[display_podcast]
Chapter 6
Valley spirit is deathless,
It is called the mystical female.
The gateway of the mystical female,
Is called the root of heaven and earth.
Hovering, it seems ever present.
Put to use, it is never exhausted.
[display_podcast]
Chapter 5
Nature has no benevolence,
It treats all things like strawdogs;
The sage has no benevolence,
He treats his people like strawdogs.
Between heaven and earth it seems like a bellows:
Empty, yet inexhaustible,
The stronger it is activated, the greater the output.
Being overly informed leads to exhaustion,
Better to be centered.
[display_podcast]
Chapter 4
Tao functions in empty harmony.
When used, it remains full.
For sure, this source is the very ancestor of the myriad things.
Blunting the sharp edges,
Unraveling the tangles,
Husbanding into the light,
Being as ordinary as the dust.
Ah! Limpid, it seems to exist forever.
I do not know whose son it is,
This who is exceeding the Heavenly Emperor.
[display_podcast]
Chapter 3
Do not exalt intelligence and people will not compete;
Do not value rare goods and people will not steal;
Do not display for public view and people will not desire.
So the sage’s governing methods are:
Emptying the mind,
Vitalizing the stomach,
Softening the will,
Strengthening the character.
This always makes people not know and not desire.
This always makes the knower dare [...]
[display_podcast]
Chapter 2
In the world,
Everyone recognizes beauty as beauty,
Since the ugly is also there.
Everyone recognizes goodness as goodness,
Since evil is also there.
Since being and nonbeing give birth to each other,
Difficulty and ease complete each other,
Long and short measure each other,
High and low overflow into each other,
Voice and sound harmonize with each other,
And before and after follow [...]
[display_podcast]
Chapter 1
The Tao that is voiced is no longer that of eternal Tao.
The name that has been written is no longer that of eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of the cosmic universe.
The named is the mother of the myriad creatures.
Being at peace, one can see into the subtle.
Engaging with passion, one can see into [...]
