Lao Tzu, Chapter 19

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 19

If holiness disappears and wisdom is thrown away,
people benefit a hundred ways.
If benevolence disappears and righteousness is thrown away,
people return to filial gentleness. 
If cleverness disappears and profit is thrown away,
there are no thieves stealing. 

But acting on these three sayings is not enough to make one civilized —
for this reason, let there be a place where they can live:

Present yourself plainly;
embrace your nature;
lack selfishness;
Have few desires. 

<– Chapter 18

Table of Contents

Chapter 20 –>

Lao Tzu, Chapter 18

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 18

After the great way had been forgotten,
there was benevolence and rectitude.
Intelligence and knowledge appeared,
and there was great falseness.
The six relationships fell out of harmony,
and there was love and filial piety. 
Families lost the nation to confusion,
and there were loyal ministers. 

<– Chapter 17

Table of Contents

Chapter 19 –>

Lao Tzu, Chapter 17

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 17

The best ruler?
His people know he exists.
The next best?
They love and praise him.
The next,
they are afraid of.
The next,
they despise.

If his belief is not enough,
he will not find enough belief.
But at ease, he values words.

His accomplishment is to complete his work simply;
each of the hundred families says,
“We follow ourselves.”

<– Chapter 16

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Chapter 18 –>

Lao Tzu, Chapter 16

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 16

Reach to the farthest end of emptiness;
maintain unmoving stillness.

If I look at many things as combined,
then I see them correspond.
For things grow — they flourish —
but they return, revert to their root.
Returning to the root is “stillness” —
It’s a return to one’s nature.

To return to one’s nature is to become eternal;
to know the eternal is called “enlightenment.”
Not knowing the eternal — “error” — brings disaster,
but knowing the eternal makes one all-encompassing.

To be all-encompassing means to be impartial;
to be impartial means to be kingly;
to be kingly means to be divine;
to be divine means to accord with Tao;
to accord with Tao means to be everlasting.

It means to go to the end of one’s life free from peril.

<– Chapter 15

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Chapter 17 –>

Lao Tzu, Chapter 15

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 15

Of old, those who were skilled at being were masters.
They were subtle and could penetrate deeply into natures;
they were too profound to be recognizable.
And, in fact, just because they couldn’t be recognized,
serious effort should be made to describe their appearance.

Cautious, as if wading in an icy stream;
watchful, alert to all four sides,
courteous, like a guest.

Dissolving like ice that’s about to melt;
solid like uncut wood;
open like a valley;
obscure as if muddied.

Who can be where it’s muddied?
It’s clarified, slowly, by stillness.
Who can be when they’re still?
It comes to life by patient movement.

Commit to this way
of not wanting fullness.
Exactly because of not being full,
you won’t grow old but will always renew.

<– Chapter 14

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Chapter 16 –>

Lao Tzu, Chapter 14

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 14

We look at it and can’t see its name,
so we say it’s invisible.
We listen to it and can’t hear its name,
so we say it’s inaudible.
We touch it and can’t catch hold of its name,
so we say it’s formless.

These three qualities can’t be further investigated,
for the reason that each has merged and become a unity.
Its above is not bright;
its below is not dark;
Completely continuous, it cannot be given a name.
It reverts, returning to non-being.

This is referred to as not having a form of its own,
not having a being of its own;
This is called “vague” and “elusive.”

In front, you will not see its face;
follow it and you won’t see its back.

Hold fast to the ancients’ way
in order to grasp its here and now, its existence.
You can know its ancient origin.
This is called the way’s main thread.

<– Chapter 13

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Chapter 15 –>

Lao Tzu, Chapter 13

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 13

Honored, we fear dishonor.
Highly esteemed, misfortune becomes inseparable from our selves.

What does it mean when I say, “Honored, we fear dishonor?”
Honor makes one low:
Getting it brings apprehension.
Losing it brings apprehension;
so being honored means fearing dishonor.

Why do I say that high esteem is like a misfortune?
Having an ego causes great troubles:
it makes me act conscious of my self
when I’d had no sense of it;
so I have troubles.

Someone who respects himself in this way,
by serving heaven in the world,
can be trusted with the world.

Someone who loves himself in this way,
by serving heaven in the world,
can be trusted with the world.

<– Chapter 12

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Chapter 14 –>

Lao Tzu, Chapter 12

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 12

The five colors make one’s eyes blind.
The five tones make one’s ears deaf.
The five flavors make one’s palate dull.
Racing around hunting in a field makes one’s heart wild.
Goods that are hard to get impede one’s actions.

Therefore, the sage tends the stomach and not the eye;
therefore, he leaves the one and holds to the other.

<– Chapter 11

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Chapter 13 –>

Lao Tzu, Chapter 11

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 11

Thirty spokes unite at a hub;
it’s the emptiness there that makes the wheel usable.

Shape clay to make a bowl;
it’s the empty space inside that makes the bowl usable.

Cut out doors and windows;
their emptiness makes the room usable.

Thus,
the ways a thing exists make it have benefit;
the ways it doesn’t exist make it usable.

<– Chapter 10

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Chapter 12 –>

Lao Tzu, Chapter 10

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 10

Carrying your spiritual soul and your physical soul together,
you can keep them as one—without letting them separate.

Gathering your chi,
you can make yourself soft like a newborn child.

You can wash out your vision and purify it without fault.

As heaven’s gate opens and closes,
you can be like a female bird.

With clear understanding,
you can penetrate the four directions with no action.

He produces things and nourishes them.
He produces but doesn’t claim possession.
He acts but doesn’t take credit.
He leads but doesn’t dominate.

Such instances of the ways may seem obscure.

<– Chapter 9

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Chapter 11 –>

Lao Tzu, Chapter 9

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 9

Keeping on until it’s full is not as good as stopping.
Something hammered until sharp cannot stay sharp long.
If you fill a hall with gold and jade, no one can guard it.
Pride justified in wealth brings disaster.

With the work completed, a person steps back
— that is the way of heaven.

<– Chapter 8

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Chapter 10 –>

Lao Tzu, Chapter 8

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 8

The best goodness is like water.
It’s good because it benefits everything but doesn’t contend.
It comes to rest in many people because it settles in the lowest place
—in this, it resembles the ways.

A place to live is good in its location;
a heart is good in its depth.
A relationship is good in its kindness.
A government is good in its justice.
A service is good when done ably.
An action is good in its timing.

So, by not contending, be without fault.

<– Chapter 7

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Chapter 9 –>

Lao Tzu, Chapter 7

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 7

Heaven is eternal, and earth endures.

About heaven and earth:
the reason they can be eternal and enduring
is they don’t live detached in themselves — and so they live forever.

Therefore,
a sage puts his self in the background — and his self is out front;
he rejects his self — and his self survives.

Isn’t it because he has no personal business
that he’s able to accomplish his personal business?

<– Chapter 6

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Chapter 8 –>

Lao Tzu, Chapter 6

Tao Te Ching —
The Classic about Ways And Instances

Lao Tzu

(Translated, with comments, by William P. Coleman)

Chapter 6

The spirit found in emptiness does not give out.
It is called the mother of the darkness.
It is the gate of the mother of the darkness.
It is the root of heaven and earth.

Endlessly drawn forth like a thread of silk, it seems to continue on.
In use it needs no effort.

<– Chapter 5

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Chapter 7 –>