Tao Te Ching

Tao Te Ching Chapter 1

1. The Tao that can be told is not the Tao; it can't be grasped by definition. 2. While all the world continues undivided, any definition makes a world of separate things. 3. Thus... Leave all notions and fly with this mystery. With your notions you are in your own way. 4. These are two polar ways to ride one wave, made different by wanting to explain. 5. Explore the unity underlying surface differences. This is the doorway to the unwritten subtlety of the Master.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 2

6. When the world identifies beauty, this defines ugliness. When we distinguish the righteous, this declares the corrupt. 7. In the same way... Something and nothing create each other. Difficult and easy explain each other. Long and short describe each other. High and low arrange each other. 8. Thus... Wise eyes don't wrap the world with fixed distinctions. The skillful path is not a set of strict instructions. 9. Ten thousand waves will come and they will go... 10. The Master opposes neither half of this process. 11. He creates but he doesn't possess; he acts but he doesn't expect; he achieves but he needn't profess. 12. So far as he doesn't dwell in these ways, he remains with the mystery.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 3

13. Without ideals, there is no striving. Without held treasures, there's no theft. Without desired visions, nothing's lacking. 14. Thus... The Master tames these desires, and is fulfilled. Curbs his enthusiasm, and stays poised. 15. He uproots fixed beliefs. Disrobes glorified ideas. 16. With not a thing to prove, things are ordered.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 4

17. The Tao pours forth... Ten thousand things rise with its motion. 18. And still all the while it goes on. 19. The pointed smoothes over. The tangled unwinds. The glaring fades. The dust settles. 20. Yet what a mystery it remains! 21. Who knows how all of this started? I can imagine nothing further.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 5

22. Nature holds no preference: it moves things around without passion. 23. The Master holds no preference: he'll treat any distinction this way. 24. See, even space... 25. Is it not like bellows? It's empty, and in this lies its power. The more it's moved, the more is produced...

26. Words aren't any good for understanding. They're nothing like the things to which they sign.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 6

27. The space for new creation doesn't end. 28. It's the female element; a basic part in every process. 29. Always there and ever-ready to receive.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 7

30. The endless skies, and our ancient ground... How are they so longstanding? 31. They're not a product of themselves. That's how their growth has been sustained. 32. In the same way... The Master puts back ideas of himself, and his person comes forth; loses himself, and his nature unfolds. 33. Is it not in this silence of self that he is fulfilled?

Tao Te Ching Chapter 8

34. Exceptional skill is like water. 35. Water adapts to wherever it is; its form is unforced. It flows with frustrations in places where people retreat. 36. And so falls into alignment with the Tao. 37. Thus... The Master's home? Earth. His mind? Ready. His speech? Direct. 38. His plan? Adjust. His work? Efficient. His action? ... Timely. 39. So far as no comparison is made

nothing now is out of place.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 9

40. Don't try to fill past the brim, know when to stop; an oversharpened blade is quick to blunt. 41. The room that's filled with wealth and gold won't ever be fully secured. 42. He who would have his deeds noticed undermines them himself. 43. Move on when the moment is over. There's no better way.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 10

44. An individual life and the world's unity who can bring them together? 45. When focused in effort, who can remain supple as a baby? 46. While seeing the world through a private lens, who can prevent action that's biased? 47. In loving and living with others, who can not over-impose? 48. As new doors open and close, who can avoid resisting? 49. With knowledge of consequences, who can keep from becoming too conscious? 50. The developing life... 51. Creates while not busy possessing; does while not busy expecting; inspires while not busy controlling. 52. In this lies untold power.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 11

53. We join thirty spokes at a wheel's hub;

the hole in the middle moves the cart. 54. We mould clay into a pot; the emptiness inside makes it useful. 55. We build walls to make a house; the space is where we live. 56. Adapt what is; make use of what is not.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 12

57. A five colour spectrum imprisons the eye. A five tone scale restricts the ear. A five flavour palate limits the tongue. 58. Expectations crowd the heart. Perfection consumes the mind. 59. Thus... The Master attends to what is; not ideas of the way things should be.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 13

60. Glory and shame: the same menace. Status and prestige: a reliable source of grief. 61. Why's that? 62. Glory sets up its own fall; when it fades, a man believes he's somehow less. 63. Prestige is rarely well rooted; when it's there, he fears the loss of something scarce. 64. Recognize the world grows your status, and you may be relied on as loyal. 65. Love the workings of the world as your own, and you may be trusted to command.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 14

66. Look for it - you won't find it; it's not hidden.

67. Listen for it - you won't hear it; it's not faint. 68. Grasp at it - you won't catch it; it's not there. 69. On their own, these three cannot reveal it. With their concert, a single act blooms. 70. It's not radiant. It's not dull. 71. Like an endless thread's length, it refuses definition, returning to non-thing-ness. 72. And so we arrive at odd names... The unformed form; a nothingness; void. 73. Ever-elusive and inexpressable, it is an un-image-inable mystery! 74. There is no face to meet, and no back to follow. 75. Take from its history, and master this moment. 76. Discover ancient patterns re-beginning. Like footprints of the Tao.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 15

77. When we study the skillful... 78. There's a subtlety that defies explanation; what they perceive can't be described. 79. Our descriptions can only speak of the way they appear... 80. So aware, as if crossing a frozen river. So enthused, as if enveloped in risk. So attentive, as if a humble guest. 81. So effortless, like ice becoming water. So natural, like uncarved wood. So open, like a great valley. So complete, everything interwoven.

82. Who can allow their own waters to clear? Who can not rush and trust action to rise by itself? 83. The man who is walking this path isn't trying to attain it. So far as there's no sense of arrival, he carries on.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 16

84. To be empty of everything leaves limitless peace. 85. All things begin, and erupt in their activity. 86. But then we ask, "Well what of their return?" 87. Each of them returns to how they were before beginning. The same stillness. 88. There is always the return... 89. In understanding this arrangement lies clarity. Those with faith in an escape from this arrangement excite foolish ambition and despair. 90. Not escaping ever-present patterns, a man stays open. 91. Open, thus non-wanting. Non-wanting, thus not constrained. Not constrained, thus natural. Natural, thus of the Tao. Of the Tao, thus free of known ends. 92. Besides... For who is not-being a problem?

Tao Te Ching Chapter 17

93. Exceptional leadership builds on understanding. 94. Other leadership builds on admiration. Other leadership builds on doubt and fear. Other leadership builds on hatred. 95. Where meanings don't meet,

there's nothing meaningful. 96. The Master understands this well. 97. He succeeds when people say, "We do it on our own."

Tao Te Ching Chapter 18

98. When the Tao no longer flows, there are rules of love and moral codes. 99. When wisdom is some learnable routine, deception begins to succeed. 100. When there's no peace within the family, there is honoring of names. 101. When disorder strikes a country, loyal ministers obtain.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 19

102. Throw away wisdom. Don't try to capture its technique. This is a hundred times more effective. 103. Forget the correct way to be. Don't look to make everything even. Enjoy the rhythm. 104. Lessen the special. Don't cultivate a need to be ahead. Do without the distraction. 105. Three good adjustments, yet no foundation. 106. As something to grow from... 107. Build towards simplicity; deal with what's essential; focus your goals; sharpen your technique.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 20

108. Forget by-the-book rigidity. Save yourself the worry.

109. Is there really such a difference between "good day to you, sir" and "hi"? 110. Does it matter? 111. Must everyone walk a single course? How ridiculous! 112. People seem enchanted, as if we're attending a feast. I'm still anchored in the blank wonder of a baby before it can speak. 113. Most seem absorbed in daily increase. What about the daily decrease? Hack away at the unessential: I must be a fool my mind is so empty! 114. Some like to shine. I don't mind being unseen. 115. Others seem settled and certain. I admit doubt and suspense. 116. Many seem fixed in their grooves. My path seems endlessly free. 117. And onward this goes... It doesn't rest, nowhere is safe. 118. While they try to trap the tides, I ride Her waves.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 21

119. The Master's only map is the Tao. He has not a thing to follow. 120. What is the Tao? How should I know...? 121. No chain of words ever holds it. Every image conceived just obscures it. 122. Outside unknowable depths, an unimagined rhythm. 123. Here right now, and throughout all ancient time, the same movement.

124. How can this movement be ours? Keep going.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 22

125. Before completion, things are unfinished. Before straightening, the path bends. 126. Before filling comes emptiness. Before renewal comes use. 127. Before opportunity comes limitation. Before burden comes too much to choose. 128. In this way... The Master perceives a whole world of non-division. 129. Not looking for something, his vision is clear. 130. Not striving after ideals, his path is free. 131. Not aiming at gratification, he finds success. 132. Not admiring the success, he goes further. 133. So far as nothing is opposed, opposition can't be met.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 23

134. Naturals are succinct. 135. The strongest winds aren't always blowing. The heaviest rain doesn't fall every day. 136. Nature moves these things too... Neither one is long sustained. 137. Why, then, would a man be different?

Tao Te Ching Chapter 24

138. The tallest stance is not the firmest. The longest stride is not the fastest.

139. Those who try to seem bright do not shine. Those who try to seem faultless make problems. 140. Only unapparent virtues need proclaiming. Only doubtful truths need defense. 141. The Tao needs no overstatement. The Master needs no pretense.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 25

142. A symphony without direction by which the world arises. 143. Flowing unheard. Standing unchanged. Playing always. 144. Like a Mother to all individual things... The that from which their entire motion springs. 145. Its name doesn't matter... It eludes every description, but I call it Tao. 146. If it must be described, I'd say limitless. 147. Limitless and momentary. Momentary and unreachable. 148. Reflections are all that's perceived. 149. Thus... The Tao is without limit, and the world is without limit. The Master, in turn, is without limit: 150. He unfolds with the Earth. Earth unfolds with the Heavens. The Heavens unfold with the Tao. 151. The Tao is going on.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 26

152. Find light roots beneath the weighty. Perfect being unmoved by chaos.

153. This way... The Master can go the whole day, and is not overwhelmed. 154. Even as things appear glorious, he remains undistracted. 155. But how lightly can great leaders take their actions? 156. When too light, they become detached. When too entangled, they become lost.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 27

157. The steps of expert movers can't be followed. The words of expert speakers can't be faulted. 158. The best-sealed container has no bolts or locks, and still it can't be opened. 159. The strongest bond uses no ropes or knots, and still it can't be broken. 160. Such is the mystery of expert methods. 161. In the same way... 162. The Master meets with any man; there's none that cannot fly. 163. Absorbed in situations, there's no exlusion; no outside. 164. In skillful practice... 165. Those above contribute vital inspiration. Those below brings indispensable support. 166. In discounting inspiration, or ignoring this support, no matter where a man would reach, he's lost his way. 167. This is fundamental.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 28

168. He who knows the male and keeps the female

creates ravines... 169. New space into which he keeps growing. 170. He who sees the figure and keeps the background frees his potential... 171. His progress does not become trapped. 172. He who knows the formal and keeps the free discovers great valleys... 173. Vast landscapes: raw power to be shaped. 174. Like the uncarved block... 175. Once fixed into shape for a purpose, this power has dispersed. 176. Practically speaking... 177. The Master's rise through new heights finds no rut when no finished fixed structure's been cut.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 29

178. There are those who want to grasp the world, and forge a picture to their liking. 179. I have never seen it work. 180. The magic of things is that you can't do that. 181. Those who want to fix everything do harm. Those who want to manage everything lose control. 182. See, the world has parts... Parts which lead. Parts which follow. Some parts loud. Some parts mellow. Parts with power. Parts without. Some build up. Some burn out.

183. Thus... The Master departs any template. He doesn't impose a particular style of unfolding.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 30

184. When those who lead nations accord with the Tao, every land is not conquered by force. 185. Force entails a state of opposition. 186. It seems... The path an army walks has many thorns. For years a field of war produces slower than before. 187. The Master moves to action as a tree gives rise to fruit. 188. And ventures no further. 189. He prevails but not for glory. Succeeds but not for show. Achieves but not for distinction. Guides but not for control. 190. Anything overgrown becomes frail. This can't be sustained.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 31

191. Weaponry is often magnificent, yet it signifies rivalry. 192. Thus... The Master stays rooted elsewhere. 193. When there's conflict, he is swift and composed. Beyond this his skill remains absent. 194. His fulfillment does not come by victory. 195. To thrive on victory is to thrive on conflict with others. 196. And that which thrives on conflict with others can't carry all life's momentum.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 32

197. The Tao is not a target. 198. An uncarved block seems like nothing, and yet nothing is more powerful. 199. To a leader who sustains it, things naturally attune, and his world joins in one direction. 200. When rules are introduced, there's a target. 201. When there's a target, the adept are always ready to depart. 202. Every tightly ordered path compares to Tao like tiny streams compare to seas.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 33

203. To understand another's path is clever. He who understands himself is free. 204. Mastering another's skill takes grit. He who grasps his own proceeds with ease. 205. Those who are determined are strong willed. He who has enough is rich. 206. Those who cling to life live long. He who's not forgotten still lives on.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 34

207. As the Tao flows in every direction... 208. Notice as all things grow with it... and it never opposes. 209. Witness its endless achievement... and it claims nothing. 210. See it lend weight to all things... and lord power over none. 211. Observe as it fixates on nothing...

and so remains simple. 212. Watch as all things play its parts without its controlling... and see it grow on. 213. Thus... The Master does not overvalue his own contribution. Thus his power to contribute remains in ascent.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 35

214. All the world is drawn to grand conceptions. Drawn to what secures and guarantees. 215. Rich and blissful visions take their prisoners. Talk of Tao seems bland compared to these! 216. Of what it speaks... 217. When looked for, no finished picture is there to be seen. 218. When listened for, no sacred sound is there to be heard. 219. And when applied, no solid promise is there to relieve.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 36

220. A rigid expansion relies on things shrinking. An inflexible force relies on things being weak. 221. An enforced structure guarantees suppression. A fixed way of being guarantees frustration. 222. For these reasons... 223. The gentle and adaptive is superior to the hard and unyielding. 224. This is subtlety.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 37

225. The Tao forces nothing,

yet nothing isn't done. 226. When powerful men sustain this path, things ripen on their own. 227. Though things are moving, fixed ideals spring up all over. 228. These are ready to be submerged by the formless course of the uncarved block. 229. The formless course of the uncarved block obeys no preference. 230. Free from notions of how to be stable, the world rearranges itself.

Tao Te Ching Interlude

i. This is not the end. There are 44 more chapters. I'm working on it. It's not that easy. ii. I realize now at this point. That I can stop talking like an old Chinese man with a beard. iii. ... iv. I want everyone to be able to throw all the chapters of this old man's wisdom away. v. Normally... This work would be made into a book, and sold. vi. Instead... If you find this to be of some value, or in other words, if you think I've earned it, please support me with a small contribution.

vii.

viii. Your encouragement is hugely appreciated.

ix. Thank you!

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