Translated by Man-Ho Kwok,
Martin Palmer, and Jay Ramsay

The Tao that can be talked about is not the true Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

Everything in the universe comes out of Nothing.
Nothing - the nameless is the beginning;
While Heaven, the mother is the creatrix of all things.

Follow the nothingness of the Tao,
and you can be like it, not needing anything,
seeing the wonder and the root of everything.

And even if you cannot grasp this nothingness,
you can still see something of the Tao in everything.
These two are the same only called by different names
- and both are mysterious and wonderful.

All mysteries are Tao, and Heaven is their mother;
She is the gateway and the womb-door.

Beauty and mercy are only recognized by people
Because they know the opposite, which is ugly and mean.

If the people think they know goodness
Then all they really know is what evil is like!

Nothing, and Heaven share the same root -
Difficulty and ease are a part of all work.

The long and the short are in your hands,
Above and below exist because they each do,
What you want and what you say should be the same...
Neither future nor past can exist alone.

The sage has no attachment to anything,
and he therefore does what is right without speaking
by simply being in the Tao.

Life, all life began without words.
Life is made - and no one owns it.
The Tao is neither selfish nor proud.

The Tao is generous and graceful in what it does
Without ever claiming any merit
And the sage's greatness lies in taking no credit.

If the sage refuses to be proud
Then the people won't compete for his attention:

If the sage does not buy treasures
Then the people won't want to steal them:

If the sage governs with vision
Then his people will not go wrong.

So in his wisdom, he restrains himself:
- by not being greedy for food
- by not dominating the State
- by keeping himself healthy and fit.

The sage always makes sure
that the people don't know what he's done,
so they never want to be in control -
and are never driven by ambition.

He keeps them in truth like this acting invisibly.
You see, if there is nothing to fight for
then there is nothing that can break the flow.

The Tao pours our everything into life -
It is a cornucopia that never runs dry.

It is the deep source of everything -
it is nothing, and yet in everything.

It smooths round sharpness
and untangles the knots.
It glows like the lamp that draws the moth...

Tao exists, Tao is
but where It came from I do not know.

It has been shaping things from before the First Being,
from before the Beginning of Time.

Heaven and earth are not like humans.
The Tao does not act like a human.

They don't expect to be thanked for making life,
so they view it without expectation.

Heaven and earth are like a pair of bellows:
they are empty, and yet they can never be exhausted.

Work them, and they produce more and more
- there's too much talking, it's really better to stay quiet.

There are too many laws,
when all you have to do is to hold on to the centre.

The Tao is the breath that never dies.
It is a Mother to All Creation.
It is the root and ground of every soul
- the fountain of Heaven and Earth, laid open.

Endless source, endless river
River of no shape, river of no water
Drifting invisibly from place to place

...it never ends and it never fails.

Heaven and earth are enduring.
The universe can live for ever,
because it does not live for itself.
And so both last - outliving themselves.

The sage guides his people
by putting himself last.

Desiring nothing for himself.
he knows how to channel desires.

And is it not because he wants nothing
that he is able to achieve everything?

The sage's way, Tao
is the way of water.

There must be water for life to be,
and it can flow wherever.

And water, being true to being water
is true to Tao.

Those one the Way of the Tao, like water
need to accept where they find themselves;
and that may often be where water goes
to the lowest places, and that is right.

Like a lake the heart must be calm and quiet
having great depth beneath it.

The sage rules with compassion,
and his word needs to be trusted.

The sage needs to know like water
how to flow around the blocks
and how to find the way through without violence.

Like water, the sage should wait
for the moment to ripen and be right:

Water, you know, never fights
it flows around without harm.

Hold yourself back from filing yourself up,
or you'll tip off your stand.

You can hammer a blade until it's razor-sharp -
and in seconds, it can be blunt.

You may amass gold and jade in plenty
but then the more you have, the less safety...

Are you strutting your wealth like a peacock?
Then you've set yourself up to be shot.
You bring about your own disaster
Because you've got too much.

Let go, when your work is done:

That is the Way of Heaven.

Can you nurture your souls by holding them
in unity with the One?

Can you focus your ch'i - your energy
and become as supple, as yielding as a baby?

Can you clear your mind of all its dross
without throwing out the Tao with it?

Can you do it without self-interest
so you shine like a diamond?

Can you love the people of your nation
without being pulled into action?

Can you turn yourself around
and let Her rise up over you?

The world spans out in four directions -
and can you be as embracing?

Birthing, nurturing, and sustaining:
the Tao does this unceasingly...

It gives without holding on to what it's made,
It gives everything essence, without reward
It knows, without flaunting it
It is serene, beyond desiring

- and this is its Virtue and its Source.

Thirty spokes on a cartwheel
go towards the hub that is the centre
- but look, there is nothing at the centre
and that is precisely why it works!

If you mould a cup, you have to make it hollow:
it is the emptiness within it that makes it useful.

In a house or room, it is the empty spaces
- the doors, the windows - that make it useable.

They all use what they are made of
to do what they do,
but without their nothingness they would be nothing.

The five colours blind the eye -
The five notes deafen the ear...
The five tastes deaden the mouth:

Riding the chase on horseback over the fields
drives you crazy when you overdo it;

And wanting what's precious
you do what distorts your being.

The sage knows this in his gut,
And is guided by his instinct
and not by what his eyes want.

Most people fret about themselves and their status,
but you don't have to do this.

What is success and what is failure?

If you have prestige and favour,
all you worry about is that it'll get taken away.
And if you have a lowly place,
you are still basically afraid.
So both, at the root, make for fear.

What does it mean that success is a problem?

It means people are too bound up in themselves.
If they weren't so self-obsessed
they'd have no need to be worried.

If you can put yourself aside -
then you can do things for the whole of the world.
And if you love the world, like this
then you are ready to serve it.

When you gaze at something but see - nothing;
When you listen for a sound but cannot hear it;
When you try to grasp it and find it has no substance
- then these three things
That go beyond your mind
Are moulded together in the One.

Its surface doesn't shine, but nor is its base dull.
Given this, it is only knowable as no-thing.

Confront it - it has no head;
Come behind it, and it has no tail...

If people could follow the ancient way,
then they would be masters of the moment.

And if you know this way
then you have seen the timeless way of the Tao.

In ancient times, the leaders were as subtle as sorcerers.
No one knew what they were about to do.
How can we describe them to you?

They were like soldiers about to cross a cold river,
hesitant, watchful and uncertain.

They were cautious like people who know there is danger.
They were over-polite, like practiced guests.
They gave way like ice, melting

They were simple like uncarved wood
They were empty like deserted valleys
They were muddy like unreflecting water.

The mud will settle, and it is hard to wait for it.
But if you can, then you can act.

If you follow the Tao without pretension
you will never burn yourself out.

The sage rules from the purest motives
Relying wholly on quiet and inner peace.

He watches the seasons rise and fall
And if he knows how things grow, he knows
They are fed by their roots

And they return to their roots;
To grow and flower and flow.

Everything must have its roots,
and the tendrils work quietly underground.
This quiet feeding is the Way of Nature.

If you understanding ch'ang - this principle of nurturing,
you can understand everything.
Not understanding it will lead you to disaster.

If a sage knows this, he can rule
And he will do so with patience and justice.

Any man can become wise in this
And he can walk the Way of Heaven

And if you walk that way
You will be royal in the mastery

Life can end in pain -
But if you live like this, under the Tao
You will fill your days with breath.

The highest form of government
Is what people hardly even realize is there.

Next is that of the sage
Who is seen, and loved, and respected.

Next down is the dictatorship
That thrives on oppression and terror -

And the last is that of those who lie
And end up despised and rejected.

The sage says little -
and does not tie the people down;

And the people stay happy
Believing that what happens
happens, naturally.

When the Great Tao is lost sight of -
Then people have to try  to be kind and gentle.

They try to compensate by being clever
But this only breeds hypocrisy and sleight-of-hand.

When families fall out
relationships sour into useless formality.

When the nation is misled and in chaos
ministers mouth empty promises.

If the sage could abandon his wisdom and skill,
Then everyone would be a hundred times better off.

If the sage could let go of holding the scales,
Then everyone would flow in the web of harmony...

And if the sage can give up looking to gain,
Then there will be no theft or exploitation.

Now while these three things are important
they are not enough:

The people themselves need to learn simplicity.

They shouldn't need to know more than they do,
And should have as few things as possible.

Listen, give up trying to be so learned
And things will be a lot easier.

Is there really any difference between a yes
And a no said insincerely?

Is there really much of a difference
Between being angry and pretending  not to be?

What the people are afraid of I also need to fear.

And what do most people do?
They go looking for a good time.

They go looking for fool's gold and auspicious signs.

Only, you see, I am lazy
And I don't give a damn about fame or money.
I am like a child who cannot bring himself to smile.

What do the people want?  Money and things.
And yet I find I have nothing, and I don't care.
I am as unambitious as any fool.

Most people seem to be bright and sharp
And how do I feel?  Like a blunted sword.

The people, the people are like waves of the sea
And I am drifting between them wherever they are blown.

And the people, the people are so busy!
But I have nothing to bother about.  I am a bumpkin, a lout.

I am different, I am strange.
I love for the Mother.

The Body of the Tao is a mist beyond your eyes
Tao of No Body, and yet within it is All Creation.

Like a seed in the dark, and a dim light
And from it, comes everything.

Root, stem, leaf...its essence is in everything.

Everything is born from this Tao
I say so, and I can prove it!

From the beginning of time until now
the Tao is eternal because it is Creation.

How do I know the Tao is the root of all being?
Because I know this.

Learn to yield and be soft
If you want to survive.

Learn to bow
And you will stand in your full height.

Learn to empty yourself and be filled with the Tao
...the way a valley empties itself into a river.

Use up all you are
And then you can be made new.

Learn to have nothing
And you have everything.

Sages always act like this,
and are Children of the Tao.

Never trying to impress, their being shines forth
Never saying 'this is it', people see what the truth is -

Never boasting, they leave the space they can be valued in
And never claiming to be who they are, people can see them

And since they never argue, no one argues with them either...

So the ancient ones say 'Bend and you will rule'.
Is this a lie?  You'll find it is true.

Be true to yourself and all will go well with you.

It is a natural thing to talk sparingly.

And surely this is right - because even a great wind
and lashing rain do not go on forever.

It is naturally so.  Both Heaven and Earth know it.

And if neither can hold on to such an outpouring for long
what makes people think they can?

If you follow the Tao,
all you do will belong to it.

If you act with Virtue,
All you do will have its power.

If you lose these -
Then every way you will be lost.

If you go to the Way of Tao, it can only be with you.
If you go the Way of Virtue, its purity will sustain you.

But if you go the way of loss, then that will be your name;
And if you cannot trust, no one will trust you.

A man on tiptoe can't walk easily.
The man who strides on ahead is bound to tire.

The kind of person who always insists
on his way of seeing things
can never learn anything from anyone.

Those who always want to be seen
will never help others to be.

The showman is never
secretly respected by anyone.

People like these, say the Wise Ones
are as useless as the left-over food at a feast:

No true follower can relate to them.

Before the world was
And the sky was filled with stars...

There was a strange, unfathomable Body.
This Being, this Body is silent
and beyond all substance and sensing.

It stretches beyond everything spanning the empyrean.
It has always been here, and it always will be.
Everything comes from it, and then it is the Mother of Everything.

I do not know its name.  So I call it Tao.

I am loath to call it 'greater than everything', but it is.
And being greater, it infuses all things
moving far out and returning to the Source.

Tao is Great,
Tao the Great!

It is greater than Heaven,
Greater than the Earth -
Greater than the king.

These are the four great things,
and the ruler is the least of them.

Humanity is schooled by the Earth.
Earth is taught by Heaven,
And Heaven is guided by the Tao.

And the Tao goes with what is absolutely natural.

What holds, what you can trust
Is the same as this quietness -
And it is light-hearted.

This quiet light-hearted silence
Is the key to being free from emotion.

The sage never abandons the Tao,
He never lets its weight out of his sight.

He may live in a fabulous house
But he never gets caught up wanting to -

And though there are always temptations,
He stays unswayed, and smiles.

So why is it that our rulers
Seem so bright, but are
Glib and insubstantial?

Losing the weight of the Tao
Means you lose your root;

And when you can't sit still
You lose the source.

The sage who goes by the way leaves no traces
The sage who speaks the true law never slips up -
He never calculates what profit he can make from what he does.

He keeps out thieves with wisdom!  He's never robbed -
He makes sure the rules are binding, then no one can undo them:

He is aware of everyone, leaving no one uncounted;
He cares like a parent, and wastes nothing.

This is the essence of harmony.

So, a good man is a model for a bad one
And, misguided, he is touched by his goodness.

Not to follow a teacher here
Or to love his precious message
Is to lose the Way, however clever you are are -

This is the essence of the matter.

Understand the thrust of the yang -
But be more like the yin in your being.

Be like a valley that parts to its stream;
Be like a stream for the earth...
And channel it, so it flows - to the sea.

Be newborn - be free of yourself,
be humble, be earthy,
be a valley for the whole world.

Be a channel for the energies here -
weave them in a true and practical way
so they can link up with the Way and become one again.

Oneness generates everything:

When the sage rules in the light of it,
He rules everything.

A wise man never tries to break up the Whole.

If a ruler behaves as if he's invented the world,
He will do no good at all.

The earth is a sacred vessel -
and it cannot be owned or improved.

If you try to possess it, you will destroy it:
If you try to hold on to it - you will lose it.

Some are leaders, then and others follow.
Some drift like the wind, and others drive hard.
Some are thick-skinned, and others have no armour;
And some are the destroyers, and others they destroy.

So now you know why
the sage abandons greed,
all false charm -
and every last iota of pride.

The Emperor's advisors will never recommend violence
if they know what the Tao is.
If  you use the strategy of warfare
it can only result in revenge.

After troops have tramped by
only weeds and nettles grow in the broken ground.
There can be no harvest,
and everyone is left starving.

If you need to take action, only do what is necessary.
Never abuse your power.

And if your successful, don't be smug;
If you are a success, don't trumpet it -
If you think you've won, never overdo it -

Those who use force soon end up without it -
And this is not the Way.

And if you do not follow the Way, you will die.

The guide who walks the Way
Never resorts to violence.

The sage goes to the left side of the Emperor;
while the man of war goes to the right.

Weapons are terrible things -
and no sage will have anything to do with them,
unless there is no alternative.

The sage wants peace and quiet.

No victory is free of grief,
and so to celebrate one is to glory
in the death of innocent people.

No one who revels in death like this
can be true to the Way
or is fit to rule in our world.

At glad times, the place of honour is on the left:
after disaster, it is on the right.
So in the army, the officers stand to the left
while the general stands to the right.

So the whole thing is staged like a funeral.

When a war kills many, we must mourn for them -
And if you win the war, you must grieve it.

The Tao has no name
it is a cloud that has no shape.

If a ruler follows it faithfully,
then every living thing under heaven will say yes to him.

Heaven and earth make love,
And a sweet dew-rain falls.
The people do not know why,
But they are gathered together like music.

Things have been given names from the beginning.
We need to know when we have enough names: this is wisdom.

At the beginning of time
The sage gave names to everything - seen, and unseen.

A ruler who walks the Way
Is like a river reaching the sea
Gathering the waters of the streams into himself,  as he goes.

When you know the true being of another,
You can judge -
And if you truly know the Tao
you will be in the light.

It takes force to control people:
but if I am humble, I can never be overcome.

If you know what you have is enough
you will be satisfied.

But if you think you don't have enough
then you will never have enough!

If you follow the Tao, what you will last.

You will live, and live, and outlive yourself again.

The Great Tao goes everywhere
past your left hand and your right -
filling the whole of space.

It is breath to everything, and yet it asks for nothing back;
It feeds and creates everything, but it will never tell you so.

It nurtures all things without lording it over anything.
It names itself in the lowest of the low.

It holds what it makes,
Yet never fights to do so:
that is why we call it Great.

Why?  Because it never tries to be so.

Everyone will gather to the man
Who rules in the light of the One.

To trust such a being is to live
In true happiness and healing.

Good food and sweet music
May make you stop -
You listen, in passing.

But the Tao: how does it seem?
Oh, tasteless and shapeless by comparison.

You cannot even hear it.
Is it even worth trying to?

Yes, my friend because it is unending.

What is going to be diminished
Must first be allowed to inflate.

Whatever you want to weaken
Must first be convinced of its strength.

What you want to overcome
You must first of all give to -

This is called discerning.

You see, what is yielding and weak
Overcomes what is hard and strong:

(And just as a fish can't be seen
when he stays down in the deep
don't show your power to anyone).

The Tao goes on forever
wu-wei - doing nothing
And yet everything gets done.

How?  It does it by being,
And by being everything it does.

If people and rulers go by this
then every living thing will be well.

And if parts still want to separate
the true leader will use the centrifugal weight
of this original unnamable Oneness...

It is simple:

If no one wants anything for themselves
then there can be peace
and all things will know peace
the way music ends in peace.