership leaves the people in freedom,
Fosters a sincere people.
Whose leadership controls and spies,
Gets a divided and misleading people.
Unfortunately,
Misfortune is on the foundation of prosperity,
Unfortunately,
Good luck is the hideout of bad luck.
Who knows the supreme?
Leading without a guide?
Principles, once twisted, become bizarre.
Goodwill, once twisted, becomes rottenness.
The days of the illusion of men,
Have been going on for a long time.
It is therefore that wise people,
Are outspoken without being offensive,
Shrewd but not piercingly so,
Straight forward but never cheeky,
Brilliant, but never dazzling.
其政悶悶，
其民淳淳；
其政察察，
其民缺缺。
禍兮福之所倚，
福兮禍之所伏。
孰知其極？
其無正。
正復為奇，
善復為妖。
人之迷，
其日固久。
是以聖人方而不割，
廉而不劌，
直而不肆，
光而不燿。
☯️
59.
Moderation
In ruling the land and serving heaven,
What can ever excel moderation?
Only moderation deserves being titled
The duty of prudence.
The duty of prudence,
Is nothing less than the extensive cultivation,
Of virtue.
To cultivate and grow your virtue extensively,
What can compete?
If it reaches beyond the all-encompassing,
Then nobody knows the limit.
And as soon as one sees,
The limitlessness of oneself,
Can one only begin to master it.
When the limits are far,
Beyond what you can see,
Mastery starts.
Then your mastery will endure,
With motherly flair.
This is what they call:
Deeply rooted with firm foundation,
The way of longevity.
治人事天莫若嗇。
夫唯嗇，
是謂早服；
早服謂之重積德；
重積德則無不克；
無不克則莫知其極；
莫知其極，
可以有國；
有國之母，
可以長久；
是謂深根固柢，
長生久視之道。
☯️
60.
Cooperation
Large-scale governance,
Is much like frying small fish.
Approach everything,
Based on the Dao.
Negative energy doesn't linger long,
But likewise,
Also positive energy,
Won't stick around awfully long.
And so too the wise,
Don’t impose on people exceedingly long.
Because both energies,
Do not harm each other.
That's their strength,
Variety.
治大國若烹小鮮。
以道蒞天下，
其鬼不神；
非其鬼不神，
其神不傷人；
非其神不傷人，
聖人亦不傷人。
夫兩不相傷，
故德交歸焉。
☯️
61.
First servant
When the greatest countries flow down,
Doing so connects the world,
Based on the feminine aspect of the earth.
The peace of femininity lies in,
Leaving victory to the masculine.
It is the calm that comes from passivity.
When big countries place themselves,
Under the small,
They overcome them.
Small countries in turn conquer by,
Putting themselves underneath.
Some are at the bottom to overcome,
Others maintain the victor’s position.
Big countries want nothing more than to bring
people together.
Small countries want nothing more than to serve
others.
Both get what they want.
Humble are the great.
大國者下流，
天下之交，
天下之牝。
牝常以靜勝牡，
以靜為下。
故大國以下小國，
則取小國；
小國以下大國，
則取大國。
故或下以取，
或下而取。
大國不過欲兼畜人，
小國不過欲入事人。
夫兩者各得其所欲，
大者宜為下。
☯️
62.
Refuge
The Way is the refuge of all that lives,
A treasure for the kindhearted,
And a shield against the malicious.
Nice words at the negotiating table,
Great deeds fit for boasting,
Far from being kind.
Then what is it worth?
When an emperor ascends to the throne,
And the three ministers are selected,
The jade discs are clasped with both hands,
Followed by a parade of four-horse carriages.
To enter the Dao, meanwhile,
Sitting still is enough.
Why was the Dao worshiped in times gone by?
Isn’t it said:
Search and you will find?
Whosoever has debt will be forgiven?
Forever the world's greatest treasure.
道者萬物之奧。
善人之寶，
不善人之所保。
美言可以市，
尊行可以加人。
人之不善，
何棄之有？
故立天子，
置三公，
雖有拱璧以先駟馬，
不如坐進此道。
古之所以貴此道者何？
不曰：
以求得，
有罪以免耶？
故為天下貴。
☯️
63.
Lightness of being
Do nothing.
Keep busy without keeping busy.
Taste without tasting.
Find the big in the small,
See the many in the little,
Refute contempt with inner strength.
Do the hard while it's still easy,
Tackle the big while it's still small.
All the hard things in the world,
Come from the easy.
The greatest things in the world,
Come from the small.
Ultimately the wise,
Achieve their big goals,
Without any influence on great things.
Empty, hard to believe promises,
And making things too easy on yourself,
Only attracts difficulties.
Therefore, the wise handle all things,
As if difficult,
So that there is no difficulty for them.
為無為，
事無事，
味無味。
大小多少，
報怨以德。
圖難於其易，
為大於其細；
天下難事，
必作於易，
天下大事，
必作於細。
是以聖人終不為大，
故能成其大。
夫輕諾必寡信，
多易必多難。
是以聖人猶難之，
故終無難矣。
☯️
