Dao De Jing Chapters 27, 45, 47, 48

27 Transl. John C.H. Wu: Good walking leaves no track behind it; Good speech leaves no mark to be picked at; Good calculation makes no use of counting-slips; Good shutting makes no use of bolt and bar, And yet nobody can undo it; Good tying makes no use of rope and knot, And yet nobody can untie it. Hence, the Sage is always good at saving men, And therefore nobody is abandoned; Always good at saving things, And therefore nothing is wasted. This is called following the guidance of the Inner Light. Hence, good men are teachers of bad men, While bad men are the charge of good men. Not to revere ones teacher, Not to cherish ones charge, Is to be on the wrong road, however intelligent one may be. This is an essential tenet of Tao.

Transl. Jonathan Star: 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 The Sage is always on the side of virtue so everyone around him prospers He is always on the side of truth so everything around him is fulfilled The path of the Sage is called The Path of Illumination He who gives himself to this path is like a block of wood that gives itself to the chisel Cut by cut it is honed to perfection Only a student who gives himself can receive the masters gift If you think otherwise, despite your knowledge, you have blundered Giving and receiving are one This is called, The great wonder The essential mystery The very heart of all that is true

Dao De Jing Chapters 27, 45, 47, 48

45 Transl. John C.H. Wu: The greatest perfection seems imperfect, And yet its use is inexhaustible. The greatest fullness seems empty, And yet its use is endless. The greatest straightness looks like crookedness. The greatest skill appears clumsy. The greatest eloquence sounds like stammering. Restlessness overcomes cold, But calm overcomes heat. The peaceful and serene Is the Norm of the World. Transl. Jonathan Star: The Great Perfection seems imperfect yet this world it creates is never impaired The Great Fullness seems empty yet this world it creates is never lacking Great truth seems false Great skill seems clumsy Great eloquence seems like babble Keep moving and youll miss the cold Keep silent and youll beat the heat Be tranquil like the rain of spring Be pure like the sheen of silk Then the Great Perfection will be perfect and the Great Fullness will be full

47 Transl. John C.H. Wu: Without going out of your door, You can know the ways of the world. Without peeping through your window, You can see the Way of Heaven. The farther you go, The less you know. Transl. Jonathan Star: Without going outside one can know the whole world Without looking out of the window one can see the ways of Heaven The farther one goes the less one knows Thus the Sage does not go, yet he knows He does not look, yet he sees He does not do, yet all is done

Dao De Jing Chapters 27, 45, 47, 48

48 Transl. John C.H. Wu: Learning consists in daily accumulating; The practice of Tao consists in daily diminishing. Keep on diminishing and diminishing, Until you reach the state of Non-Ado. No-Ado, and yet nothing is left undone. To win the world, one must renounce all. If one still has private ends to serve, One will never be able to win the world. Transl. Jonathan Star: To become learned, gain daily To obtain Tao, reduce daily Reduce and reduce again until all action is reduced to non-action Then no one is left Nothing is done yet nothing is left undone One who gives freely and without attachment gets a full life in return One who gives with the secret hope of getting is merely engaged in business Truly, they neither give nor receive any of the treasures from this world below Heaven