Daodejing - Laozi

Taking the soul and animus to embrace into one, can you keep them from separating? Mastering the breath into softness, can you be as if a baby? Clearing and eliminating in your tranquil observing [meditation], can you be flawless? Loving the people and governing the state, can you be without cunning? Opening the heavenly gate [tianmen], could you be femaleness [soft/quiet]? Understanding [all] in the 4 directions, can you be unobstructed by knowledge? It births, it nurtures, [allows] life but does not own it, Acts but does not presume, [nurtures] growth but does not control. This is the mysterious force [Xuande]. 載營魄抱一，能無離乎？ 專氣致柔，能嬰兒乎？ 滌除玄覽，能無疵乎？ 愛民治國，能無知乎？ 天門開闔，能為雌乎？ 明白四達，能無知乎？ 生之、畜之，生而不有， 為而不恃，長而不宰， 是謂玄德。 This obscure chapter has 7 topics, which can be understood in a general manner and an esoteric manner. From a general perspective: Synchronizing mind and body (reason with desires) for success. Literally, this is synchronizing the spiritual/m

If you hold something and it overflows, this is inferior to desisting. If you try to gather rapid river currents, you cannot keep them for long. If gold and jewels fill a room, you cannot protect it. If rich and honored you are haughty, You will lose it due to that mistake. Achieving, then withdrawing oneself - this is the way of heaven. 持而盈之， 不如其已； 湍而群之， 不可長保。 金玉盈室， 莫之能守； 富貴而驕， 自遺其咎。 功遂身退天之道。 This chapter argues against hoarding and showing off. If you show your wealth, you may lose it. If you hoard your wealth, you will eventually lose it anyway. The celestial way is to achieve, but withdraw. In martial arts, this is related to martial virtue (wude). In the same way, if you show off your skills, you may lose them, and so it is better to be careful and humble.

The highest goodness is like water. Water is good at benefiting the myriad things and quietly occupies the places hated by the masses; thus it is near to the Way. Abodes are made good by their place, minds are made good by their depth, predictions are made good by the heavens, speech is made good by its trustfulness, governing is made good by its administration, tasks are made good by ability, movement is made good by timing. It is only by not competing, thus there is no fault. 上善若水。 水善利萬物而有靜， 居衆人之所惡， 故幾於道。 居善地，心善淵， 予善天，言善信， 正善治，事善能， 動善時。 夫唯不爭，故無尤。 This chapter uses water as a metaphor for the Way. Water helps all, and yet is quiet and non-competitive in its demeanor. By not competing, and by being cognizant about the subtle paired qualities that enable success, there can be success. For cultivators, "discarding the self" and not competing (losing in order to learn) is a prerequisite for training many skills, such as taijiquan push hands

Heaven is long-enduring and the earth is of old-time. Why heaven and earth can be long-enduring and of old-time, is because they do not live for themselves, for this reason they can live long. Therefore sages put themselves behind, yet they are in front; their [minds] are outside of themselves, yet they preserve themselves. Is this not because he has no personal concerns? Thus he can obtain his personal concerns. 天長地久。 天地所以能長且久者， 以其不自生， 故能長生。 是以聖人後其身而身先； 外其身而身存。 非以其無私耶？ 故能成其私。 This chapter teaches an example of how focusing on something (helping others) leads to its opposite (helping self), which also is in tune with the Daoist objective of longevity. The idea is that by being concerned for others, one ultimately benefits oneself, including long life. Thus by being unselfish, one is "selfish" in a sense. For cultivators, this also means that by helping others (e.g. teaching unreservedly), one also receives numerous benefits themselves, suc

The valley-god [Dao] is undying; This is called the mysterious-femaleness. The opening of the mysterious-femaleness, This is called the root of heaven and earth. Unbroken and continuous, so it is existing, Using it, it is not exhausted. 谷神不死， 是謂玄牝。 玄牝之門， 是謂天地根。 綿綿若存， 用之不勤。 (谷神 Gushen literally means "valley god" or "grain god," which can refer to the emptiness of a valley that appears like the Dao, or the nourishing characteristic of the Dao, or as gods of those qualities.) This chapter is obscure, but generally talks about the female (yin) force: The force behind life and growth is undying This is due to the obscure female (literally, "female" as in female animals) aspect of birth and life Her opening from which life emerges is the root of heaven and earth This aspect is obscure but ubiquitous and without limit Basically, the male force and the female force are connected, but the female force is the root. In particular, t

Heaven and earth are not hierarchical, they take the myriad things as straw dogs; Sages are not hierarchical, they take the common people as straw dogs. Between heaven and earth, isn't it like a bellows? Empty yet not depleting, the more it moves the more air comes out. Speaking glibly will lead to many troubles, it is better to protect the center. 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。 The Mawangdui texts have minor differences, mostly alternate characters (the most notable is 不淈 (not drying up) instead of 不屈 (not completing), which seems slightly better) and some added particles. The biggest notable change is: Listening too much will lead to many troubles, it is better to protect the center. 多聞數窮， 不若守於中。 This chapter seems cryptic at first, but discusses: Nobody is "special" or "chosen" - everyone is treated in an equally random way. Literally, heaven/earth/sages do not have &

The Way is empty but if using it it remains, yet is not full. Bottomless it is! It is like the progenitor of the myriad things. It files the sharpness, unfastens the scatteredness, Harmonizes the brightness, converges [as one] the dustiness. Profound it is! It is like [always having been] being and existing. I do not know whose child it is, It appears that it precedes the supreme god. 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。 湛兮似或存。 吾不知誰之子， 象帝之先。 This chapter describes the Dao (way) as having the qualities of being empty yet limitless, and yet not full. It also precedes any gods, being the unseen progenitor and force of all.

Not raising the clever, causes the people to not compete. Not valuing treasures that are difficult to acquire, causes the people to not become thieves. Not seeing that which can be desired, causes hearts to not become unstable. Therefore this is the way that sages rule [others], By emptying their minds and filling their stomachs, By weakening their ambitions and strengthening their bones. Always causing the people to be without knowledge and without desire. Letting them know non-daring, non-action, that is all. Thus, nothing is not managed. 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。 使夫知不敢弗為而已， 則無不治矣。 This chapter discusses how to manage people (whether a country, a state, a company, or a team). By avoiding behaviors that cause others to become toxic, one is able to keep their state or team stable, happy, and peaceful. The sage can manage their team by: Filling their stomachs; this refers to physiological needs (s

All under heaven know that beauty is beautiful; thus ugliness is already [known]. All know good, thus bad is already [known]. Thus having and nothing are birthing each other, Difficult and easy are becoming each other, Long and short are comparing each other, High and low are filling each other, Tone and noise are harmonizing each other, Front and back are following each other. Therefore, a sage keeps to non-action to do his works, And teaches by doing and not saying; The myriad things all do not start, Acting without presuming, Work is achieved yet [the sage] does not dwell. Only as he does not dwell, Therefore this [the achievements] does not leave. 天下皆知美之為美，斯亞已。 皆知善，斯不善已。 故有無相生，難易相成， 長短相較，高下相盈， 音聲相和，前後相隨。 是以聖人居無為之事， 行不言之教； 萬物昔而弗始， 為而不恃，功成而弗居。 夫唯弗居，是以不去。 This chapter discusses non-action, or wuwei (無為): Everything exists for us because of the existence of their opposites In the same way, non-action is the opposite of action, existing as it

The way that can be spoken of is not the perpetual Way. The name that can be named is not the perpetual name. Heaven and earth began with no name, Being named was the beginning of the myriad things. If one always has no desires, then one will perceive the mysteries. If one always has desires, then one will perceive the boundaries. These two, come out together but are of different names, together are called profound. The profound of profound. The gates to the multitude mysteries. 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， 衆妙之門。 The Mawangdui Laozi texts are only different in minor aspects, such as using the word 恆 instead of 常 (synonyms for "perpetual"), or using alternate characters for words (like 噭 instead of 徼 for "boundary"). The last 4 lines are slightly different as such (but generally mean the same thing): Both come from the same source, They have different names but are cal

The Daodejing (道德經) , or "Classic of the Way and Integrity," was written around the 5th century BC by Laozi (老子) , but "Laozi" just means "old master" - true to Daoist ideals, we aren't sure who he was, or even if he was just one person or more. Since its penning, the Daodejing has remained the primary text of Daoism, one of China's traditional philosophies. Unlike the studious but stuffy and hierarchical Confucianism , Daoism has long presented a freer and deeper counterview to its more famous and influential (in Asia) rival. More than half a millenium later, Buddhism from India entered China to become the third of the "three teachings" of China that would long coexist with each other, in part because Daoists found in Buddhism many similarities with their own teachings, and so initially thought that the Buddha was Laozi himself, who after all was said to have departed westwards after penning the Daodejing. Thus, Buddhism was initial