Wednesday, March 4, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
1. Book of the Way
✦ ─── ⟐ ─── ✦
Pages
Chapter 1The Way that can be mapped is not the everlasting Way The Name that can be conferred is not the everlasting NameChapter 2When all under heaven judge the beautiful to be beautiful Ugliness is formed When all under heaven judge the good to be good Then evil is formedChapter 3Exalting no talent The people shall not contend Prizing no luxury The people shall not steal Seeing no desire Their hearts shall not troubleChapter 4The Way is hollow yet never full; surging yet never spilling Bottomless whirlpool, it gave birth to all thingsChapter 5Heaven and Earth are not benevolent They regard all things as straw dogs; with indifferenceChapter 6The Valley-Spirit never dies; She is the feminine, veiled deep in the depths Her veiled gate is the root from which Heaven and Earth spring It stretches on and on, like a soft strand of silk; spun wit...Chapter 7Heaven spans on and on, Earth is long ancient Heaven and Earth reach so far, and last so long, For they are not born from or for their Self, granting them enduring life! The Sage knows this, and leave...Chapter 8The highest good ebbs and flows like water Fluid; benefitting all things without contention Pooling; in places the masses find detestable And so it stirs, latent to the WayChapter 9It will spill all over If you keep on lavishing itChapter 10Listen...Chapter 11Thirty spokes unite in one wheel The cart's use is where it isn'tChapter 12The five colours blind a man's eye The five tones deafen a man's ear The five flavours numb a man's tongue Coveted goods trip a man's feet And horse racing and trophy hunting madden a man's heartChapter 13Honour and humiliation are a shock! To prize the Self is to prize suffering!Chapter 14Look but do not see; It is "invisible"Chapter 15The great men of old Were inconspicuous, magnificent, mysterious, and penetrating; Incomprehensibly profound, deep beyond measureChapter 16Attain perfect emptiness Maintain true stillnessChapter 17The best superior: Their inferior knows only that they existChapter 18When the great Way is abandoned Benevolence and morality come into seasonChapter 19Renounce virtue; abandon knowledge And people benefit a hundred-foldChapter 20Discard all that has been learned, and be free of grief;Chapter 21Penetrating Character is held Only by following the WayChapter 22Flexibility maintains Deigning ennobles Emptying endows Destruction renews Reducing rewards Excess deludesChapter 23Nature sparsely speaks So a gusting wind does not last all morn Nor pouring rain last all day What makes this so? Heaven and EarthChapter 24One who anxiously tip toes has no ground to stand on One who straddles the line never moves forward One who gazes into himself is found obscure One who believes in himself will not prove himself One w...Chapter 25There was a thing, turbulent and perfect Before Heaven and Earth were first bornChapter 26Solemnity serves as a light foundation Stillness serves as an irascible rulerChapter 27Moral moves leave no tracks to follow Kind speech has no flaw to fault Fair reprove keeps no tally Just gatekeeping blocks no passage, yet bars the unopenable Proper restraints need no rope, yet bind...Chapter 28Befriend your male Preserve your female Serve as a valley for the world And your natural Character will fill you, never to depart Make a homecoming, return to infancyChapter 29To conquer the world and make it serve one's ends? I see it as an impossible taskChapter 30A ruler who would ally with the Way Would not dominate the world by strength of arms Doing so would bring his just desertsChapter 31A decorated weapon Is an inauspicious tool A thing of some hate The Wayfarer is not at home with itChapter 32The Way's rule is nameless, like unworked wood Though it is small, the world cannot possibly subjugate itChapter 33One who knows others is intelligent One who knows himself is enlightened One who surpasses others holds power One who surpasses himself is strongChapter 34The boundless Way floods To the East and the WestChapter 35Carrying in his breast the boundless image of the Way; The world is but a path to wendChapter 36Seek to draw it out And it ends stretched tautChapter 37The rule of the Way does nothing, and nothing is left undone