The                                          The                                        The                                                The                                             The                                           The                                           The                                            The

Chapter 75 The people's hunger Is due to the excess of their ruler's taxation So they starve The people's difficulty in being governed Is due to the meddling of their ruler So they are difficult to govern The people's disregard for death Is due to the glut in their ruler's pursuit of life So they disregard death Therefore those who do not strive for living Are better than those who value living Chapter 76 While alive, the body is soft and pliant When dead, it is ha

Chapter 67 Everyone in the world calls my Tao great As if it is beyond compare It is only because of its greatness That it seems beyond compare If it can be compared It would already be insignificant long ago! I have three treasures I hold on to them and protect them The first is called compassion The second is called conservation The third is called not daring to be ahead in the world Compassionate, thus able to have courage Conserving, thus able to reach widely

Chapter 57 Govern a country with upright integrity Deploy the military with surprise tactics Take the world with non-interference How do I know this is so? With the following: When there are many restrictions in the world The people become more impoverished When people have many sharp weapons The country becomes more chaotic When people have many clever tricks More strange things occur The more laws are posted The more robbers and thieves there are Therefore the sa

Chapter 48 Pursue knowledge, daily gain Pursue Tao, daily loss Loss and more loss Until one reaches unattached action With unattached action, there is nothing one cannot do Take the world by constantly applying non-interference The one who interferes is not qualified to take the world. Chapter 49 The sages have no constant mind They take the mind of the people as their mind Those who are good, I am good to them Those who are not good, I am also good to them Thus the v

Chapter 38 High virtue is not virtuous Therefore it has virtue Low virtue never loses virtue Therefore it has no virtue High virtue takes no contrived action And acts without agenda Low virtue takes contrived action And acts with agenda High benevolence takes contrived action And acts without agenda High righteousness takes contrived action And acts with agenda High etiquette takes contrived action And upon encountering no response Uses arms to pull others The

Chapter 28 Know the masculine, hold to the feminine Be the watercourse of the world Being the watercourse of the world The eternal virtue does not depart Return to the state of the infant Know the white, hold to the black Be the standard of the world Being the standard of the world The eternal virtue does not deviate Return to the state of the boundless Know the honor, hold to the humility Be the valley of the world Being the valley of the world The eternal virtu

Chapter 19 End sagacity; abandon knowledge The people benefit a hundred times End benevolence; abandon righteousness The people return to piety and charity End cunning; discard profit Bandits and thieves no longer exist These three things are superficial and insufficient Thus this teaching has its place: Show plainness; hold simplicity Reduce selfishness; decrease desires Chapter 20 Cease learning, no more worries Respectful response and scornful response How much is

Chapter 10 In holding the soul and embracing oneness Can one be steadfast, without straying? In concentrating the energy and reaching relaxation Can one be like an infant? In cleaning away the worldly view Can one be without imperfections? In loving the people and ruling the nation Can one be without manipulation? In the heavenly gate's opening and closing Can one hold to the feminine principle? In understanding clearly all directions Can one be without intellectua

Chapter 1 The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named is not the eternal name The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth The named is the mother of myriad things Thus, constantly without desire, one observes its essence Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations These two emerge together but differ in name The unity is said to be the mystery Mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders Chapter 2 When the world knows b