Tao te ching_ annotated & explained - Derek Lin [13]
Governing with great administration5
Handling with great capability6
Moving with great timing7
Because it does not contend
It is therefore beyond reproach8
9
Holding a cup and overfilling it
Cannot be as good as stopping short
Pounding a blade and sharpening it
Cannot be kept for long1
Gold and jade fill up the room
No one is able to protect them
Wealth and position bring arrogance
And leave disasters upon oneself2
When achievement is completed, fame is attained
Withdraw oneself3
This is the Tao of Heaven
10
In holding the soul and embracing oneness
Can one be steadfast, without straying?1
In concentrating the energy and reaching relaxation
Can one be like an infant?2
In cleaning away the worldly view
Can one be without imperfections?
In loving the people and ruling the nation
Can one be without manipulation?3
In the heavenly gate’s opening and closing
Can one hold to the feminine principle?4
In understanding clearly all directions
Can one be without intellectuality?
Bearing it, rearing it
Bearing without possession
Achieving without arrogance
Raising without domination
This is called the Mystic Virtue5
11
Thirty spokes join in one hub
In its emptiness, there is the function of a vehicle1
Mix clay to create a container
In its emptiness, there is the function of a container2
Cut open doors and windows to create a room
In its emptiness, there is the function of a room
Therefore, that which exists is used to create benefit
That which is empty is used to create functionality3
12
The five colors make one blind in the eyes
The five sounds make one deaf in the ears1
The five flavors make one tasteless in the mouth2
Racing and hunting make one wild in the heart
Goods that are difficult to acquire make one cause damage
Therefore the sages care for the stomach and not the eyes
That is why they discard the other and take this3
13
Favor and disgrace make one fearful
The greatest misfortune is the self
What does “favor and disgrace make one fearful” mean?
Favor is high; disgrace is low
Having it makes one fearful
Losing it makes one fearful
This is “favor and disgrace make one fearful”1
What does “the greatest misfortune is the self” mean?
The reason I have great misfortune
Is that I have the self
If I have no self
What misfortune do I have?2
So one who values the self as the world
Can be given the world
One who loves the self as the world3
Can be entrusted with the world
14
Look at it, it cannot be seen
It is called colorless
Listen to it, it cannot be heard
It is called noiseless
Reach for it, it cannot be held
It is called formless1
These three cannot be completely unraveled
So they are combined into one2
Above it, not bright
Below it, not dark3
Continuing endlessly, cannot be named
It returns back into nothingness
Thus it is called the form of the formless
The image of the imageless4
This is called enigmatic
Confront it, its front cannot be seen
Follow it, its back cannot be seen5
Wield the Tao of the ancients
To manage the existence of today6
One can know the ancient beginning
It is called the Tao Axiom
15
The Tao masters of antiquity
Subtle wonders through mystery
Depths that cannot be discerned
Because one cannot discern them
Therefore one is forced to describe the appearance1
Hesitant, like crossing a wintry river
Cautious, like fearing four neighbors
Solemn, like a guest2
Loose, like ice about to melt3
Genuine, like plain wood4
Open, like a valley5
Opaque, like muddy water6
Who can be muddled yet desist
In stillness gradually become clear?7
Who can be serene yet persist
In motion gradually come alive?8
One who holds this Tao does not wish to be overfilled
Because one is not overfilled
Therefore one can preserve and not create anew9
16
Attain the ultimate emptiness
Hold on to the truest tranquility
The myriad things are all active
I therefore watch their return1
Everything flourishes; each returns to its root
Returning to the root is