道德经

I'm Taoist, according to my birth certificate. It's something I'm used to putting down under the "religion" category in those ubiquitous application forms for anything related to the Government. But I'm not Taoist in the way a Christian is a Christian or a Muslim is a Muslim. I do not see Taoism as a religion but as a philosophy: simple wisdom to guide my life.


皆知善之为善，斯不善已。长短相较。高下相倾。音声相和。前后相随。是以圣人处无为之事。行不言之教。万物作焉而不辞。生而不有。为而不恃。功成而弗居。天唯弗居，是以不去。
When all the world recognises good as good, this in itself is evil. Difficult and easy complement each other. Long and short exhibit each other. High and low set measure to each other. Voice and sound harmonise each other. Back and front follow each other. Therefore, the Sage manages his affairs with ado and spreads his teachings without talking. He denies nothing to the teeming things. He rears them but lays no claim on them. He does his work but sets no store by it. He accomplishes his task but does not dwell upon it. And yet it is just because he does not dwell on it that nobody can ever take it away from him.

居善地。心善渊。与善仁。言善信。正善治。事善能。动善时。夫唯不争，故无忧。
In choosing your dwelling, know how to keep to the ground. In cultivating your mind, know how to dive in the hidden depths. In dealing with others, know how to be gentle and kind. In speaking, know how to keep your word. In governing, know how to maintain order. In transacting business, know how to be efficient. In making a move, know how to choose the right moment. If you do not strive with others, you will be free from all worry.

故贵以身为天下，若可寄天下。爱以身为天下，若可托天下。
Only he who is willing to give his body for the sake of the world is fit to be entrusted with the world. Only he who can do it with love is worthy of being the steward of the world.

致虚极。守静笃。..归根曰静。是谓复命。复命曰常。知常曰明。
Attain to utmost emptiness. Cling whole-heartedly to inner peace. To return to the roots is to find peace. To find peace is to fulfill one's destiny. To fulfill one's destiny is to be constant. To know the Constant is called Insight.

见素抱朴。少私寡欲。
See the Simple and embrace the Primal. Diminish the Self and curb desires.

知人者智。自知者明。胜人者有力。自胜者强。知足者富。强行者有志。不失其所者久。死而不忘者寿。
He who knows others is clever. He who knows himself has insight. He who conquers others has force. He who conquers himself is truly strong. He who knows when he has had enough is rich. He who stays where he has found his true home endures long. And he who dies but perishes not enjoys real longevity.

柔弱胜刚强。鱼不可脱渊。国之利器，不可以示人。
The soft and the weak overcome the hard and the strong. Just as the fish must not leave the deep, so the ruler must not display his weapons.

甚爱必大费。多藏必厚亡。知足不辱，知止不殆，可以长久。
An excessive love for anything will cost you dear in the end. Having too many possessions will entail a heavy loss. To know when you have enough is to be immune from disgrace. To know when to stop is to be preserved from peril. Only then can you endure long.

祸莫大于不知足。咎莫大于欲得。故知足之足常足矣。
There is no calamity like not knowing what is enough. There is no evil like covetousness. Only he who knows what is enough will always have enough.

祸兮福之所倚。福兮祸之所伏。
Bad fortune is what good fortune leans on; good fortune is what bad fortune hides in.

或下以取。或下而取。
One wins by lowering himself. One wins by remaining low.

天下难事必作于易。天下大事必作于细。是以圣人终不为大。故能成其大。夫轻诺必寡信。多易必多难。是以圣人犹难之。故终无难矣。
Difficult things of the world can only be tackled when they are easy. Great things of the world can only be achieved by attending to their small beginnings. Thus the Sage never has to grapple with great things, yet he alone is capable of achieving them. He who promises lightly must lack trustworthiness. He who thinks everything is easy will end by finding everything difficult. Therefore the Sage, who regards everything as difficult, meets with no difficulties in the end.

其安易持。其未兆易谋。其脆易泮。其微易散。为之于未有。治之于未乱。合抱之木，生于毫末。九层之台，起于累土。千里之行，始于足下。为者败之。执者失之。..民之从事，常于几成而败之。慎终如始，则无败事。
What is at rest is easy to hold. What manifests no omens is easily forestalled. What is fragile is easily shattered. What is small is easily scattered. Tackle things before they appear. Cultivate peace and order before confusion and chaos set in. A tree as big as a man's embrace springs from a tiny sprout. A tower nine stories high begins with a heap of earth. A journey of a thousand leagues starts from where you stand. He who fusses over anything spoils it. He who grasps anything loses it. In handling affairs, people often spoil them just at the brink of success. With heedfulness from the beginning and patience till the end, nothing will be spoiled.

江海所以能为百谷王者，以其善下之，故能为百谷王。。。以其不争，故天下莫能与之争。
How does the sea become the king of all streams? Because it lies lower than them all. Do not strive with anyone and nobody can ever strive with you.

慈故能勇。俭故能广。不敢为天下先。故能成器长。
Because I am merciful, therefore I can be brave. Because I am frugal, therefore I can be generous. Because I dare not be the first, therefore I can be the chief of all vessels.

祸莫大于轻敌。轻敌几丧吾宝。
There is no greater calamity than to underestimate the strength of your enemy. For to underestimate your enemy is to lose your treasure.

知不知上。不知知病。
To realise that our knowledge is ignorance is a noble insight. To regard our ignorance as knowledge is a mental sickness.

圣人自知不自见。自爱不自贵。故去彼取此。
The Sage knows himself but makes no show of himself. He loves himself but does not exalt himself. He prefers what is within to what is without.