Tao Te Ching 34

Cosmic Energy is like a force of water,
   on meeting an obstacle it simply flows around it.

Everything depends on it for life, but it depends on nothing.
   It does what it does without thanks.
Providing an environment for millions of life-forms
   it makes no attempt to control them.

It wants for nothing –
   yet we take it for granted.
Its unlimited environment for life
   is one of the very greatest blessings.

Yet this force is indifferent to our opinions …
   therein lies its greatness.

Tao Te Ching 33

The intelligent understand others:
the enlightened understand themselves.

The world's warriors master others:
spirit warriors master themselves.

The wealthy live lives of ease:
the clear-minded live lives of energy.

Any who hold to their truth come throu their ordeals.
Any who transcend their fear of death do not die.

Tao Te Ching 32

Cosmic energy [/Tao] flows eternally, indefinably,
   obvious in effect, yet so subtle in operation
   that its patterns can never be taken for granted.

If the emperior [/conscious will] can hold to a virtuous course all will follow:
   heaven and earth will respond with rich dew,
   in sweet accord wherever people cooperate without coercion.

Once, existence was extremely simple:
   people knew little but collaborated.
But as they learnt more,
   societies became increasingly complex.
We should beware of this process
   lest we lose sight of the underlying unity that weds us to the earth.
That way disaster lies.

The cosmic environment within which energy flows
   is felt in the smallest of springs
   as they rise in wooded valleys,
   emerging into streams and rivers
that flow finally into the mighty oceans of the world.

Tao Te Ching 31

Strong armies are a source of misfortune:
Every living thing dreads them.
Those who understand the cosmic energy forces [/Tao] will shun them too.
Decent men who at home value peace are transformed into monsters by armed power.

Strong armies are a source of misfortune, not a resource for a civil society.

When necessity demands their use calm detachment should be the approach.
In victory avoid glorification.
Those who celebrate are glorying in murder
And murderers will never achieve their ends.

Events of good omen are found to the left-hand side:
   Events of ill omen on the right.
To the left of the emperor stand the men of peace:
   To the right warriors.

Victories should be treated as a funeral.
Those who have been killed should be mourned.
In war there is no cause for rejoicing.

Tao Te Ching 30

A councillor who respects the Tao [/cosmic energy flow] will be reluctant to recommend a military solution to conflict: since this inevitably leads to retaliation.
   Only thistles grow where armies have been.
   After a great war lean years follow.

A good commander scores tactical victories but does not seek total domination:
– in success does not humiliate:
– in success does not rejoice:
– in success is not pig-headed:
– in success avoids unnecessary violence:
– in success does not scheme to become emperor.

What waxes in size will inevitably wane.
To arrest this cycle is contrary to Tao.
Nothing contrary to Tao can last.

Tao Te Ching 29

Many try to seize control of the world –
   history show how all fail.

The earth is a sacred instrument,
   beyond the capacity of anyone to conquer.
Those who try are destined to failure …
   to grasp is to lose everything.

Natural balance is found in everywhere:
– leaders are limited by followers:
– enthusiasm by negativity:
– strength by inner weakness:
– herbivores by carnivores.

So the wise avoid extremes, excess and over-confidence.

Tao Te Ching 28

Know the masculine [/yang] – act as from the feminine [/yin].
Allow yourself to be a watercourse for the world's flow.
    Being a watercourse for the world's flow,
       see that it is a conduit for positive energy.
    Reengage your childhood vision of life.

Know clarity – act as from the opaque.
Allow yourself to be a beacon for the world's hope.
    Being a beacon for the world's hope,
       have faith that the underlying principles of existence remain true.
    Reengage the limitless imagination you were born with.

Know greatness – act as from obscurity.
Allow yourself to be the great valley of the world.
    The way the world evolved was its ideal form.
    Reengage the honest simplicty of nature.

Wood is a natural resource:
   when cut it can be transformed into objects, tools, paper.
The wise make use of all forms:
   when they lead the greater circle is complete.

Tao Te Ching 27

Good travelers walk the earth lightly.
Good speech is not critical.
Good accounting does not rely on calculation.
Good security does not depend on locks
   yet is impregnable.
Good bonds need no rope
   yet cannot be undone.

The wise realise that to abandon the weak is to diminish themselves:
   to assist in raising them is the enlightened path.

While the far-seeing person sets an example for the short-sighted,
   the myopic also exist to enable the far-sighted to develop acuity.
Intelligent folk who neither value their teachers nor the wisdom they offer spread confusion.
   This inexplicable behaviour.

Tao Te Ching 26

Gravitas outweighs levity.
Stillness calms restlessness.

Therefore on their journey throu life,
   the wise keep their eye on the larger picture
   rather than organise things to their own advantage.

It would be improper for those who conduct affairs of state to be light-hearted.

To be frivolous
   is to lose sight of dignity.
To lose contact with your centre
   is to give away your power.

Tao Te Ching 25

In the æons of deep space before the worlds were even gas clouds
    there was a silent beauty
      drifting
         timeless
            unformed yet coherent
               pervading all
                   pregnant with life.

Nameless,
   we call it Tao [/cosmic energy flow].
Beyond attribute,
   we call it stupendous.
Yet size implies growth
   and growth implies decay:
Growth and decay together imply cycles.

There are four unstoppable forces:
   Tao, the heavens, the earth, and the emperor.

For cosmic order all four must work in harmony.
   For humans' relationship to the earth
      depends on the earth's relationship to the sky
         which depends on its own relationship to the cosmic energy flow.

            Thus Tao governs all existence.

Tao Te Ching 24

Stand on tiptoe and you will fall over.
Stand akimbo and you cannot walk.

If you'd discovered what your life is really about
   why would you need people to love you?
If there was anything remarkable about you
   would you try to become a celebrity?
If you'd done anything truly excellent
    why would you need to boast?
Will anyonelse continue praising your work when you leave off?

Those with a sense of the cosmic energy flow [/Tao]
   view all such things as the trash left after a party –
      even when it's in full flower …
Those with a real sense of the cosmic energy flow
    know better than to get sucked into that kind of thing.

Tao Te Ching 23

Use few words, well chosen.
    Better a short life well lived,
       than a long one with no purpose.
    Storms pass. Winds blow themselves out.
Change is nature's re-creation.

Those who immerse themselves in cosmic energy flow [/Tao]
   go with the flow.
       Those who practice virtue
          grow virtuous.
               Those who immerse themselves in illusion
                  grow deluded.
Those in the cosmic energy flow
   become identified with it.
       The virtuous
          become synonymous with virtue.
               Those possessed by delusion
                  end up with nothing.

If you don't trust others
   you will find nobody trusts you.

Tao Te Ching 22

Give way to retain integrity.
Bend to be straight.
Be unassuming to be enriched.
Be empty to allow fulfilment.

Possess little to be open to abundance.
Possess much to be jaded by care.

So the wise seek to focus on simplicity.
   They're noteworthy for avoiding conspicuous consumption.
   They're distinguished for their modesty.
   They're respected for keeping a sense of proportion
   Their achievements endure because they're discreet.
By offering no resistance they meet no resistance.

This is why ancient wisdom says 'Give way to retain integrity'.

Or do you think these are just empty words?

Integrity is a virtuous spiral.
   Seek clarity to find wholeness –
   Be whole-hearted to find empowerment.

Tao Te Ching 21

Cosmic energy flow [/Tao] manifests a powerful dynamic –
   yet who can analyze or define it?
It's like the invisible, infinitely complex, sub-oeanic currents
   which contain the basic organisms of all life.

Within that energy lies the primordial impulse to be,
   that has inspired all beings everywhere since the dawn of time.
This cardinal principle is innate to all life-forms:
   To understand its nature to understand all mysteries.

How do we place ourselves within this cosmic energy flow?
Read this page again! 

Tao Te Ching 20

Abandon books – end grief!

   Respect or scorn?
     How can you really tell what people think of you?
   Good or bad?
     What's the difference?
Yet I'd be a fool to ignore the common people's superstitions.

How isolated I am;
   how vast the gulf between me and those unaware of their mortality.
They are excited as before a party
   or when climbing to the terraces in springtime.

I watch alone like a forgotten child,
   as weary as a refugee.
They all have abundant energy:
   I alone am lacking.

Oh I have the heart of a fool.
   For all my vaunted knowledge I have learnt nothing.
They're happy: I'm confused.
   They're canny: I'm dumb.

What strange contrasts there are in the world:
   Looking at a beautifully peaceful sea, who could imagine a tornado? 

The populace work steadily for material goals;
   I sit figuring it all out, possessing none of what they take for granted.

I know I don't belong -
   yet I feel the pulse of eternity.

Tao Te Ching 19

Don't imagine you know better than anyonelse:
   Abandon your theories:
Everyone will benefit.

Don't patronise people
   by claiming your methods are better:
They can find their own ways to help each other.

If you stop cheating and profit gouging
Criminals will have no role model.

This advice only scratches the surface:
    Use plain speech:
    Be straightforward:
    Don't seek personal advantage:
    Live simply.

Tao Te Ching 18

When respect fot the principles of Tao [/cosmic energy flow] fades
   the legacy is wise rule and justice.
When mind games and political expediency take over
   deception becomes the norm.

When relationships within a family fracture
  acts of exceptional kindness and respect occur.
When a country is in chaos
   loyal ministers emerge.

Tao Te Ching 17

The best leader – one who is invisible.
Second best – one whom the people applaud,
Next, one whom they fear.
The worst leaders are those held in contempt.

If they have no trust in you:
– place no trust in them.

    [As a leader]
Take things in your stride,
maintain quiet authority,
bring matters to a good conclusion
– allow everyone to think it happened by itself.

Tao Te Ching 16

Empty your mind to the open sky:
Let your natural tranquillity hold you in perfect stillness.

All around you whirls the world,
Be the fulcrum that holds it steady.

After flowering and setting seed
each plant returns to the dark earth.
Dying back to the root is peaceful;
It is a life-form's essence asserting itself.

This process also governs the transmission of perennial wisdom
which holds the key to all understanding.
Without tradition*
we are unaware of the delicate meanings that bind us together.

Knowing it helps us find where we belong;
the right place is where we no longer strive.
There we find the power of belonging –
a power not our own,
but coming from being centred in the cosmic energy flow, [/Tao]
which is without beginning or end.

Here the self merges with the timeless
and is beyond death.

*roots or cultural context

Tao Te Ching 15

Those who first discovered the principle of cosmic energy flow [/Tao]
stood quietly within life's cognitive dissonances
until its turbid depths clarified and patterns became discernible.

They were
… hesitant, as if crossing a river in winter –
… cautious, as if being watched by neibours –
… reticent, like house guests –
… as fluid as melting ice –
… as plain as oak –
… as open as the countryside –
yet as opaque as muddy waters.

If you're terminally confused
   stay perfectly still until the clouds pass.
If you know serenity
   bring its dynamic into your actions.

Someone who understands Tao avoids wastefulness
and, because s/he sees how to optimise resources,
rarely needs to initiate a radical departure.