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　　And　yet　for　attacking　the　hard　and　strong；　nothing　can　bear　it；
　　Because　there　is　nothing　you　can　use　to　replace　it。
　　That　water　can　defeat　the　unyielding？br》　That　the　weak　can　defeat　the　strong？br》　There　is　no　one　in　the　whole　world　who　doesn't　know　it；
　　And　yet　there　is　no　one　who　can　put　it　into　practice。
　　For　this　reason；　the　words　of　the　Sage　say：
　　To　take　on　yourself　the　disgrace　of　the　state梩his　is　called　being　the　lord　of　＇the　altars　of＇　earth　and　grain；
　　To　assume　responsibility　for　all　ill…omened　events　in　the　state梩his　is　called　being　the　king　of　the　world。
　　Correct　words　seem　to　say　the　reverse　＇of　what　you　expect　them　to　say＇。

　　79

　　To　make　peace　where　there　has　been　great　resentment；　there　is　bound　to　be　resentment　left　over。
　　How　could　this　be　regarded　as　good？
　　Therefore　the　Sage　＇holds＇　the　right　tally　yet　makes　no　demands　of　others。
　　For　this　reason；　those　who　have　virtue　are　in　charge　of　the　tally；
　　Those　without　virtue　are　in　charge　of　the　taxes。
　　The　Way　of　Heaven　has　no　favorites；
　　It's　always　with　the　good　man。

　　80

　　Let　the　country　be　small　and　people　few？br》　Bring　it　about　that　there　are　weapons　for　〃tens〃　and　〃hundreds；〃　yet　let　no　one　use　them；
　　Have　the　people　regard　death　gravely　and　put　migrating　far　from　their　minds。
　　Though　they　might　have　boats　and　carriages；　no　one　will　ride　them；
　　Though　they　might　have　armor　and　spears；　no　one　will　display　them。
　　Have　the　people　return　to　knotting　cords　and　using　them。

　　They　will　relish　their　food；
　　Regard　their　clothing　as　beautiful；
　　Delight　in　their　customs；
　　And　feel　safe　and　secure　in　their　homes。
　　Neighboring　states　might　overlook　one　another；
　　And　the　sounds　of　chickens　and　dogs　might　be　overheard；
　　Yet　the　people　will　arrive　at　old　age　and　death　with　no　comings　and　goings　between　them。

　　81

　　Sincere　words　are　not　showy；
　　Showy　words　are　not　sincere。
　　Those　who　know　are　not　〃widely　learned〃；
　　Those　〃widely　learned〃　do　not　know。
　　The　good　do　not　have　a　lot；
　　Those　with　a　lot　are　not　good。

　　The　Sage　accumulates　nothing。
　　Having　used　what　he　had　for　others；
　　He　has　even　more。
　　Having　given　what　he　had　to　others；
　　What　he　has　is　even　greater。
　　Therefore；　the　Way　of　Heaven　is　to　benefit　and　not　cause　any　harm；
　　The　Way　of　Man　is　to　act　on　behalf　of　others　and　not　to　compete　with　them。　　




　

　　
English_Ho_TTK
　　Das　Tao　Te　King　von　Lao　Tse
　　Chinese　…　English　by
　　Lok　Sang　Ho；　2002

　　Vorwort/Foreword
　　Acknowledgements

　　I　am　indebted　to　all　the　earlier　translators　of　Laozi；　many　of　whom　had　translated　in　a　beautiful　language　and　had　succeeded　in　conveying　much　of　the　essence　of　Laozi's　teachings。　I　am　particularly　indebted　to　Prof。　James　Hsiung　of　New　York　University；　Prof。　Yew…kwang　Ng　of　Monash　University；　and　Prof。　Laurence　Wong　of　Lingnan　University　for　reading　through　my　manuscript　and　offering　very　useful　suggestions　and　advice。　

　　Naturally；　different　translators　had　interpreted　Laozi　differently　in　places。　I　am　lucky　in　that　I　have　the　benefit　of　referring　to　all　these　different　interpretations；　dwelling　on　them；　and　in　the　end　unlocking　many　puzzles　that　had　remained　in　many　of　the　existing　translations。　

　　My　task　is　simple：　to　preserve　the　meaning　of　Laozi；　to　write　in　plain　language；　and　to　let　the　world　know　that　Daodejing　is　a　practical；　down…to…earth　guide　for　any　one　who　aspires　to　live　a　rich；　peaceful　life　in　harmony　with　nature　and　others。　

　　Lok　Sang　Ho　
　　Hong　Kong　
　　September　1；　2002


　　The　Living　Dao　is　Living

　　Because
　　It　is　not　bound　by　the　text　of　this　or　that
　　version　of　Laozi。

　　Names　are　but　names。
　　Languages　are　only　languages。

　　The　translator　seeks　the　truth；
　　the　way　of　living；
　　that　will　bring　peace　to　the　mind　and　the　world。

　　In　this　he　is　confident
　　he　is　one　with　Laozi。


　　Preface
　　Joseph　Conrad；　in　his　famous　Preface　to　The　Nigger　of　the　Narcissus；　wrote　that　the　role　of　the　artist　is　no　different　from　that　of　the　thinker　or　that　of　the　scientist。　Like　the　latter；　he　is　after　the　Truth；　but　whereas　the　scientist　seeks　the　truth　about　the　physical　world；　the　artist　seeks　the　Truth　about　the　human　mind。　〃The　artist　appeals　to　that　part　of　our　being　which　is　not　dependent　on　wisdom：　to　that　in　us　which　is　a　gift　and　not　an　acquisition…〃　Conrad　believes　this　Truth　is　universal；　and　that　it　lies　within　each　of　us。　He　spoke　of　〃the　subtle　but　invincible　conviction　of　solidarity　that　knits　together　the　loneliness　of　innumerable　hearts；　to　the　solidarity　in　dreams；　in　joy；　in　sorrow；　in　aspirations；　in　illusions；　in　hope；　in　fear；　which　binds　men　to　each　other；　which　binds　together　all　humanity—the　dead　to　the　living　and　the　living　to　the　unborn。〃　By　this　he　testifies　to　the　universality　of　human　nature。　But　certainly　there　is　more　to　human　nature　than　the　hopes　and　fears　and　the　joys　and　sorrows　that　he　talked　about。　Thus　the　aim　of　art　lies　〃not　in　the　clear　logic　of　a　triumphant　conclusion；　it　is　not　in　the　unveiling　of　one　of　those　heartless　secrets　which　are　called　the　Laws　of　Nature。　It　is　not　less　great；　but　only　more　difficult。〃

　　In　the　same　way；　Laozi（often　spelled　as　Lao…Tzu）；　who　wrote　the　Daodejing；　tried　to　describe　the　indescribable。　The　truth　about　the　human　mind；　and　about　the　universal　mind；　cannot　be　sought　from　without。　It　must　be　sought　from　within　us。　This　understanding　is　a　gift；　and　is　not　acquired。　Indeed；　those　who　try　to　seek　that　truth　from　without　are　bound　to　fail。　Indeed；　we　need　to　unlearn　to　rediscover　the　gift。　From　this　perspective　it　is　amazing　how　much　in　common　there　is　in　Laozi　and　in　Conrad。　And　it　is　just　as　amazing　how　much　common　ground　there　is　in　the　teaching　of　the　Buddha　and　in　that　of　Laozi。

　　Laozi　used　words　sparingly；　truthful　to　his　belief　that　words　easily　become　superfluous。　People　may　be　misled　by　words　to　think　in　crooked　ways。　This　is　also　exactly　the　message　of　Zen（or　〃Chan〃）　Buddhism*。　He　would　rather　use　words　that　trigger　the　reflective　mind。　As　his　subject　is　really　indescribable；　he　would　use　symbols。　The　proliferation　of　symbolism　in　the　Daodejing　is　remarkable。　〃The　Valley　Spirit〃（##）　is　a　case　in　point。　In　Chinese；　the　valley　provides　the　image　of　having　a　capacity　to　accept　criticisms　and　alien　views。　There　is　the　expression　〃xuhai　ruo　gu〃（####）；　which　means　literally　〃humble　and　receptive　like　the　valley。〃　The　mystical　female　is　another　example　of　symbolism。　The　door　of　the　mystical　female；　which　chapter　6　called　the　〃root　of　heaven　and　earth；〃　stands　for　the　source　of　abundance。　Laozi　tells　us　that　humility　is　the　origin　of　creative　ideas　and　a　rich　life。

　　The　images　in　Laozi　are　very　effective；　but　they　require　imagination。　Unfortunately；　imagination　can　go　wild；　and　often　times；　translators　and　readers　are　bewildered　by　the　mystical　use　of　language。

　　To　understand　Laozi；　we　have　to　understand　that　he　offers　a　practical　way　of　life；　not　a　mystical　recipe　to　immortality。　Paradoxically；　however；　this　practical　way　of　life　offers　a　glimpse　to　the　eternal　world。　Watch　Conrad's　closing　remarks　in　the　Preface　to　The　Nigger　of　the　Narcissus：　〃behold—all　the　truth　of　life　is　there：　a　moment　of　vision；　a　sigh；　a　smile—and　the　return　to　an　eternal　rest。〃　Compare　this　language　〃a　sigh；　a　smile〃　with　the　famous　episode　when　the　Buddha　communicated　with　one　of　his　disciples。　He　took　up　a　flower；　smiled；　and　the　understanding　about　life　was　instantaneously　and　spontaneously　communicated　to　and　realized　by　that　disciple。　Then　of　course　there　is　that　famous　verse　from　William　Blake：　〃To　see　a　world　in　a　grain　of　sand　and　a　heaven　in　a　wild　flower；　hold　infinity　in　the　palm　of　your　hand；　and　eternity　in　an　hour。〃　Truthfulness　is　eternal。

　　Consider　Laozi's　Chapter　70；　in　which　he　says　〃What　I　say　is　easy　to　understand　and　easy　to　practice　yet　few　people　under　heaven　understand　and　practice　it。〃　Compare　this　with　the　opening　sentence　in　Chinese　Zen　（Third　Patriarch）Master　Sengcan's　（##）　Song　of　the　Truthful　Mind　（###）　which　reads　〃The　supreme　way　is　not　difficult；　so　long　as　people　refrain　from　preferences。〃　（####；####）　The　importance　of　the　undiscriminating　mind　is　clear　in　Chapter　49：　〃If　people　are　good；　I　shall　be　good　to　them。　If　people　are　not　good；　I　shall　also　be　good　to　them。　This　way　I　am　really　good。　If　people　are　truthful；　I　shall　be　truthful　to　them。　If　people　are　not　truthful；　I　shall　also　be　truthful　to　them。　This　way　I　am　really　truthful。〃　The　Sage's　mind　is　uncalculating　and　free　from　all　pretences　like　an　infant's。　Again　quoting　from　Sengcan　〃All　tendencies　to　go　to　one　extreme　or　to　the　other　arise　from　the　calculating　mind。〃（####；####。）

　　What　is；　then；　this　practical　way　of　life　that　Laozi　recommends？　It　is　a　life　in　unison　with　nature。　To　be　with　nature　is　to　forget　about　the　narrow　self　that　limits　our　potential　for　development。　If　something　is　done；　one　who　follows　the　Dao　would　not　say：　〃It　is　me　who　achieved　it。〃　One　would　not　take　any　credit　because；　in　the　first　place；　there　is　no　concept　of　me　or　I　as　a　separate；　indepe