28th Verse ~ As I preserve my original qualities, I can do or govern anything. I live with radical humility.

~28th Verse~

Know the strength of man, but keep a woman's care!

Be a valley under heaven; if you do, the constant virtue will not fade away.

One will become like a child again.

Know the white, keep to the black, and be the pattern of the world.

To be the pattern of the world is to move constantly in the path of virtue without erring a single step, and to return again to the infinite.

One who understands splendor while holding to humility acts in accord with eternal power.  

To be the fountain of the world is to live the abundant life of virtue.

When the unformed is formed into objects, its original qualities are lost.  

If you preserve your original qualities, you can govern anything.

Truly, the best governor governs least.

As I preserve my original qualities, I can do or govern anything.  I live with radical humility.

27th Verse ~ What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good man's job?

~27th Verse~

A knower of the truth travels without leaving a trace, speaks without causing harm, gives without keeping an account.
The door he shuts, though having no lock, cannot be opened.
The knot he ties, though using no cord, cannot be undone.

Be wise and help all beings impartially, abandoning none.
Waste no opportunities.
This is called following the light.

What is a good man but a bad man's teacher?
What is a bad man but a good man's job?
If the teacher is not respected and the student not cared for, confusion will arise, however clever one is.
This is the great secret.

What is a good man but a bad man's teacher?
What is a bad man but a good man's job?

26th Verse ~ I have the ability to stay poised and centered regardless of what goes before me.

~26th Verse~

The heavy is the root of the light.

The still is the master of unrest.

Realizing this, the successful person is poised and centered in the midst of all activities; although surrounded by opulence, he is not swayed.

Why should the lord of the country flit about like a fool?

If you let yourself be blown to and fro, you lose touch with your root.

To be restless is to lose one's self-mastery.

I have the ability to stay poised and centered regardless of what goes before me.

25th Verse ~ I come from greatness. I attract greatness. I am greatness.

~25th Verse~

There was something formless and perfect before the Universe was born.

It is serene.  Empty.  Solitary.  Unchanging.  Infinite.  Eternally present.

It is the Mother of the Universe.

For lack of a better name, I call it the Tao.

I call it great.

Great is boundless; boundless is eternally flowing; ever flowing, it is constantly returning.

Therefore, the Way is great, heaven is great, earth is great, people are great.

Thus, to know humanity, understand earth.

To know earth, understand the Universe.

To know the Universe, understand the Way.

To know the Way, understand the great within yourself.

I come from greatness.

I attract greatness.

I am greatness.

24th Verse ~ Boasting and showing off are examples of superfluous excesses. These practices must be uprooted, thrown out, and left behind forever.

~24th Verse~

If you stand on tiptoe, you cannot stand firmly.

If you take long steps, you cannot walk far.

Showing off does not reveal enlightenment.

Boasting will not produce accomplishment.

He who is self-righteous is not respected.

He who brags will not endure.

All these ways of acting are odious, distasteful.

They are superfluous excesses.

They are like a pain in the stomach, a tumor in the body.

When walking the path of the Tao, this is the very stuff that must be uprooted, thrown out, and left behind.

Boasting and showing off are examples of superfluous excesses.  These practices must be uprooted, thrown out, and left behind forever.

23rd Verse ~ In all of nature, no storm can last forever.

~23rd Verse~

To talk little is natural:

Fierce winds do not blow all morning; a downpour of rain does not last the day.

Who does this?  Sky and earth.

But these are exaggerated, forced effects, and that is why they cannot be sustained. 

If sky and earth cannot sustain a forced action, how much less is man able to do?

Those who follow the Way

become the Way.

Those who follow goodness

become one with goodness.

Those who stray from the Way and goodness 

become one with failure.

If you conform to the Way, 

its power flows through you.

our actions become those of nature, 

your ways those of all the sky.

Open yourself to the Tao 

and trust your natural responses...

then everything will fall into place.

In all of nature, no storm can last forever.

~22nd Verse~

The flexible are preserved unbroken.

The bent become straight.

The empty are filled.

The exhausted become renewed.

The poor are enriched.

The rich are confounded.

Therefore the sage embraces the one.

Because he does not display himself, people can see his light.

Because he has nothing to prove, people can trust his words.

Because he does not know who he is, people recognize themselves in him.

Because he had no goal in mind, everything he does succeeds.

The old saying that the flexible are preserved unbroken is surely right!

If you have truly attained wholeness, everything will flock to you.

I resist any brokenness by being flexible and bending when storms appear.

21st Verse ~ How do I know the way of all things at the beginning? I see it within myself.

~21st Verse~

The greatest virtue is to follow the Tao and the Tao alone.

The Tao is elusive and intangible.

Although formless and intangible, it gives rise to form.

Although vague and elusive, it gives rise to shapes.

Although dark and obscure, it is the spirit, the essence, the life breath of all things.

Throughout the ages, its name has been preserved in order to recall the beginning of all things.

How do I know the ways of all things at the beginning?

I look inside myself and see what is within me.

20th Verse ~ I am doing nothing. Rather, I am being done.

~20th Verse~

Give up learning and you will be free from all your cares.

What is the difference between yes and no?

What is the difference between good and evil?

Must I fear what others fear?

Should I fear desolation when there is abundance?

Should I fear darkness when that light is shining everywhere?

In spring, some go to the park and climb the terrace, but I alone am drifting, not knowing where I am.

Like a newborn babe before it learns to smile, I am alone, without a place to go.

Most people have too much; I alone seem to be missing something.

Mine is indeed the mind of an ignoramus in its unadulterated simplicity.

I am but a guest in this world.

While others rush about to get things done, I accept what is offered.

I alone seem foolish, earning little, spending less.

Other people strive for fame; I avoid the limelight, preferring to be left alone.  Indeed, I seem like an idiot:  no mind, no worries.

I drift like a wave on the ocean.

I blow as aimless as the wind.

All men settle down in their grooves; I alone am stubborn and remain outside.

But wherein I am most different from others is in knowing to take sustenance from the great Mother!

I am doing nothing.

Rather, I am being done.