5

道德經:

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。

5. Heaven and Earth are not humane...

天地不仁、以萬物爲芻狗。

聖人不仁、以百姓爲芻狗。

天地之間、其猶豪衞乎。

虛而不屈、動而愈出。

多言數窮。

不如守中。

Heaven and Earth are not humane

And regard the people as straw dogs.

The sage is not humane,

And regards all things as straw dogs.

The space between Heaven and Earth is just like a bellows:

Empty it, it is not exhausted.

Squeeze it and more comes out.

Excessive verbiage is usually a dead end

Is not as good as holding to the centre.

Dao De Jing Chapter 5 - WorldPeaceFeb 6 at 5:46 AM

5.1 Heaven and earth are indifferent. All creatures are considered straw dogs; not distinguished, not judged.
5.2 The sage is indifferent. All people are one; not distinguished, not judged.
5.3 Infinity is like a bellows, empty yet encompassing the potential of all things.
5.4 Words are straw in the wind. The more one talks, the less one says. Keep focused on Infinity. Remain centred in the oneness of all things. In time all potentials manifest.

4	道德經:	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。
	Dao De Jing:	(The fountainless) The Dao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel, and in our employment of it, we must be on our guard against all fulness. How deep and unfathomable it is as if it were the Honoured Ancestor of all things! We should blunt our sharp points, and unravel the complications of things; we should attemper our brightness, and bring ourselves into an agreement with the obscurity of others. How pure and still the Dao is as if it would ever so continue! I do not know whose son it is. It might appear to have been before God.

4. The Way is so vast...

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。

The Way is so vast that when you use it, something is always left.

How deep it is!

It seems to be the ancestor of the myriad things.

It blunts sharpness

Untangles knots

Softens the glare

Unifies with the mundane.

It is so full!

It seems to have a remainder.

It is the child of I-don't-know-who.

And prior to the primaeval Lord-on-high.

Dao De Jing Chapter 4 - WorldPeaceFeb 5 at 4:54 AM

4.1 Infinity is an empty vessel enveloping all manifestations, yet it can never be filled.
4.2 It is the potential of all things tangible and intangible.
4.3 It blunts the sharp and hones the blunt, unravels knots and binds all things, dulls the glare and shines the mundane, manifests the dust and clears the air.
4.4 It is the essence of all things. No one can comprehend its origin.
4.5 It is older than the concept of God.

反复（《道德经》第四章）

《道德经》第4章

道，用不行。

袁宇喜欢万物的教派。

挫败它，用灰尘解决它的问题和光。

湛，喜欢或存在。

我不知道儿子是谁，像皇帝一样。

道，用不行。

L'image est au mot ce que le symbole est à la profanité,
La lumière au son, mais pas ce qu'est le mystère au seuil.

3

道德經:

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1知者不敢為也。 為無為，則無不治。 1. 夫: Originally read: "天". 據河上公本、《馬王堆老子乙》改。

3. If you do not adulate the worthy

不尚賢、使民不爭。不貴難得之貨、使民不爲盜。不見可欲、使民心不亂。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、使夫知者不敢爲也。爲無爲、則無不治。

If you do not adulate the worthy, you will make others non-contentious.

If you do not value rare treasures, you will stop others from stealing.

If people do not see desirables, they will not be agitated.

Therefore, when the sage governs,

He clears people's minds,

Fills their bellies,

Weakens their ambition and

Strengthens their bones.

If the people are kept without cleverness and desire

It will make the intellectuals not dare to meddle.

Acting without contrivance, there is no lack of manageability.

Dao De Jing Chapter 3 - WorldPeace

Feb 4 at 5:07 AM

3.1 Exalting people create the desire in others to be exalted and therefore creates tension.
3.2 Overvaluing goods create the desire for ownership and therefore creates the temptation to steal.
3.3 When people do not distinguish things as valuable, they remain focused on the oneness of all things and do not become confused in the material world.
3.4 Therefore, harmonious leaders empty people's minds but nourish their bodies. They undermine desires and improve endurance.
3.5 They keep the people focused on their oneness with Infinity and free them from attachments to material things. They redirect the energies of those who would manipulate others.
3.6 If you remember your oneness with Infinity, and flow with life by refusing to distinguish good and bad, you will flow in the peace and harmony that is the essence of Infinity.

2

道德經:

天下皆知美之為美，斯惡已。 皆知善之為善，斯不善已。 故有無相生，難易相成，長短相較，高下相傾，音聲相和，前後相隨。 是以聖人處無為之事，行不言之教；萬物作焉而不辭，生而不有。 為而不恃，功成而弗居。夫唯弗居，是以不去。

The Complete Tao Te Ching

Translated by Gia-Fu Feng (馮家福 Feng Jia-fu, 1919–1985) and Jane English (1942–)
Vintage Books, 1989

Two

Under heaven, all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.

Therefore having and not having arise together.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short contrast each other:
High and low rest upon each other;
Voice and sound harmonize each other;
Front and back follow one another.

Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without ceasing,
Creating, yet not possessing.
Working, yet not taking credit.
Work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore it lasts forever.

Dao De Jing Chapter 2 - WorldPeaceFeb 3 at 5:53 AM

2.1 Only when one distinguishes beauty does one create the unattractive.
2.2 Only when one distinguishes good does one create evil.
2.3 Also by distinction, Tangible and intangible create each other, Difficult and easy define each other, Long and short measure each other,
2.4 High and low determine each other, Sound and silence echo each other, Beginning and end follow each other.
2.5 Therefore, the sage goes about living in the oneness of all things, teaching without speaking,
2.6 accepting and dismissing all things with indifference, creating without attachment, working without credit. Acts and deeds are completed and forgotten.
2.7 Because the sage is at one with Infinity, she is immortal.


第二章 dì èr zhāng

天下皆知美之為美，斯惡已。
皆知善之為善，斯不善已。
故有無相生，難易相成，長短相較，
高下相傾，音聲相和，前後相隨。
是以聖人處無為之事，行不言之教；
萬物作焉而不辭，生而不有。
為而不恃，功成而弗居。
夫唯弗居，是以不去。

In "Dao De Jing" Lao Tzu describes the rules the "Dao" that everything follows in the universe.

In Chapter 2,

"The whole world knows the beautiful as beautiful

Only because of the existence of the ugly;

The whole world knows the good as good

 Only because of the existence of the bad.

 Hence the Being and the Nothingness exist in opposition;

 The difficult and the easy complement each other;

 The long and the short manifest themselves by comparison; 

 The high and the low are inclined as well as opposed to each other; 

 The consonants and vowels harmonize with each other;  

 The front and the back follow each other"

天下皆知美之為美，斯惡已；皆知善之為善，斯不善已。

有無相生、難易相成、長短相形、高下相傾、音聲相和、前後相隨

In Chapter 43,

"The most supple in the world can go through the hardest in the world"

天下之至柔 馳騁天下之至堅

That is Lao Tzu's ontology(How Lao Tzu see the world), everything is "Dao"

1

道德經:

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。

Chapter 1

The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao

The name that can be named is not the eternal name

The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth

The named is the mother of myriad things

Thus, constantly with

out desire, one observes its essence

Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations

These two emerge together but differ in name

The unity is said to be the mystery

The mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders

Dao De Jing Chapter 1 - John WorldPeaceFeb 2 at 6:55 AM

THE CONTEMPORARY TAO OF PEACE AND HARMONY

AS INTERPRETED by John WorldPeace

Copyright 1998 by John WorldPeace Houston, Texas USA

https://www.johnworldpeace.com/

THE ANCIENT AND CONTEMPORARY MESSAGE OF THE TAO

Infinity (The Way) is the essence of all things

tangible and

intangible.

It has no beginning or end.

It is the potential of all things; manifests all

things;

disintegrates all things; is at one with

all things.

Change is Its constant.

Oneness is the essence of peace and harmony.

Distinctions divide the oneness of Infinity into

extremes.

They are the source of confusion.

Confusion is the source of judgment.

Judgment the source of conflict and war.

Therefore, flow in peace and harmony by remembering

the oneness of all things.

PREFACE

_________________________

The Tao te Ching was allegedly written by Lao Tzu about 2,500 years ago. It is not known if he simply wrote down oral traditions or whether he had some unique insights. It is not even known if the Tao was written by Lao Tzu or compiled by several others after his death.

We also do not know how many manipulations the text has endured over the last 2,500 years. We cannot even be sure that the traditional Tao is the original Tao.

What we do know is that this body of ideas has survived for 2,500 years. Therefore, we must acknowledge that these ideas have validity when applied to humanity.

The Tao has been translated by many competent scholars into English. However, the

words used in the various translations are rather diverse.

A translation compares one language to another. Translating Chinese into English is tricky because one is translating abstract pictographs into a linear language. Words can never fully translate a pictograph. This probably accounts for the wide variation in words used in the various translations. I am not a scholar. I did not translate even one pictograph. What I did was to look for the consensus among the various translations.

Therefore, the result is more an interpretation than a translation.

In addition, I tried to relate all the ideas to an underlying theme of peace and harmony. "How does a particular passage relate to the manifestation of peace and harmony?", is the question I asked about every idea. I tried to relate every word to a peace and harmony theme because I believe that this was the original intent of the Tao.

Further, I tried, where appropriate, to replace some of the abstract concepts with

something more concrete. I believe this allow more of a consensus of what is being communicatedand makes it easier to determine whether or not what is being communicated fosters peace and harmony.

In essence, I have simply done what many others have done over the last 2,500 years. Ihave tried to relate the Tao in contemporary language with the hope that the level of peace and harmony in the world will increase.

My objective has been peace and harmony and not a literal translation. The following is simply my personal perspective of peace and harmony as seen through the Tao te Ching.

~*~*~*~*~

1.1 The infinity that can be conceived is not the everlasting Infinity. The infinity that can be described is not the perpetual Infinity. 

1.2 The inconceivable indescribable is the essence of the all-encompassing Infinite. Conceiving and describing applies only to the manifestations of Infinity. 

1.3 Free from distinctions experience the oneness of Infinity. Focus on distinctions and see only the manifestations of Infinity. 

1.4 Yet distinction and non-distinction are one within Infinity. 

1.5 Potential within potential is the essence of Infinity.

81	道德經:	信言不美，美言不信。 善者不辯，辯者不善。 知者不博，博者不知。 聖人不積，既以為人己愈有，既以與人己愈多。 天之道，利而不害；聖人之道，為而不爭。
	Dao De Jing:	(The manifestation of simplicity) Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere.  Those who are skilled (in the Dao) do not dispute (about it); the disputatious are not skilled in it.  Those who know (the Dao) are not extensively learned; the extensively learned do not know it. The sage does not accumulate (for himself).  The more that he expends for others, the more does he possess of his own; the more that he gives to others, the more does he have himself. With all the sharpness of the Way of Heaven, it injures not; with all the doing in the way of the sage he does not strive.

Dao De Jing Chapter 81 - SeddonFeb 1 at 5:55 AM

81

81

True words are not beautiful;
Beautiful words are not true.
Those who are good do not argue;
Those who argue are not good.
Those who are wise are not learned;
Those who are learned are not wise.
The Sage does not store up possessions.
The more he helps others, the more he fulfils himself.
The more he gives to others, the more he has for himself.
The Way of Heaven is to benefit others whilst harming no one.
The Way of the Sage is to accomplish without striving.