Table of contents hide 1 1. Tao 2 2. Qualities 3 3. Control 4 4. Properties of Tao 5 5. Nature 6 6. The heart 7 7. Self 8 8. Intimacy 9 9. Goals 10 10. Virtue 11 11 Wealth and the Valuable 12 12. Distraction 13 13. Anxiety 14 14. The continuity of Tao 15 15. The Saints 16 16. Transcending Nature 17 17. Rulers 18 18. Loss of Tao 19 19. Simplicity 20 20. Loneliness 21 21. Expressions of Tao 22 22. Acceptance and Containment 23 23. Speech and Trust 24 24. Tumors 25 25. Four Infinities 26 26. Calm 27 27. Attention 28 28. Becoming feminine 29 29. Blindness 30 30. Violence 31 31. Tools of violence 32 32. Form 33 33. Virtue 34 34. The Tao has no favorites 35 35. Peace 36 36. Influence 37 37. Calm down the heart 38 38. Religion 39 39. Completeness 40 40. Application of Tao 41 41. Taoism 42 42. Harmony 43 43. Overcoming the Impossible 44 44. Contain 45 45. Calm 46 46. Desire 47 47. Knowledge and Experience 48 48. Knowledge
Comments on translation: The Book of Tao is a very difficult philosophical work. There are many translations of it to different languages, and sometimes what one translation says is completely different from what another says. I consider this work as correct as any other, since I have done it using my knowledge to the best of my ability. Although inconsistencies between various chapters can be drawn from a superficial reading, and even phrases that seem to make no sense at first glance, this inconsistency or lack of meaning is apparent and comes from the original. I have already said that it is a difficult work and you have to meditate a lot on the meaning of each sentence, it is already possible not to grasp the authentic meaning easily (assuming that there is an authentic meaning).
Unfortunately, Lao Tse's work seems to have become a source of lapidary quotes. It is very easy to read above looking for the phrase that attracts attention, which is very good for heading a text or dropping in a talk, or even reinterpreting it in a way that supports what one means. Of course, it is always better to study it for that, than not to study it at all. In any case, I hope you get the best out of it.
1. Tao
The Tao that can be known is not the Tao.
The substance of the World is just a name for the Tao.
Tao is everything that exists and can exist;
The World is just a map of what exists and can exist.
External experiences serve to feel the World,
And internal experiences, to understand it.
The two types of experience are the same within the Tao;
They are different only among men.
No experience can contain the Tao
Which is infinitely bigger and more subtle than the World.
2. Qualities
When Beauty in the World is recognized
You learn what ugliness is;
When the Goodness in the World is recognized
You learn what Evil is.
In this way:
Life and death are abstractions of growth;
Difficulty and ease are abstractions of progress;
Near and far are abstractions of the position;
Strength and weakness are abstractions of control;
Music and speech are abstractions of harmony;
Before and after are abstractions of the sequence.
The wise control without authority,
And teach without words;
He lets all things rise and fall,
It nourishes, but does not interfere,
Give without asking,
And he is satisfied.
3. Control
Not praising the honest avoids deception,
Not estimating how rare theft is avoided,
Not showing off beauty avoids lust.
Thus, the wise control people:
Emptying their hearts,
Filling your bellies,
Weakening their ambitions,
And strengthening their bodies.
If people lack knowledge and desire
The most skilled among them is unable to act;
If actions are avoided
Everyone lives peacefully.
4. Properties of Tao
Tao is a bottomless ship;
Used by itself, it is not filled with the World;
It cannot be cut, limited, hidden or immobilized;
Its depths are hidden, ubiquitous and eternal;
I don't know where it comes from;
It arrived before nature.
5. Nature
Nature is not kind;
Treat all things impartially.
The wise are not kind;
Treat all the people impartially.
Nature is similar to a bellows;
Empty, but it meets all needs,
The more it moves, the more it produces;
The wise act according to Tao in the same way
And it can't be sold out.
6. The heart
Like the bed of a river, the heart never fills.
It is an indescribable
Whose entrance is the source of the World;
Tao is always present in him:
Kept on it, it will never fail.
7. Self
Nature is eternal because it lacks self-awareness.
In this way, the wise:
He serves himself last, and he is served;
Look at your body as accidental, and find that it resists.
Because he does not attend to his Ego, he is satisfied.
8. Privacy
The best of men is similar to water,
Which benefits all things, without being contained by any,
It flows through places that others disdain,
Where he approaches the Tao faster.
Thus, the wise:
Where he dwells, he approaches the earth faster,
In government, he is getting closer to order,
Speaking, he approaches the truth faster,
Making deals, he approaches men faster,
Acting, he approaches the opportunity faster,
At work, he approaches the competent faster,
In feelings, he approaches the heart faster;
He does not fight, and thus remains blameless.
9. Goals
Tense an arc to its limit and it will soon break;
Sharpen a sword to the fullest and it will soon be indented;
Knead the greatest treasure and they will soon steal it;
It demands credits and honors and you will soon fall;
Withdrawing once the goal has been achieved is the path of Nature.
10. Virtue
Embracing the Tao, you will be embraced.
With ease, gently, you will be reborn.
Clarify your vision, you will be illuminated.
Nourish your compassion, you will be impartial.
Open your heart, you'll be accepted.
Accepting the world you embrace the Tao.
Holding and feeding,
Creating but not possessing,
Giving without asking,
Controlling without authority,
That is the virtue.
11. Wealth and the Valuable
Thirty radios join in the center;
Thanks to the hole, we can use the wheel.
The clay is modeled in the form of a vessel;
Thanks to the hollow the cup can be used.
Walls are built throughout the earth;
Thanks doors the house can be habitated.
Thus, wealth comes from what exists,
But the valuable comes from what does not exist.
12. Distraction
Too blind color the eye,
Too much noise deafens the ear,
Too much seasoning dulls the palate,
Too much play scatters the mind,
Too much desire saddens the heart.
The wise provide to meet the needs, not the senses;
Abandon the feeling and focuses on the substance.
13. Anxiety
The saints said: “Praise and blame cause anxiety;
The object of hope and fear is within you. ”
"Praise and blame cause anxiety"
Since you expect or fear receiving or losing them.
"The object of hope and fear is within you"
Well, without an Ego, fortune or disaster cannot affect you.
So:
He who observes the World as he observes himself is able to control the World;
But he who loves the World as he loves himself is capable of leading the World.
14. The continuity of Tao
What is seen but cannot be seen is beyond form;
What is heard but cannot be heard is beyond sound;
What grabs but cannot be touched is beyond reach;
They are such deep things that evade the definition,
And they become a mystery.
In its ascent there is no light,
In its fall there is no darkness,
A continuous thread beyond the description,
Profiling what cannot exist,
Its form is non-form,
Your image is none,
His name is mystery,
Facing him, he has no face,
Following him, he has no back.
Understand the past, but attend to the present;
In this way the continuity of the Tao is known,
Which is its essence.
15. The Saints
The Saints reached an understanding
so deep that they could not be understood.
Because I can't understand them
You can only describe its appearance:
Cautious, like the one who crosses over thin ice,
Attentive, like the one who senses a danger,
Modest, like the one who is a guest,
Soft, like the melting ice,
Genuine, like uncarved wood,
Empty, like the bed of a river,
Opaque, like murky water.
He who lies immobile while the mud settles,
And it remains still when the water flows,
Not looking for satisfaction
And transcends Nature.
16. Transcending Nature
Empty your Ego completely;
Embrace the perfect peace.
The world moves and turns;
Watch him return to stillness.
All the things that bloom
They will return to their origin.
This return is peaceful;
It is the path of Nature,
Eternally decaying and renewing.
Understanding this brings enlightenment,
Ignoring this leads to misery.
He who understands the path of Nature comes to appreciate everything;
Appreciating everything, it becomes impartial;
Being impartial, it becomes magnanimous;
Being magnanimous, it becomes part of Nature;
Being part of Nature, one becomes one with the Tao;
Being one with the Tao, immortality is achieved:
Think that the body will perish, Tao will not.
17. Rulers
The best rulers are barely known for their vassals;
The following best are loved and praised;
The following are feared;
The following despised:
They have no faith in their vassals,
Therefore, their vassals also have no faith in them.
When the best ruler reaches his goal
His vassals celebrate it as if it were their goal.
18. Loss of Tao
When the Tao forgets
Duty and justice degenerate;
So, wisdom and sagacity
They are lost under hypocrisy.
When family relationships break up
Respect and devotion degenerate;
When a nation falls into chaos
Loyalty and patriotism must be born.
19. Simplicity
If we could abandon wisdom and sagacity
People could enjoy being all the same;
If we could abandon duty and justice
Everything could be based on relationships of love or friendship;
If we could abandon artifice and profit
Corruption and theft could disappear.
Still, such remedies would only treat the symptoms
Therefore they are inadequate.
People need personal remedies:
Reveal your true self,
Embrace your original nature,
Leave your own interest,
Control your desire.
20. Loneliness
I don't know anything and nothing worries me.
I see no difference between yes and no.
I see no difference between good and evil.
I do not fear what people fear at night.
People are happy as in a sumptuous party
Or playing in the field in spring;
But I remain calm and wandering,
Like a newborn before learning to smile,
Lonely, homeless.
People have enough and to share,
But I don't own anything
And my heart is ignorant,
murky and overshadowed.
People are redundant and safe,
While I remain blind and confused;
The people are intelligent and wise,
While I remain clumsy and ignorant,
Without objective, like a wave on the surface of the sea,
Subject to nothing.
People are busy for a purpose,
While I'm impractical and coarse.
I am apart from the rest of the people
Still sustained by Nature.
21. Tao expressions
Virtue is expressed following the Tao.
Tao is elusive and intelligible
But it expresses all form and substance;
Tao is dark and useful
But it expresses all of Nature;
Nature does not change,
But it expresses all sensation.
Since before knowledge
The Tao has expressed all things.
How can I know?
Trusting my senses.
22. Acceptance and Containment
Accept and you will be complete,
Bow down and you will be straight,
Empty yourself and you will be full,
Decay, and you will be renewed,
You want, and you will get,
Looking for satisfaction you get confused.
The Wise accepts the World
How the World accepts Tao;
He does not show himself, and thus it is clearly seen,
He doesn't justify himself, and that's why he stands out,
He did not insist, and thus he does his work,
It does not glorify, and therefore it is excellent,
He doesn't look for the fight, and that's why nobody fights him.
The Saints said, accept and be complete.
Once complete, the World is your home.
23. Talk and Trust
Nature says few words:
The strong wind does not last long,
Torrential rain does not fall for a long time.
If the words of Nature do not remain
Why should those of Man do it?
To follow the Tao, become Tao; Tao will accept you.
To give virtue, become virtue; Virtue will accept you.
If you lose with the Tao, the loss will accept you.
You have to trust them to trust you.
24. Tumors
If you stand on your tiptoes you don't stay long;
If you take too long steps you cannot walk well;
If you show yourself you cannot be seen well;
If you self-righteous you cannot be respected;
If you flatter yourself you cannot be believed;
If you pride yourself too much you can not achieve excellence.
All these behaviors are excrescences and tumors,
Unpleasant things avoided by the virtuous.
25. Four Infinities
Before the World existed
There was the Mystery:
Silent, bottomless,
Lonely, immutable,
Everywhere and always on the move,
The Mother of the World
I don't know his name, which is why I call him Tao;
I do not know its limit, which is why I call it Infinite.
Being infinite, it flows forever,
Flowing forever, return to Himself.
Self follows the path of the World;
The World follows the path of Nature;
Nature follows the path of Tao;
The Tao is the Way.
Tao is infinite,
therefore Nature is infinite,
therefore the world is infinite,
Therefore Self is infinite.
There are four Infinities,
And the I is one of them.
26. Calm down
Gravity is the origin of lightness,
The Calm, the owner of the agitation.
So, the one who runs a big company
You should not act lightly or agitation.
Acting lightly, he loses contact with the World,
Acting agitatedly, he loses contact with himself.
The wise travel all day without losing control;
Surrounded by desirable things, remain calm and without restraints.
27. Attention
The good traveler leaves no trace that can be followed,
The good speaker does not leave words that can be questioned,
The good accountant leaves no calculation without checking,
The good locksmith does not leave a lock that can be forced,
The good attacker leaves no knot that can be undone.
Thus, the wise take care of all men
and does not abandon any.
Accept everything and do not reject anything.
Pay attention to the smallest detail.
Thus the strong must lead the weak,
For the weak is the material from where to make the strong.
If the guide is not respected
Or the material is not careful
Confusion originates, no matter how intelligent one is.
This is the essence of subtlety.
28. Becoming feminine
Knowing the masculine, and becoming the feminine,
It becomes the way through which the World moves,
Be united to virtue,
And be reborn again.
Knowing the light and turning into darkness,
One becomes the World,
Becoming the virtue,
And returning to the Tao.
Knowing the honor and being humble,
One becomes the valley of the World,
Filled with virtue,
And being like an uncut trunk.
When the trunk is cut it becomes tools.
Used by the wise, they are powerful;
So, a good carpenter does not waste wood.
29. Blindness
Those who wish to change the World
According to your wishes
They never succeed.
The World is shaped by the Tao;
He cannot shape himself.
If someone tries to shape it, it damages them;
If someone tries to possess him, he loses him.
So that:
Sometimes things bloom, sometimes they don't.
Sometimes life is hard, sometimes it's easy.
Sometimes people are strong, sometimes they are weak.
Sometimes you get where you want to go, sometimes you stay on the road.
Therefore the wise man is not extreme, extravagant or complacent.
30. Violence
Powerful men should not use violence,
For violence has a habit of returning;
Brambles grow wherever an army goes,
And years of hunger follow a war.
A general is well warned:
That he has to do nothing more than what his orders indicate,
No matter how strong your army is;
That he has to be able to fulfill his orders,
But not glory or feeling proud;
To do what the need dictates,
But not the thirst for blood;
Well, even the most powerful force will decay over time,
And the violence will turn against him, and destroy him.
31. Tools of violence
Soldiers are tools of violence, feared by all;
The wise will not employ them.
Its purpose is creation;
Theirs is destruction.
Weapons are tools for violence, not for the wise;
He will use them when there is no other choice,
For he values peace and does not delight in conquest.
Well, who delights in the conquest
He delights in the suffering of men;
And who delights in the suffering of men cannot control them.
Those who kill in war should cry
And celebrate the conquest with a funeral.
32. Shape
The Tao has no real definition.
Like wood before being cut, it cannot be used;
If a ruler understands this
His whole country will be flourishing
And people will obey in harmony with himself,
As a light rain falls.
No need to give orders to behave with equity.
When the Tao is shaped for use,
The form receives a name in the World;
They shouldn't have too many names
to contain the forms;
Instead, let the Tao flow to itself in the World
As water flows in the river bed towards the sea.
33. Virtue
He who knows men is wise;
He who knows himself is enlightened.
He who overcomes others is strong;
The one who conquers himself is mighty.
He who is content with what he has is rich;
He who works with determination has a will.
He who is able to maintain his position will resist a long time;
He who is able to maintain his influence will live after his death.
34. Tao has no favorites
The infinite Tao flows everywhere, creating and destroying,
Realizing the World, attending to the smallest detail,
Without asking anything in return.
Nourishes all things, without controlling them;
It has no intention,
So it seems inconsequential.
It is the substance of all things,
But it does not control any;
It makes no exceptions,
So it is important for everyone.
Because it doesn't favor anything finite,
It's infinite.
35. Peace
Tao lacks form and aroma;
It can't be seen or heard,
And its application cannot be exhausted.
If you offer music and food
Strangers stop by your side;
But if you agree with the Tao
The people of the World will keep you
In security, health, company and peace.
36. Influence
To reduce someone's influence, increase it first;
To reduce someone's strength, increase it first;
To make someone fall, first make him rise;
To take something from someone, give him something first.
This is the subtlety with which the weak overcome the strong,
Just as the fish should not abandon its depths,
And the soldier should not abandon his camouflage.
37. Calm down the heart
The Tao does not act, and thus leaves nothing to do.
If one understands this
All the things of the World bloom naturally;
Blooming, they are only restricted by Nature.
Nature has no desires;
Without desires, the heart reaches tranquility,
And so the World as a whole can remain calm.
38. Religion
The virtuoso does not act.
The kind act without self interest;
The righteous act not disregarding their own interest;
The religious acts to play their own interest.
If the Tao is lost, the virtue remains;
If virtue is lost, kindness remains;
If kindness is lost, justice remains;
If justice is lost, there religion.
Well established hierarchies cannot be uprooted easily;
Firm beliefs cannot be easily changed;
That's why religion remains generation after generation.
Religion is the end of virtue and honesty,
The beginning of the confusion;
Faith is a very colorful hope or fear,
The origin of stupidity.
The wise act by knowledge, not by hope;
Trust the fruit, not the flower;
Accept what is, he rejects the future promises.
39. Completeness
In mythical times all things were complete:
The whole sky was clear,
All the land was stable,
All the mountains were high,
All the rivers were full,
All Nature was alive,
All rulers were supported.
But without clarity, the sky is cloudy;
Without stability, the earth breaks;
Without force, the mountain erodes;
Without water, the river dries up;
Without life, Nature is exhausted;
Without support, rulers fall.
So the rulers depend on their people,
The nobleman depends on the humble;
And the rulers show themselves orphans, lonely or disabled,
To win the support of the people.
Completeness does not earn support.
So, there is weakness in power,
And power in weakness;
Before clinking like jade,
One should rumble like stones.
40. Application of Tao
The movement of the Tao is to return;
The use of Tao is to accept;
All things derive from the Tao,
The Tao does not derive from any.
41. Taoism
When the strong learn Tao, he practices it diligently;
When the advanced learns the Tao, he practices it sometimes;
When the weak learn Tao, he rejoices and laughs;
Those who don't laugh haven't learned anything.
Thus it is said:
Who understands the Tao, seems incoherent;
Who progresses in the Tao seems to fail;
Who follows the Tao, seems to wander.
Thus the greatest force seems vulnerable;
The brightest truth seems nuances;
The fullest character appears to be incomplete;
The strongest heart appears weak;
The most beautiful nature seems inconstant.
Thus the square, perfected, has no corners;
Art, perfected, makes no sense;
Sex, perfected, has no climax;
The perfected form lacks form.
Thus the Tao cannot feel or know itself:
It transmits sensation and transcends knowledge.
42. Harmony
Tao leads to virtue;
Virtue leads to contention;
Containment leads to acceptance;
Acceptance leads to the World;
All things begin with virtue and end with contention,
But it is acceptance that leads to harmony.
As others taught, I taught:
That without harmony ends with violence ;
This is my teaching.
43. Overcoming the Impossible
The soft defeats the hard;
What is lacking penetrates the impenetrable;
There is courage in not acting.
Teaching without words,
Working without action,
It is something that few can understand.
44. Contain
Fame or Ego: What is my dearest?
Ego or wealth: What is more valuable?
Opposed benefit: What is more painful?
A great virtue is exposed to great wear,
A great wealth is exposed to great theft,
But great containment does not expose any loss.
So: The one who knows when to stop
He did not continue towards danger,
And it can resist a long time.
45. Calm down
Great perfection seems imperfect,
But it does not decay;
The great abundance seems empty,
But it doesn't end.
A great truth seems contradictory;
Great intelligence seems stupid;
A great eloquence seems incomprehensible.
Although it seems that the action overcomes the containment,
Immobility overcomes desire;
So, the one who remains calm is the one in control.
46. Desire
When the World does not agree with the Tao,
The horses transport the soldiers through the fields;
When the world agrees with the Tao,
The horses pull plows through the fields.
There is no greater curse than desire;
There is no greater misery than discontent;
There is no greater disease than greed;
But he who is satisfied with what he has
He will always be rich.
47. Knowledge and Experience
Without a single step beyond the door
You can know the World.
Without a look at the window
You can see the color of the sky.
The more you experience, the less you know.
The wise wander without knowing,
Look without seeing,
Reach without acting.
48. Knowledge
He who pursues knowledge acquires as much as he can each day;
He who persecutes the Tao loses as much as he can each day.
Reach a state of inaction
Such that without doing anything, nothing remains undone.
Spanish Translation by Antonio Rivas
