tao te ching 1-3 - english translations

7/27/2019 Tao Te Ching 1-3 - English Translations

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Tao Te Ching - English translations

Beck:1. The Mystical Way.

The Way that can be described is not the absolute Way;the name that can be given is not the absolute name.Nameless it is the source of heaven and earth;named it is the mother of all things.

Whoever is desireless, sees the essence of life.Whoever desires, sees its manifestations.These two are the same,but what is produced has names.They both may be called the cosmic mystery:from the cosmic to the mysticalis the door to the essence of all life.

Blakney:1.

There are ways but the Way is uncharted;There are names but not nature in words:Nameless indeed is the source of creationBut things have a mother and she has a name.

The secret waits for the insightOf eyes unclouded by longing;Those who are bound by desireSee only the outward container.

These two come paired but distinctBy their names.Of all things profound,Say that their pairing is deepest,The gate to the root of the world.

Byrn:

1.

The way that can be told of is hardly an eternal, absolute, unvarying one;the name that can be coded and given is no absolute name.

Heaven and earth sprang from something else: the bright nameless;the named is but the said mother that rears the ten thousand creatures of heaven and earth, eachafter its kind.

He that rids himself of base desire can see the secret essences;he that didn't and reached high being, he can see outcomes.Still the two are the same; the secret and its manifestations came from the same ground, the samemould, but anyway sound different - they're given different names where they appear.They can both be called the cosmic mystery, awesome deep or rather more secret than so-calledmystery.

There's the deeper mystery: the gate and doorway from which issued all secret essences, yes, allsubleties, and the subtle mysterial opening homewards.

Call it the door mystery or golden secret of all life.


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Crowley:1. THE NATURE OF THE TAO.

The Tao-Path is not the All-Tao.The Name is not the Thing named.

Unmanifested, it is the Secret Father of

########## #### ############## #### ############## #### ####Heaven and Earth

manifested, it is their Mother.

To understand this Mystery, one must be fulfilling one's will,and if one is not thus free, one will but gain a smattering of it.

The Tao is one, and the Teh but a phase thereof. The abyss of this

Mystery is the Portal of Serpent-Wonder.

The Tao.

The Teh, The Tao,source of the Mother source of the Father

#### #### ########

Heaven##############################Ch'ien

#### #### #### ######## #### ################## #########

Fire Water - Tui

Sun############# #############

######### ################## #### ####

#### #### #### ####Air - Sun Earth - Ken

Moon#### ################# ####

K'an

Earth#### ######## ######## ####

K'un


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Feng - English:1.

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.The name that can be named is not the eternal name.The nameless is the beginning of heaven and Earth.

The named is the mother of the ten thousand things.Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.Ever desiring, one sees the manifestations.These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness.Darkness within darkness.The gate to all mystery.

Ganson:1.

The Tao described in words is not the real Tao.Words cannot describe it.

Nameless, it is the source of creation.Named, it is the mother of all things.

To see Tao the observer must be motiveless.Those with selfish motives see onlythe surface, not the innermost depths.

These two kinds of observers look alike,but differ in the insight of their observations.They look alike because they are both human.Within humanity is the key to the door of creation.

Hansen:1. To Guide with Names.

To guide what can be guided is not constant guiding.To name what can be named is not constant naming.'Not-exist' names the beginning (boundary) of the cosmos (Heaven and earth)'Exists' names the mother of the ten-thousand natural kinds .Thus, to treat 'not-exist' as constant is desiring to use it to view its mysteries.To treat 'exists' as constant is desiring to use it to view its manifestations.These two emerge together yet have different names.'Together'--call that 'obscure. ' 'Obscure' it and it is more obscure.. . . the gateway of a crowd of mysteries.

Kwok - Palmer - Ramsay:1.

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,


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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.

Lau:1.

The way that can be spoken ofIs not the constant way;The name that can be namedIs not the constant name.

The nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth;The named was the mother of the myriad creatures.

Hence always rid yourself of desires in order to observe its secrets;But always allow yourself to have desires in order to observe its manifestations.

These two are the sameBut diverge in name as they issue forth.Being the same they are called mysteries,Mystery upon mystery -The gateway of the manifold secrets.

Legge: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.

(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.

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.

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.

Lindauer:

1.A tao that one can taoIs not the entire taoA name that one can nameIs not the entire name.

In the absence of names

Lies the origin of heavens and earthThe presence of names


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To conduct one's life according to the Tao,is to conduct one's life without regrets;to realize that potential within oneselfwhich is of benefit to all.

Though words or names are not requiredto live one's life this way,to describe it, words and names are used,that we might better clarifythe way of which we speak,without confusing it with other waysin which an individual might choose to live.

Through knowledge, intellectual thought and words,the manifestations of the Tao are known,but without such intellectual intentwe might experience the Tao itself.

Both knowledge and experience are real,but reality has many forms,which seem to cause complexity.

By using the means appropriate,we extend ourselves beyondthe barriers of such complexity,and so experience the Tao.

Tao Te Ching - 2

Beck:2. Relativity and Not Interfering.

When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty,there arises the recognition of ugliness.When they all know the good as good,there arises the recognition of bad.

Therefore being and non-being produce each other;difficult and easy complete each other;long and short contrast each other;high and low distinguish each other;

sound and voice harmonize with each other;beginning and end follow each other.

Therefore the wise manage affairs without interferingand teach beyond the words.

All things rise, and they do not turn away from them.They give them life, but do not take possession of them.They act, but do not rely on their own ability.They accomplish, but claim no credit.Because they claim no credit,their accomplishment remains with them.


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Crowley:2. THE ENERGY - SOURCE OF THE SELF.

All men know that beauty and ugliness are correlatives, as are skill and clumsiness;one implies and suggests the other.

So also existence and non-existence pose the one the other;so also is it with ease and difficulty, length and shortness; height and lowness.Also Musick exists through harmony of opposites;time and space depend upon contraposition.

By the use of this method, the sage can fulfil his will without action,and utter his word without speech.

All things arise without diffidence; they grow, and none interferes;they change according to their natural order, without lust of result.The work is accomplished; yet continueth in its orbit, without goal.This work is done unconsciously; this is why its energy is indefatigable.

Feng - English:2.

Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness.All can know good as good only because there is evil.

Therefore having and not having arise together.Difficult and easy complement each other.Long and short contrast each other:High and low rest upon each other;Voice and sound harmonize each other;Front and back follow one another.

Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,Creating, yet not.Working, yet not taking credit.Work is done, then forgotten.Therefore it lasts forever.

Ganson:2.

Whenever the most beautiful is perceived

ugliness arises, the least beautiful.Whenever good is perceivedevil exists, its natural opposite.

Perception involves opposites:Reality and fantasy are opposing thoughts.Difficult and simple oppose in degree.Long and short oppose in distance.High and low oppose in height.Shrill and deep oppose in tone.Before and after oppose in sequence.

The truly wise accept this,

and they work diligentlywithout allegiance to words.


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Lau:2.

The whole world recognizes the beautiful as the beautiful, yet this is only the ugly;the whole world recognizes the good as the good, yet this is only the bad.

Thus Something and Nothing produce each other;The difficult and the easy complement each other;The long and the short off-set each other;The high and the low incline towards each other;Note and sound harmonize with each other;Before and after follow each other.

Therefore the sage keeps to the deed that consists in taking no action and practises the teaching thatuses no words.

The myriad creatures rise from it yet it claims no authority;It gives them life yet claims no possession;It benefits them yet exacts no gratitude;

It accomplishes its task yet lays claim to no merit.

It is because it lays claim to no meritThat its merit never deserts it.

Legge:2.

All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what uglinessis;they all know the skill of the skilful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what the want of skill is.

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 andlowness 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; andthat being before and behind give the idea of one following another.

Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything, and conveys his instructions without theuse of speech.

All things spring up, and there is not one which declines to show itself; they grow, and there is no claimmade 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.

Lindauer:2.

In the world each knows how beauty actsWhere there is beauty ugliness beginsEach knows how to valueWhere there is value lack of value begins.

In this manner


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Presence and absence give birth to each otherDifficult and easy complete each otherLong and short contrast each otherHigh and low attract each otherTone and voice harmonize each otherFront and back follow each other.

Appropriately it happens that sagesDwell absent of acting with effortDo things without explaining in wordsMake the 10000 things blend yet without trying to describe themGive birth yet without possessingAct yet without relying on resultsAre of outstanding service yet aren't willing to reside therein.

In the end, only be unwilling to reside thereinAppropriately, a lack of detachment happens.

McCarroll:2.

All under heaven see beauty as beautyonly because they also see ugliness.

All announce that good is goodonly because they also denounce what is bad.

Therefore, something and nothing give birth to one anotherDifficult and easy complete one another.Long and short fashion one another.High and low arise from one another.Notes and tones harmonize with one another.

Front and back follow one another.

Thus, the True Person acts without strivingand teaches without words.

Deny nothing to the ten thousand things.

Nourish them without claiming authority,Benefit them without demanding gratitude,Do the work, then move on.

And, the fruits of your labor will last forever.

McDonald:2.

When people see things as beautiful,ugliness is created.When people see things as good,evil is created.

Being and non-being produce each other.Difficult and easy complement each other.Long and short define each other.High and low oppose each other.

Fore and aft follow each other.


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Therefore the Mastercan act without doing anythingand teach without saying a word.Things come her way and she does not stop them;things leave and she lets them go.She has without possessing,

and acts without any expectations.When her work is done, she takes no credit.That is why it will last forever.

Merel:2. Abstraction.

When beauty is abstractedThen ugliness has been implied;When good is abstractedThen evil has been implied.So alive and dead are abstracted from nature,

Difficult and easy abstracted from progress,Long and short abstracted from contrast,High and low abstracted from depth,Song and speech abstracted from melody,After and before abstracted from sequence.The sage experiences without abstraction,And accomplishes without action;He accepts the ebb and flow of things,Nurtures them, but does not own them,And lives, but does not dwell.

Mitchell:

2.

When people see some things as beautiful,other things become ugly.When people see some things as good,other things become bad.

Being and non-being create each other.Difficult and easy support each other.Long and short define each other.High and low depend on each other.Before and after follow each other.

Therefore the Masteracts without doing anythingand teaches without saying anything.Things arise and she lets them come;things disappear and she lets them go.She has but doesn't possess,acts but doesn't expect.When her work is done, she forgets it.That is why it lasts forever.


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the sage becomes aware that all things change,and that he who seems to lead,might also, in another situation, follow.So he does nothing; he neither leads nor follows.That which he does is neither big nor small;without intent, it is neither difficult,

nor done with ease.His task completed, he then lets go of it;seeking no credit, he cannot be discredited.Thus, his teaching lasts for ever,and he is held in high esteem.

Tao Te Ching - 3

Beck:3. Simplicity.

Do not exalt the worthy,so that people will not compete.Do not value rare treasure,so that people will not steal.Do not display objects of desire,so that people's hearts will not be disturbed.

Therefore the wise lead by keepingtheir hearts pure, their bellies full,their ambitions weak, and their bones strong,so that the people may be purifiedof their thoughts and desires;and the cunning ones will not interfere.By acting without interfering, all may live in peace.

Blakney:3.

If those who are excellent find no preferment,The people will cease to contend for promotion.If goods that are hard to obtain are not favored,The people will cease to turn robbers or bandits.If things much desired are kept under cover,Disturbance will cease in the minds of the people.

The Wise Man's policy, accordingly,Will be to empty people's hearts and minds,To fill their bellies, weaken their ambition,Give them sturdy frames and always so,To keep them uninformed, without desire,And knowing ones not venturing to act.

Be still while you workAnd keep full controlOver all.


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Byrn:3.

Stop looking for rare, moral persons (hsien) to put in power.There will be jealousies among people, jealousies and strife.If we cease to set store by products that are hard to get, there will be less outright thieves.

If the people never see such things as excite desire, their hearts can remain placid and undisturbed.Therefore the wise one rules by emptying their hearts [like the clown]. He fills their bellies, weakenstheir brightness and toughens their bones, ever striving to make the people without knowledge.

He sees to it that if there are any who are bright and clever, they dare not interfere.Through his non-do actions all [such subjection] runs well [for some time].

Crowley:3. QUIETING FOLK.

To reward merit is to stir up emulation; to prize rarities is to encourage robbery;to display desirable things is to excite the disorder of covetousness.

Therefore, the sage governeth men by keeping their minds and their bodies at rest, contenting the oneby emptiness, the other by fullness.He satisfieth their desires, thus fulfilling their wills, and making them frictionless; and he maketh themstrong in body, to a similar end.

He delivereth them from the restlessness of knowledge and the cravings of discontent.As to those who have knowledge already, he teacheth them the way of non-action.This being assured, there is no disorder in the world.

Feng - English:3.

Not exalting the gifted prevents quarreling.Not collecting treasures prevents stealing.Not seeing desirable things prevents confusion of the heart.

The wise therefore rule by emptying hearts and stuffing bellies, by weakening ambitions andstrengthening bones.If men lack knowledge and desire, then clever people will not try to interfere.If nothing is done, then all will be well.

Ganson:3.

Leaders Work Humbly

Leaders should not seek power or status;people will not then crave power or status.If scarce goods are not valued highly,people will have no need to steal them.If there is nothing available to arouse passion,people will remain content and satisfied.

The truly wise do leadby instilling humility and open-mindedness,by providing for fair livelihoods,

by discouraging personal ambition,by strengthening the bone-structure of the people.


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The wise avoid evil and radical reform;thus the foolish do not obstruct them.They work serenely, with inner quiet.

Hansen:3. Prescriptions for Politics.

Don't glorify the high-brow: cause people not to wrangle.Don't value limited commodities: cause people not to contemplate stealing.Don't display the desirable: prevent confusing the people's hearts-'n-minds.Using these: The governance of sages: empties their hearts-'n-minds, stuffs their gutsWeakens their resolve, and strengthens their bones.He treats causing the people to lack both knowledge and desire as constants.Causing those with knowledge not to venture deeming-actions.They deem the absence of deeming-action and thus nothing is ungoverned.

Kwok - Palmer - Ramsay:3.

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

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

If the sage governs with visionThen 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 surethat 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 forthen there is nothing that can break the flow.

Lau:

3.

Not to honor men of worth will keep the people from contention;not to value goods which are hard to come by will keep them from theft;not to display what is desirable will keep them from being unsettled of mind.

Therefore in governing the people, the sage empties their minds but fills their bellies, weakens their

wills but strengthens their bones.


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He always keeps them innocent of knowledge and free from desire, and ensures that the clever neverdare to act.

Do that which consists in taking no action, and order will prevail.

Legge:3.

Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way tokeep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articleswhich are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becomingthieves; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires isthe way to keep their minds from disorder.

Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, emptiestheir minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthenstheir bones.

He constantly (tries to) keep them without knowledge and withoutdesire, and where there are those who have knowledge, to keep themfrom presuming to act (on it). When there is this abstinence fromaction, good order is universal.

Lindauer:3.

Being without esteem for principlesResults in people who do not contendBeing without treasuring goods difficult to obtain

Results in people who do not act as thievesBeing without seeing what one can desireResults in the minds of people not being confused.

Appropriately the governing of sages happens.Baring the mindSolidifying the centerLessening the willStrengthening self-nature

These entirely result in peopleWho are absent of knowing and absent of desireIn the end they also result in the wise not venturing to act.

Acting absent of actingAn absence of being without governing follows.

McCarroll:

3.

Not exalting the talented prevents rivalry.Not valuing goods that are hard to obtain prevents stealing.Not displaying desirable things prevents confusion of the heart.

Therefore, the True Person governs by

emptying the heart of desireand filling the belly with food,


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weakening ambitionsand strengthening bones.

If the people are simple and free from desire,then the clever ones never dare to interfere.

Practice action without striving and all will be in order.

McDonald:3.

If you over esteem talented individuals,people will become overly competitive.If you overvalue possessions,people will begin to steal.

Do not display your treasuresor people will become envious.

The Master leads byemptying people's minds,filling their bellies,weakening their ambitions,and making them become strong.Preferring simplicity and freedom from desires,avoiding the pitfalls of knowledge and wrong action.

For those who practice not-doing,everything will fall into place.

Merel:3. Without Action.

Not praising the worthy prevents contention,Not esteeming the valuable prevents theft,Not displaying the beautiful prevents desire.In this manner the sage governs people:Emptying their minds,Filling their bellies,Weakening their ambitions,And strengthening their bones.If people lack knowledge and desire

Then they can not act;If no action is takenHarmony remains.

Mitchell:

3.

If you overesteem great men,people become powerless.If you overvalue possessions,people begin to steal.

The Master leadsby emptying people's minds


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and filling their cores,by weakening their ambitionand toughening their resolve.He helps people lose everythingthey know, everything they desire,and creates confusion

in those who think that they know.

Practice not-doing,and everything will fall into place.

Muller:3.

If you do not adulate the worthy,you will make others non-contentious.If you do not value rare treasures,you will stop others from stealing.

If people do not see desirables,they will not be agitated.Therefore, when the sage governs,He clears peoples minds,Fills their bellies,Weakens their ambition andStrengthens their bones.If the people are kept without cleverness and desireIt will make the intellectuals not dare to meddle.Doing wu-wei, there is no lack of manageability.

Rosenthal:

3. WITHOUT SEEKING ACCLAIM.

By retaining his humility,the talented person who is also wise,reduces rivalry.

The person who possesses many things,but does not boast of his possessions,reduces temptation, and reduces stealing.

Those who are jealous of the skills or thingspossessed by others,most easily themselves become possessed by envy.

Satisfied with his possessions,the sage eliminates the need to steal;at one with the Tao,he remains free of envy,and has no need of titles.

By being supple, he retains his energy.He minimizes his desires,and does not train himself in guile,nor subtle words of praise.By not contriving, he retainsthe harmony of his inner world,

and so remains at peace within himself.


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It is for reasons such as these,that an administrationwhich is concernedwith the welfare of those it serves,does not encourage statusand titles to be sought,

nor encourage rivalry.

Ensuring a sufficiency for all,helps in reducing discontent.

Administrators who are wisedo not seek honours for themselves,nor act with guiletowards the ones they serve.

tao te ching 1-3 - english translations

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