Chapters 1-37: 道經 (Dao)

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1: 觀玅章 — Observing the mysterious essence
• Chapter 2: 觀徼章 — Observing outward manifestations
• Chapter 3: 安民章 — Bringing peace to the people
• Chapter 4: 不盈章 — Inexhaustibility
• Chapter 5: 守中章 —

Chapter 1: 觀玅章 — Observing the mysterious essence

• 道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。
• 無，名天地之始；有，名萬物之母。
• 故常無欲，以觀其妙；常有欲，以觀其徼。
• 此兩者，同出而異名，同謂之玄。
• 玄之又玄，眾妙之門。

• The Dao that can be spoken of is not the enduring and unchanging Dao;
• The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.
• The nameless void is the origin of heaven and earth;
• The namèd existence is the mother of all entities.

• Thus, only with no desire can we observe the true essence;
• With desire, we can only observe its outward manifestations.

• Alternate translation, slightly skewed:
• Thus, studying the void allows us to observe the true essence;
• Studying existence allows us to see outward manifestations.

• These two, although named differently, have the same origin and are inherently paired; they both speak of a profound mystery.
• Mystery beyond mystery lies the gate to the universal essence.

Chapter 2: 觀徼章 — Observing outward manifestations

• 天下皆知美之為美，斯惡已。皆知善之為善，斯不善已。
• 故有無相生，難易相成，長短相形，高下相傾，音聲相和，前後相隨。
• 是以聖人處無為之事，行不言之教。萬物作焉而不辭。
• 生而不有，為而不恃，功成而弗居。夫唯弗居，是以不去。

• All in the world recognize the beautiful as beautiful; herein lies ugliness.
• All recognize the good as good; herein lies evil.

• Therefore:
  Existence and void give birth to each other;
  Difficulty and ease accomplish each other;
  Long and short form each other;
  High and low distinguish each other;
  Sound and tone harmonize each other;
  Before and after follow each other.

• (The point here is that everything is relative.)

• Realizing this, the saint (sage) mirrors the tireless actions of all bodily entities; he performs without intention (abides by unattached action, “wu-wei”), and practices wordless teaching.

• He produces without becoming possessive;
• He acts without expectations;
• And he does not dwell on his accomplishments.

• It is only because he does not dwell on his accomplishments that their merits are not lost.

Chapter 3: 安民章 — Bringing peace to the people

• 不尚賢，使民不爭；不貴難得之貨，使民不為盜；不見可欲，使心不亂。
• 是以聖人之治：虛其心，實其腹；弱其志，強其骨。
• 常使民無知、無欲。使夫知者不敢為也，為無為，則無不治。

• By not adulating the worthy, people will not fall into dispute;
• By not valuing objects difficult to obtain (treasures), people will not become thieves;
• By not seeing desirables, one’s heart will not become disordered and confused.

• Therefore, the saint (sage) governs by emptying the mind, filling the belly (virtue), weakening the will, and strengthening the bone (essence).

• He keeps the people innocent of knowledge and desire.
• The clever are kept at bay and dare not make trouble.

• Where there is action without intention, there is nothing that cannot be governed.

Chapter 4: 不盈章 — Inexhaustibility

• 道沖而用之，或不盈。淵兮似萬物之宗。
• 挫其銳，解其紛，和其光，同其塵。
• 湛兮似若存。吾不知誰之子，象帝之先。

• Dao is void and empty, yet it can inexhaustibly infuse into all of nature.
• It is such a deep abyss, seeming to be the origin of all entities.

• It blunts sharpness and resolves confusion;
• It harmonizes with brilliance and unifies with dust.
• It is so deep, seeming to exist everywhere.

• I do not know who created (birthed, yeaned) it. It must have existed before heaven and earth.

Chapter 5: 守中章 —

• 天地不仁，以萬物為芻狗，聖人不仁，以百姓為芻狗，
• 天地之間，其猶橐籥乎！虛而不屈，動而愈出。
• 多言數窮，不如守中。

Translation pending…