Wednesday 9 April 2008

Tao Te Ching of Lao-Tzu Chapter 5


Below is the chapter from two excellent sources along with the original Chinese text. The first source is from a translation by D.T. Suzuki & Paul Carus in 1913 followed by a translation by Stephen Mitchell in 1988.

Chapter 5

1. But for heaven and earth's humaneness, the ten thousand things are straw dogs. But for the holy man's humaneness, the hundred families are straw dogs.

2. Is not the space between heaven and earth like unto a bellows? It is empty; yet it collapses not. It moves, and more and more comes forth. [But]

3. "How soon exhausted is
A gossip's fulsome talk!
And should we not prefer
On the middle path to walk?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Tao doesn't take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.

The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.

Hold on to the centre.

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