Axial Commons
Daoism
To increase life is called a blessing, and heart - directed vitality is called strength, but things vigorous are about to grow old and I call this un-Reason.
One who knows does not talk. One who talks does not know. Therefore the sage keeps his mouth shut and his sensegates closed.
"He will blunt his own sharpness, His own tangles adjust; He will dim his own radiance, And be one with his dust."
This is called profound identifica tion.
Thus he is inaccessible to love and also inaccessible to enmity. He is in accessible to profit and inaccessible to loss. He is also inaccessible to favor and inaccessible to disgrace. Thus he becomes world-honored.
With rectitude one governs the state ; with craftiness one leads the army ; with non-diplomacy one takes the em pire. How do I know that it is so? Through IT.
The more restrictions and prohibi tions are in the empire, the poorer grow the people. The more weapons the peo ple have, the more troubled is the state. The more there is cunning and skill, the more startling events will happen. The more mandates and laws are enacted, the more there will be thieves and robbers.
Therefore the holy man says: I practise non-assertion, and the people of themselves reform. I love quietude, and the people of themselves become right eous. I use no diplomacy, and the peo ple of themselves become rich. I have no desire, and the people of themselves remain simple.
Whose government is unostenta tious, quite unostentatious, his people will be prosperous, quite prosperous. Whose government is prying, quite pry ing, his people will be needy, quite needy.
Misery, alas! rests upon happiness. Happiness, alas! underlies misery. But who foresees the catastrophe? It will not be prevented !
What is ordinary becomes again extraordinary. What is good becomes again unpropitious. This bewilders peo ple, and it happens constantly since times immemorial.
Therefore the holy man is square but not sharp, strict but not obnoxious, upright but not restraining, bright but not dazzling.
To govern the people is the affair of heaven and there is nothing like thrift. Now consider that thrift is said to come from early practice.
By early practice it is said that we can accumulate an abundance of virtue. If one accumulates an abundance of vir tue then there is nothing that can not be overcome.
When nothing can not be overcome then no one knows his limit. When no one knows his limit one can have pos session of the commonwealth.
Who has possession of the common wealth's mother [thrift] may last and abide.
This is called the possession of deep roots and of a staunch stem. To life, to everlastingness, to comprehension, this is the way.
Govern a great country as you would fry small fish: [neither gut nor scale them.]
If with Reason the empire is man aged, its ghosts will not spook. Not only will its ghosts not spook, but its gods will not harm the people. Not only will its gods not harm the people, but neither will its holy men harm the peo ple. Since neither will do harm, there fore their virtues will be combined.
A great state, one that lowly flows, becomes the empire's union, and the em pire's wife.
The wife always through quietude conquers her husband, and by quietude renders herself lowly.
Thus a great state through lowliness toward small states will conquer the small states, and small states through lowliness toward great states will con quer great states.
Therefore some render themselves lowly for the purpose of conquering; others are lowly and therefore conquer.
A great state desires no more than to unite and feed the people; a small state desires no more than to devote it self to the service of the people ; but that both may obtain their wishes, the greater one must stoop.
The man of Reason is the ten thou sand creatures' refuge, the good man's wealth, the bad man's stay.
With beautiful words one can sell. With honest conduct one can do still more with the people.
If a man be bad, why should he be thrown away? Therefore, an emperor was elected and three ministers ap pointed; but better than holding before one's face the jade table [of the min istry] and riding with four horses, is sitting still and propounding the eternal Reason.
Why do the ancients prize this Rea son? Is it not, say, because when sought it is obtained and the sinner thereby can be saved? Therefore it is worldhonored.
Assert non-assertion. Practise non-practice. Taste the tasteless. Make great the small. Make much the little.
Requite hatred with virtue.
Contemplate a difficulty when it is easy. Manage a great thing when it is small.
The world's most difficult undertak ings necessarily originate while easy, and the world's greatest undertakings necessarily originate while small.
Therefore the holy man to the end does not venture to play the great, and thus he can accomplish his greatness.
Rash promises surely lack faith, and many easy things surely involve in many difficulties.
Therefore, the holy man regards everything as difficult, and thus to the end encounters no difficulties.
What is still at rest is easily kept quiet. What has not as yet appeared is easily prevented. What is still feeble is easily broken. What is still scant is easily dispersed.
Treat things before they exist. Reg ulate things before disorder begins. The stout tree has originated from a tiny rootlet. A tower of nine stories is raised by heaping up [bricks of] clay. A thou sand miles' journey begins with a foot.
He that makes mars. He that grasps loses. The holy man does not make; there fore he mars not. He does not grasp; therefore he loses not. The people when undertaking an enterprise are always near completion, and yet they fail.
Remain careful to the end as in the beginning and you will not fail in your enterprise.
Therefore the holy man desires to be desireless, and does not prize articles difficult to obtain. He learns, not to be learned, and seeks a home where mul titudes of people pass by.
He assists the ten thousand things in their natural development, but he does not venture to interfere.
The ancients who were well versed in Reason did not thereby enlighten the people; they intended thereby to make them simple-hearted.
If people are difficult to govern, it is because they are too smart. To gov ern the country with smartness is the country's curse. To govern the coun try without smartness is the country's blessing. He who knows these two things is also a model [like the ancients]. Al ways to know the model is called pro found virtue.
Spiritual virtue, verily, is profound. Verily, it is far-reaching. Verily, it is to everything reverse. But then it will procure great recognition.
That rivers and oceans can of the hundred valleys be kings is due to their excelling in lowliness. Thus they can of the hundred valleys be the kings.
Therefore the holy man, when an xious to be above the people, must in his words keep underneath them. When an xious to lead the people, he must with his person keep behind them.
Therefore the holy man dwells above, but the people are not burdened. He is ahead, but the people suffer no harm.
Therefore the world rejoices in ex alting him and does not tire. Because he strives not, no one in the world will strive with him.
All in the world call me great; but I resemble the unlikely. Now a man is great only because he resembles the un likely. Did he resemble the likely, how lasting, indeed, would his mediocrity be!
I have three treasures which I cherish and prize. The first is called compassion. The second is called econ omy. The third is called not daring to come to the front in the world.
The compassionate can be brave; the economical can be generous; those who dare not come to the front in the world can become perfect as chief ves sels.
Now, if people discard compassion and are brave; if they discard economy and are gen&rous; if they discard mod esty and are ambitious, they will surely die.
Now, the compassionate will in at tack be victorious, and in defence firm. Heaven when about to save one will with compassion protect him.
He who excels as a warrior is not warlike. He who excels as a fighter is not wrathful. He who excels in con quering the enemy does not strive. He who excels in employing men is lowly.
This is called the virtue of notstriving. This is called utilizing men's ability. This is called complying with heaven — since olden times the highest.
A military expert used to say: "I dare not act as host [who takes the ini tiative] but act as guest [with reserve]. I dare not advance an inch, but I with draw a foot."
This is called marching without marching, threatening without arms, charging without hostility, seizing with out weapons.
No greater misfortune than making light of the enemy! When we make light of the enemy, it is almost as though we had lost our treasure — [compassion].
Thus, if matched armies encounter one another, the one who does so in sor row is sure to conquer.
My words are very easy to under stand and very easy to practise, but in the world no one can understand, no one can practise them.
Words have an ancestor ; Deeds have a master [viz., Reason]. Since he is not understood, therefore I am not under stood. Those who understand me are few, and thus I am distinguished.
Therefore the holy man wears wool, and hides in his bosom his jewels.
To know the unknowable, that is elevating. Not to know the knowable, that is sickness.
Only by becoming sick of sickness can we be without sickness.
The holy man is not sick. Because he is sick of sickness, therefore he is not sick.
If the people do not fear the dread ful, the great dreadful will come, surely.
Let them not deem their lives nar row. Let them not deem their lot weari some. When it is not deemed weari some, then it will not be wearisome.
Therefore the holy man knows him self but does not displav himself. He holds himself dear but does not honor himself. Thus he discards the latter and chooses the former.
Courage, if carried to daring, leads to death; courage, if not carried to dar ing, leads to life. Either of these two things is sometimes beneficial, some times harmful.
"Why 't is by heaven rejected, Who has the reason detected?" Therefore the holy man also regards it as difficult.
The Heavenly Reason strives not, but it is sure to conquer. It speaks not, but it is sure to respond. It summons not, but it comes of itself. It works pa tiently, but is sure in its designs.
Heaven's net is vast, so vast. It is wide-meshed, but it loses nothing. 74, OVERCOME DELUSION. 1. If the people do not fear death, how can they be frightened by death? If we make people fear death, and supposing some would [still] venture to re bel, if we seize them for capital punish ment, who will dare? 2. There is always an executioner who kills. Now to take the place of the exe cutioner who kills is taking the place of the great carpenter who hews. If a man takes the place of the great carpenter who hews, he will rarely, indeed, fail to injure his hand.
The people hunger because their superiors consume too many taxes; therefore they hunger. The people are difficult to govern because their supe riors are too meddlesome ; therefore they are difficult to govern. The people make light of death on account of the inten sity of their clinging to life; therefore they make light of death.
He who is not bent on life is worth ier than he who esteems life.
Man during life is tender and deli cate. When he dies he is stiff and stark.
The ten thousand things, the grass as well as the trees, while they live are tender and supple. When they die they are rigid and dry.
Thus the hard and the strong are the companions of death. The tender and the delicate are the companions of life. Therefore he who in arms is strong will not conquer.
When a tree has grown strong it is doomed.
The strong and the great stay below. The tender and the delicate stay above.
Is not Heaven's Reason truly like stretching a bow? The high it brings down, the lowly it lifts up. Those who have abundance it depleteth; those who are deficient it augmenteth.
Such is Heaven's Reason. It de pleteth those who have abundance but completeth the deficient.
Man's Reason is not so. He depleteth the deficient in order to serve those who have abundance.
Where is he who would have abun dance for serving the world?
Indeed, it is the holy man who acts but claims not; merit he acquires but he does not dwell upon it, and does he ever show any anxiety to display his excellence?
In the world nothing is tenderer and more delicate than water. In at tacking the hard and the strong noth ing will surpass it. There is nothing that herein takes its place.
The weak conquer the strong, the tender conquer the rigid. In the world there is no one who does not know it, but no one will practise it.
Therefore the holy man says: "Him who the country's sin makes his, We hail as priest at the great sacrifice. Him who the curse bears of the coun try's failing. As king of the empire we are hailing."
True words seem paradoxical.
When a great hatred is reconciled, naturally some hatred will remain. How can this be made good?
Therefore the sage keeps the obli gations of his contract and exacts not from others. Those who have virtue at tend to their obligations ; those who have no virtue attend to their claims.
Heaven's Reason shows no prefer ence but always assists the good man.
In a small country with few people let there be aldermen and mayors who are possessed of power over men but would not use it. Induce people to grieve at death but do not cause them to move to a distance. Although they had ships and carriages, they should find no occa sion to ride in them. Although they had armours and weapons, they should find no occasion to don them. 2 Induce people to return to [the old custom of] knotted cords and to use them [in the place of writing], to delight in their food, to be proud of their clothes, to be content with their homes, and to rejoice in their customs: then in a neighboring state within sight, the voices of the cocks and dogs would be within hearing, yet the people might grow old and die before they visited one another.
True words are not pleasant; pleas ant words are not true. The good are not contentious; the contentious are not good. The wise are not learned; the learned are not wise.
The holy man hoards not. The more he does for others, the more he owns himself. The more he gives to others, the more will he himself lay up an abun dance.
Heaven's Reason is to benefit but not to injure; the holy man's Reason is to accomplish but not to strive.