All the world knows beauty
but if that becomes beautiful
this becomes ugly
all the world knows good
but if that becomes good
this becomes bad
have and have not create each other
hard and easy produce each other
long and short shape each other
high and low complete each other
note and noise accompany each other
first and last follow each other
sages therefore perform effortless deeds
and teach wordless lessons
they don’t look after all the things that arise
or depend on them as they develop
or claim them when they reach perfection
and because they don’t claim them
they are never without them
Lao-tzu’s Tao Teching
Interpreted by Red Pine
Everyone recognizes beauty
only because of ugliness
Everyone recognizes virtue
only because of sin
Life and death are born together
Difficult and easy
Long and short
High and Low—
all these exist together
Sound and silence blend as one
Before and after arrive as one
The Sage acts without action
and teaches without talking
All things flourish around him
and he does not refuse any one of them
He gives but not to receive
He works but not for reward
He completes but not for results
He does nothing for himself in this passing world
so nothing he does ever passes
Lao-tzu’s Tao Teching
Interpreted by Jonathan Star
LU HSI-SHENG says, “What we call beautiful or ugly depends on our feelings. Nothing is necessarily beautiful or ugly until feelings make it so. But while feel-ings differ, they all come from our nature, and we all have the same nature. Hence, sages transform their feelings and return to their nature and thus become one again’
wU CH’ENG says, “The existence of things, the difficulty of affairs, the size of forms, the magnitude of power, the pitch and clarity of sound, the sequence of position, all involve contrasting pairs. When one is present, both are present. When one is absent, both are absent.”
LU HUI-CH’ING says, “These six pairs all depend on time and occasion. None of them is eternal. Sages, however, act according to the Immortal Tao. Hence, they act without effort. And because they teach according to the Immortal Name, they teach without words. Beautiful and ugly, good and bad dont enter their minds’
WANG WU-CHIU Says, “Sages are not interested in deeds or words. They sim-ply follow the natural pattern of things. Things rise, develop, and reach perfec-tion. This is their order.”
WANG AN-SHIN says, “Sages create but do not possess what they create. They 3 act but do not depend on what they do. They succeed but do not claim suc-cess. These all result from selflessness. Because sages are selfless, they do not lose themselves. Because they do not lose themselves, they do not lose others”
SU CH’E says, “Losing something is the result of possessing something. How can people lose what they don’t possess?”
LI HSI-CHAI says, “Lao-tzu’s 5,000-word text clarifies what is mysterious as well as what is obvious. It can be used to attain the Tao, to order a country, or to cultivate the body.”
Ho-sHANG KUNG titles this verse: “Cultivating the Body.”
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “Those who practice the Way put an end to dis-tinctions, get rid of name and form, and make of themselves a home for the Way and Virtue.”
I have used the wording of the Mawangtui and Kuotien texts for lines seven through twelve but have omitted the Mawangtui insertion of heng (is endless) after line twelve. In line fifteen, I have followed the Kuotien wording: ssu (look after) in place of the usual shih (begin). Between lines fifteen and sixteen, nei-ther the Mawangtui nor Kuotien copies include the line sheng-er pu yu, “or pos-sess what they beget;’ which appears in the Wangpi and Fuyi editions and which was apparently interpolated from a similar sequence that appears in verse 51. The last two lines also appear in verse 77.
[3] Wu-wei is a central concept to Taoism and translates as “non-action,” “without action,” “empty action,” “no action,” “without doing.” It is action without the sense of doer-ship; it is egoless action; it is “taking no unnatural action”; action without ego or “force”; action in accord with the universe; action without attachment to its fruits. “Non-action” does not mean to avoid the call of your daily
life, or be lazy, but rather to engage in all enterprises fully, knowing that the Supreme Power is the source of all action. In wu-wei a person sees himself as the universe, and, thus, he does nothing—all his actions are the actions of the universe itself. (See NOTES)
[4]a) >Alt: ssu (master, dominate, rule over, control, authority, “initiate” ) b) >Alt: wei-shih (make first, be in front, start, take the lead) —Fu 1
[5] Fu wei pu chu ssu i fu ch’u
A. (The results of one’s actions do not depart,) “It is precisely because he does not claim credit that his accomplishment remains with him.” (Chan); “Because he does not claim merit, his merit does not go away.” (Chen); “Only when work is forgotten does it last forever.” (Feng)
B.
C. B.(The Sage does not die or depart,) “The Master indeed rests not on rewards. That is why he passes not away.” (Mears); “The very reason he does not die (and is reborn) is because he does not dwell in (identify with) his limited sense of self (i.e., his body, mind, or actions).” (Janwu)
是 02-85 shih (this)
以 02-86 yi (for) ) therefore / thus [he][it][his / its accomplishments, merit, credit]
不 02-87 pu does not / not / “suffers no”
去 02-88 ch’u depart/desert/ go away/ die/ loss )) stays with him/ lasts forever/ he loses nothing [5]