Tao Te-ching (Dao De-jing)

Verse 21 to 30

21.

Who walks the way
Shows the virtue of emptiness
The way as “something”
Waxes and wanes
But inside it
Is an image
In the waxing and waning
There is a being
Veiled in darkness
There is an essence
Which is truer than true -
The heart of reality.

From olden times
It has the same name
So I can follow who went before
How do I know who they were?
This way!

doi-chiang-dao
gezicht
22.
Being imperfect leads to becoming whole
The crooked become straight
Empty spirits become full
Exhaustion leads to renewal
Having little leads to receiving
Having too much leads to confusion.
Therefore sages take refuge in the one
Thus they can be a guide to all
Without regard for themselves
They appear
Without any display
They become a beacon
Without parading
They take the lead
In their humility
They gain respect.
Because they do not compete
No one can compete against them.
The old masters who said that
Imperfection leads to wholeness
Were surely not wrong:
To be wholly yourself comes forth from it.

23.

To speak little and quietly is natural
A storm does not last all morning
A downpour does not last all day
Who bring these forth?
Heaven and earth
They bring forth nothing that lasts
Let alone that human beings do so!
Thus, whatever you do
If you follow the way, be one with the way
When you succeed, be one with success
When you fail, be one with failure
One with success is the way in success
One with failure is the way in failure.

 

wolken
jongen rennend

24.

To walk on tiptoe is unsteady balance
Striding ahead you do not advance
Who think of themselves cannot be seen
Who expose themselves do not shine
Who is proud does not gain respect
Who step forward cannot lead.
Travellers on the way say:
A tiring pace and too much food
Are simply not good
Those on the way stay out of their way.

 

25.

Before the birth of the universe
There is something formless and complete
Wondrous and serene
Infinite and free
The mother of all things
Its name unknown
I call it the way.

Immense
It flows through all things
Far and beyond and then returns
To whence it flew forth.

The way is great
The universe is great
The earth is great
Who knows them is great
Four great powers.

Man follows the earth
The earth follows the universe
The universe follows the way
The way follows itself.

melkweg
meer met onweer

26.

Heavy is the root of light
Silence is the basis of noise.
Going out, being about
A sage does not leave these two
In chaos and in beauty
He is calm and undisturbed
Why would a person of position
Be blown about by conditions?
Too light you lose your grounding
Too involved you lose sight of your self.

 

27.

Right action does not leave traces
Right speech does not cause waves
Right counting is not done on your fingers
Right closing is not done with lock and key
Yet nothing can go in or out
Right tying is not done with knots
Yet it cannot be undone.
Sages are good at saving others
Thereby they leave no-one behind
Nor anything that has value or  use
This is called hiding the light
Thus the wise lead the not so wise
And provide the not so wise their work
Without honouring their teachers
Without cherishing their students
Sages alone are completely ‘blind’
This is called looking beyond the borders.

 

mist over bergen
stronk met bijl

28.

Know the male
Protect the female
Be of service to the world
As a heart of service
Keep to eternal virtue
With eternal virtue
You are again newly born.
Know the noble
Protect the base
Be an open valley for the world
Open and uncultivated
You are filled with eternal virtue
With eternal virtue
You are again a block of wood.
Know the light
Protect the dark
Be a guide to the world
As guide to the world
Hold on to eternal virtue
One with eternal virtue
You are again infinite.
A block of wood contains a myriad tools
If a master needs a tool
He turns to the block of wood
Not to ready made tools.

 

29.

Do you wish to change the world
To suit your wishes?
I do not think that can be done
The world is a spiritual body
And cannot be manipulated
If you do so, you  harm it
To force the world is to lose it.
There is a time to walk ahead
There is a time to follow
There is a time for activity
There is a time for rest
There is a time to invigourate
There is a time to lie low.
Sages avoid extremes
Avoid waste
Avoid extravagance
Sages keep to the mean.

 

zonnewijzer
pad met stenen

30.

xxx

Vertaald door: Eerw. Hakuun Barnhard

Copyright: Eerw. Hakuun Barnhard ©