Tao Te Ching
Written by Lao Tzu
Translated by S. Mitchell
Poems 21-40
21
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. How do I know this is true? I look inside myself and see.
22
If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to
become straight, let yourself be crooked. If you want to become full, let yourself be
empty. If you want to be reborn, let yourself die. If you want to be given everything,
give everything up.
The Master, by residing in the Tao, sets an example for all beings.
Because he doesn't display himself, people can see his light. Because he has nothing to
prove, people can trust his words. Because he doesn't know who he is, people recognize
themselves in him. Because he has no goad in mind, everything he does succeeds.
When the ancient Masters said, "If you want to be given everything,
give everything up," they weren't using empty phrases. Only in being lived by the Tao
can you be truly yourself.
23
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.
24
He who stands on tiptoe doesn't stand firm. He who rushes ahead doesn't
go far. He who tries to shine dims his own light. He who defines himself can't know who he
really is. He who has power over others can't empower himself. He who clings to his work
will create nothing that endures.
If you want to accord with the Tao, just do your job, then let go.
25
There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born.
It is serene. Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present. It is the mother
of the universe. For lack of a better name, I call it the Tao.
It flows through all things, inside and outside, and returns to the
origin of all things.
The Tao is great. The universe is great. Earth is great. Man is great.
These are the four great powers.
Man follows the earth. Earth follows the universe. The universe follows
the Tao. The Tao follows only itself.
26
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.
27
A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. A
good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants. A good scientist has freed
himself of concepts and keeps his mind open to what is.
Thus the Master is available to all people and doesn't reject anyone. He
is ready to use all situations and doesn't waste anything. This is called embodying the
light.
What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good
man's job? If you don't understand this, you will get lost, however intelligent you are.
It is the great secret.
28
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 the block: thus she can use all things.
29
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.
30
Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men doesn't try to force issues
or defeat enemies by force of arms. For every force there is a counterforce. Violence,
even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.
The Master does his job and then stops. He understands that the universe
is forever out of control, and that trying to dominate events goes against the current of
the Tao. Because he believes in himself, he doesn't try to convince others. Because he is
content with himself, he doesn't need others' approval. Because he accepts himself, the
whole world accepts him.
31
Weapons are the tools of violence; all decent men detest them.
Weapons are the tools of fear; a decent man will avoid them except in
the direst necessity and, if compelled, will use them only with the utmost restraint.
Peace is his highest value. If the peace has been shattered, how can he be content? His
enemies are not demons, but human beings like himself. He doesn't wish them personal harm.
Nor does he rejoice in victory. How could he rejoice in victory and delight in the
slaughter of men?
He enters a battle gravely, with sorrow and with great compassion, as if
he were attending a funeral.
32
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.
33
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.
If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich. If you stay in
the center and embrace death with your whole heart, you will endure forever.
34
The great Tao flows everywhere. All things are born from it, yet it
doesn't create them. It pours itself into its work, yet it makes no claim. It nourishes
infinite worlds, yet it doesn't hold on to them. Since it is merged with all things and
hidden in their hearts, it can be called humble. Since all things vanish into it and it
alone endures, it can be called great. It isn't aware of its greatness; thus it is truly
great.
35
She who is centered in the Tao can go where she wishes, without danger.
She perceives the universal harmony, even amid great pain, because she has found peace in
her heart.
Music or the smell of good cooking may make people stop and enjoy. But
words that point to the Tao seem monotonous and without flavor. When you look for it,
there is nothing to see. When you listen for it, there is nothing to hear. When you use
it, it is inexhaustible.
36
If you want to shrink something, you must first allow it to expand. If
you want to get rid of something, you must first allow it to flourish. If you want to take
something, you must first allow it to be given. This is called the subtle perception of
the way things are.
The soft overcomes the hard. The slow overcomes the fast. Let your
workings remain a mystery. Just show people the results.
37
The Tao never does anything, yet through it all things are done.
If powerful men and women could venter themselves in it, the whole world
would be transformed by itself, in its natural rhythms. People would be content with their
simple, everyday lives, in harmony, and free of desire.
When there is no desire, all things are at peace.
38
The Master doesn't try to be powerful; thus he is truly powerful. The
ordinary man keeps reaching for power; thus he never has enough.
The Master does nothing, yet he leaves nothing undone. The ordinary man
is always doing things, yet many more are left to be done.
The kind man does something, yet something remains undone. The just man
does something, and leaves many things to be done. The moral man does something, and when
no one responds he rolls up his sleeves and uses force.
When the Tao is lost, there is goodness. When goodness is lost, there is
morality. When morality is lost, there is ritual. Ritual is the husk of true faith, the
beginning of chaos.
Therefore the Master concerns himself with the depths and not the
surface, with the fruit and not the flower. He has no will of his own. He dwells in
reality, and lets all illusions go.
39
In harmony with the Tao, the sky is clear and spacious, the earth is
solid and full, all creature flourish together, content with the way they are, endlessly
repeating themselves, endlessly renewed.
When man interferes with the Tao, the sky becomes filthy, the earth
becomes depleted, the equilibrium crumbles, creatures become extinct.
The Master views the parts with compassion, because he understands the
whole. His constant practice is humility. He doesn't glitter like a jewel but lets himself
be shaped by the Tao, as rugged and common as stone.
40
Return is the movement of the Tao. Yielding is the way of the Tao.
All things are born of being. Being is born of non-being.
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