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Tao Te Ching
A New English Version
by
Bart Marshall
It blunts sharpness,
unravels entanglements,
diffuses brightness,
merges with dust.
Timeless, imperceptible,
it continues ever-present.
Why is it everlasting?
Because it is not conscious of itself.
Having no thought of being, it never is not.
Without self-concern,
the self is eternal.
When self-interest subsides,
fulfillment happens.
Eight
Supreme virtue is like water.
It nourishes the ten thousand things without effort
and flows in places men shun.
It is like Tao.
In friendship, be kind.
In governing, be just.
In enterprise, be able.
In action, watch the timing.
See the world as your body, and all will be delivered unto you.
Fourteen
Searching, we cannot see it.
We call it ephemeral.
Straining, we cannot hear it.
We call it ethereal.
Reaching, we cannot grasp it.
We call it intangible.
Tao is great.
Heaven is great.
Earth is great.
Man, too, is great.
In the realm there are four greats,
and a noble man is one.
Thus it is said:
The path of light is through darkness.
The road ahead leads back.
The easy way is most difficult.
The highest fulfillment is emptiness.
Why is this?
Because death is for the living.
Fifty One
Tao gives them life.
Virtue gives them nourishment.
The manifest world gives them form.
The tendencies of each make them what they are.
Therefore the ten thousand things honor Tao and esteem Virtue.
This honor and esteem are not commanded.
It is just the nature of things.
Stay quiet.
Keep inside.
Blunt sharpness.
Unravel entanglements.
Diffuse brightness.
Merge with dust.
He is embraced by heaven.
Fifty Seven
Rule the country with sincerity.
Wage war with cunning.
Master the universe with indifference.
Because of this:
The more taboos, the poorer the people's spirit.
The sharper men's weapons, the more trouble in the land.
The greater the ingenuity, the more clutter in the world.
The more abundant the laws, the more abundant the thieves.
Leaders who think they know are a curse to those they lead.
Leaders with a simple heart are a blessing to all.
Who keeps just enough and gives the rest to the world?
Only observers of Tao.