The best are like water
bringing help to all
without competing
choosing what others avoid
they thus approach the Tao
dwelling with earth
thinking with depth
helping with kindness
speaking with honesty
governing with peace
working with skill
and moving with time
and because they don’t compete
they aren’t maligned
Lao-Tzu Taoteching translated by Red Pine
The best way to live
is to be like water
For water benefits all things
and goes against none of them
It provides far all people
and even cleanses those places
a man is loath to go
In this way it is just like Tao
Live in accordance with the nature of things;
Build your house on solid ground
Keep your mind still
When giving, be kind
When speaking, be truthful
When ruling, be just
When working, be one-pointed
When acting, remember—timing is everything
One who lives in accordance with nature
does not go against the way of things
He moves in harmony with the present moment
always knowing the truth of just what to do
Lao-Tzu Taoteching translated by Jonathan Star
W U CH’ENG says, “Among those who follow the Tao, the best are like water: content to be lower and, thus, free of blame. Most people hate being lower and compete to be higher. But when people compete, someone is maligned’
LI HUNG-FU says, “How do we know the best don’t compete? Everyone else chooses nobility. They alone choose humility. Everyone else chooses the pure. They alone choose the base. What they choose is what everyone else hates. Who is going to compete with them?”
KUALA-TZU says, “Water is the source of creation, the ancestor of all living things. It’s the bloodstream of Earth” (Kuantzu: 39)
HUANG YUAN-CHI Says, “Mencius says, `People cannot live without water and fire [Mencius: 7A.23]. In terms of cultivation, when fire warms water, `pure yang’ arises. When water cools fire, `sweet dew’ appears’
WANG PANG Says, “Water is the chief of the five elements [see verse 12]. It comes from space, which is not that far from the Tao”
WANG PI says, “The Tao does not exist, but water does. Hence, it only approaches the Tao”
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “The best people have a nature like that of water. They’re like mist or dew in the sky, like a stream or a spring on land. Most people hate moist or muddy places, places where water alone dwells. The nature of water is like the Tao: empty, clear, and deep. As water empties, it gives life to others. It reflects without becoming impure, and there is nothing it cannot wash clean. Water can take any shape, and it is never out of touch with the seasons. How could anyone malign something with such qualities as this?”
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “Those who free themselves from care stay low and avoid heights. Those whose minds are empty can plumb the depths. Those who help others without expecting any reward are truly kind. Those whose mouths agree with their minds speak the truth. Those who make demands of themselves as well as others establish peace. Those who can change as conditions change work with skill. Those who act when it is time to act and rest when it is time to rest move with time.”
LI JUNG says, “Water has no purpose of its own. Those who can remain empty and not compete with others follow the natural Way.”
YEN TSUN Says, “If a ruler embodies this and uses this in his government, his virtue is most wonderful. How could he be maligned?”
HAN FEI Says, “If a drowning man drinks it, he dies. If a thirsty man drinks it, he lives”
Given Lao-tzu’s usual disdain for social virtues, some commentators have trouble accepting the standard reading of jen (kindness) in line eight. For those in search of an alternative, the Fuyi and Chinglung editions have jen (others), while Mawangtui B has t’ien (heaven), and Mawangtui A compresses lines eight and nine: “helping with honesty.” This in not present in the Kuotien texts, yet it remains one of the Taotechings most quoted verses.
Translation of lines 1-43: “Everything has its own virtue, its own truth—that which gives it value. Of places to live, it is location, of the mind, it is stillness, of giving, it is kindness, of speaking, it is truthfulness, of ruling, it is justice, of working, it is ability, of action, it is timing.” “What gives a dwelling value is location, what gives a mind value is stillness, what gives giving value is love, what gives speaking value is sincerity, what gives ruling value is justice, what gives working value is ability, what gives activity value is the present moment.”