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Laotze
Dao De Jing

English Version by Bob Gonzalez

FIFTY-FIVE
One who is full of vigor is like an infant. Poisonous insects do not sting him.
Fierce beasts will not attack him. Birds of prey will not strike him.
His bones are weak, his muscles soft, but his grip is firm.
He is unaware of sexual intercourse, yet his organ is aroused, showing his vitality is primed.
He cries all day without getting hoarse because he is in perfect harmony.
To know harmony is called "the eternal." To know the eternal is called "illumination."
To force long life is ominous. Mentally controlling the breath is violent.
Things in their prime that use force soon grow old. They go against the Way.
That which goes against the Way soon perishes.

FIFTY-SIX
One who knows does not speak. One who speaks does not know.
Block the passages. Close the doors. Blunt the sharpness.
Untie the knots. Soften the brightness. Blend with the dust. This is primal union.
One who does this cannot be attracted or repelled,
benefitted or harmed, honored or disgraced.
This state is the most valuable one.

FIFTY-SEVEN
Govern the nation with straightforwardness. Wage war with tactics.
Win the world with spontaneity.
How do I know this? Using this:
The more the restrictions, the poorer the people.
The more the weapons, the more the troubles.
The more the cunning, the more the viciousness.
The more the laws, the more the thieves.
Therefore the sage says: "I act naturally and people grow by themselves.
I love peace and people straighten themselves.
I have no personal business and people prosper by themselves.
I have no selfish desires and people simplify themselves."

FIFTY-EIGHT
When the government is subtle and silent, the people are happy and honest.
When the government is strict and unforgiving, the people are angry and rebellious.
Misfortune underlies fortune. Fortune underlies misfortune.
Who knows when it will end?
If there is no right, then what is right becomes wrong, what is good becomes evil.
Indeed, the people have been confused for a long time.
Therefore the sage is square but not cutting, sharp but not piercing,
expansive but not imposing, luminous but not dazzling.

FIFTY-NINE
In ruling a nation and serving Heaven, nothing compares with restraint.
To be restrained is to return before straying.
To return before straying is to build much vigor.
By building much vigor one can overcome all obstacles.
If one can overcome all obstacles, one will become limitless.
Becoming limitless, one inherits a kingdom.
One who possesses the mother of a kingdom endures long.
This is called "deep roots and firm branches."
It is the way to long life and lasting vision.

SIXTY
Governing a large nation is like cooking a small fish.
When all under Heaven is governed by the Way, spirits have no power.
Not that they lack power, but their power does not harm people.
Another has power but does not harm people.
The sage does no harm to people. Where both do no harm, they circulate vigor.
SIXTY-ONE
A great country is like the lowlands where all streams flow to unite.
It is the concourse of the world, the female of the world.
The female conquers the male by serenity. Serenity is "being under."
Therefore, if the large country wants to win a small country,
it must get under the small country.
If the small country wants to win a big country, it must stay under.
The great country wants to absorb the small
and the small country wants to blend with the great.
Both get their wish.
Therefore, the great country should get under.

SIXTY-TWO
The Way is the shrine of all things.
It is the treasure of the good and the refuge of the bad.
Good words buy honor; good deeds elevate the doer.
Even one who is not good is not abandoned.
Therefore, when the emperor is crowned and the three ministers are installed,
rather than sending horses with jade, kneel and offer the Way.
Why did the ancients value the Way?
Is it not because those who seek will find and those who have sinned will be made free?
This is why all under Heaven value it.

SIXTY-THREE
Work without straining. Act without interfering. Enjoy the subtle flavor.
See the large when it is the small. See the many when they are the few.
When injured, respond with your true nature.
Undertake the complex task while it is still simple.
Build a large project from a small beginning.
Complex tasks grow from simple tasks; large projects begin small.
Therefore the sage nurtures the small until it grows great. Easy promises are hard to keep.
If you think things are easy to do, you may find them hard to do.
Therefore, the sage looks for the hard in the easy and ends up finding things really easy.

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English Version by Bob Gonzalez

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Dao De Jing