THE TAO TEH KING, OR THE TAO AND ITS

THE TAO TEH KING, OR THE TAO AND ITS

CHARACTERISTICS

by Lao-Tse

translated by James Legge

PART 1.

Ch. 1. 1. The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and

unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring

and unchanging name.

2. (Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven

and earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all

things.

3. Always without desire we must be found,

If its deep mystery we would sound;

But if desire always within us be,

Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.

4. Under these two aspects, it is really the same; but as development

takes place, it receives the different names. Together we call them

the Mystery. Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that

is subtle and wonderful.

2. 1. All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing

this they have (the idea of) what ugliness is; they all know the skill

of the skilful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what the

want of skill is.

2. So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to

(the idea of) the other; that difficulty and ease produce the one (the

idea of) the other; that length and shortness fashion out the one the

figure of the other; that (the ideas of) height and lowness arise from

the contrast of the one with the other; that the musical notes and

tones become harmonious through the relation of one with another;

and that being before and behind give the idea of one following

another.

3. Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything, and

conveys his instructions without the use of speech.

4. All things spring up, and there is not one which declines to show

itself; they grow, and there is no claim made for their ownership;

they go through their processes, and there is no expectation (of a

reward for the results). The work is accomplished, and there is no

resting in it (as an achievement).

The work is done, but how no one can see;

'Tis this that makes the power not cease to be.

3. 1. Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to

keep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles

which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming

thieves; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is

the way to keep their minds from disorder.

2. Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties

their minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens

their bones.

3. He constantly (tries to) keep them without knowledge and without

desire, and where there are those who have knowledge, to keep them

from presuming to act (on it). When there is this abstinence from

action, good order is universal.

4. 1. The Tao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in our

employment of it we must be on our guard against all fulness. How

deep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the Honoured Ancestor of

all things!

2. We should blunt our sharp points, and unravel the complications of

things; we should attemper our brightness, and bring ourselves into

agreement with the obscurity of others. How pure and still the Tao

is, as if it would ever so continue!

3. I do not know whose son it is. It might appear to have been before

God.

5. 1. Heaven and earth do not act from (the impulse of) any wish to be

benevolent; they deal with all things as the dogs of grass are dealt

with. The sages do not act from (any wish to be) benevolent; they

deal with the people as the dogs of grass are dealt with.

2. May not the space between heaven and earth be compared to a

bellows?

'Tis emptied, yet it loses not its power;

'Tis moved again, and sends forth air the more.

Much speech to swift exhaustion lead we see;

Your inner being guard, and keep it free.

6. The valley spirit dies not, aye the same;

The female mystery thus do we name.

Its gate, from which at first they issued forth,

Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.

Long and unbroken does its power remain,

Used gently, and without the touch of pain.

7. 1. Heaven is long-enduring and earth continues long. The reason

why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is

because they do not live of, or for, themselves. This is how they are

able to continue and endure.

2. Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in

the foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him,

and yet that person is preserved. Is it not because he has no

personal and private ends, that therefore such ends are realised?

8. 1. The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence

of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying,

without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men

dislike. Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao.

2. The excellence of a residence is in (the suitability of) the place;

that of the mind is in abysmal stillness; that of associations is in

their being with the virtuous; that of government is in its securing

good order; that of (the conduct of) affairs is in its ability; and

that of (the initiation of) any movement is in its timeliness.

3. And when (one with the highest excellence) does not wrangle

(about his low position), no one finds fault with him.

9. 1. It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to

carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has been

sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness.

2. When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them

safe. When wealth and honours lead to arrogancy, this brings its evil

on itself. When the work is done, and one's name is becoming

distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven.

10. 1. When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one

embrace, they can be kept from separating. When one gives

undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost

degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) babe. When he has

cleansed away the most mysterious sights (of his imagination), he

can become without a flaw.

2. In loving the people and ruling the state, cannot he proceed

without any (purpose of) action? In the opening and shutting of his

gates of heaven, cannot he do so as a female bird? While his

intelligence reaches in every direction, cannot he (appear to) be

without knowledge?

3. (The Tao) produces (all things) and nourishes them; it produces

them and does not claim them as its own; it does all, and yet does not

boast of it; it presides over all, and yet does not control them.

This is what is called 'The mysterious Quality' (of the Tao).