TAO Chapter 1-10

道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。
无，名天地之始；有，名万物之母。
故常无，欲以观其妙；常有，欲以观其徼。
此两者，同出而异名，同谓之玄。玄之又玄，众妙之门。

The Dao that can be understood cannot be the primal, or cosmic, Dao, just as an idea that can be expressed in words cannot be the infinite idea.
And yet this ineffable Dao was the source of all spirit and matter, and being expressed was the mother of all created things.
Therefore not to desire the things of sense is to know the freedom of spirituality; and to desire is to learn the limitation of matter.
These two things spirit and matter, so different in nature, have the same origin. This unity of origin is the mystery of mysteries, but it is the gateway to spirituality.

天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已；皆知善之为善，斯不善已。
故有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相倾，音声相和，前后相随。是以圣人处无为之事，行不言之教，
万物作焉而不辞，生而不有，为而不恃，功成而弗居。夫唯弗居，是以不去。

When every one recognizes beauty to be only a masquerade, then it is simply ugliness. In the same way goodness, if it is not sincere, is not goodness.
So existence and non-existence are incompatible. The difficult and easy are mutually opposites. Just as the long and the short, the high and the low, the loud and soft, the before and the behind, are all opposites and each reveals the other.
Therefore the wise man is not conspicuous in his affairs or given to much talking. Though troubles arise he is not irritated. He produces but does not own; he acts but claims no merit; he builds but does not dwell therein; and because he does not dwell therein he never departs.

不尚賢，使民不爭﹔不貴難得之貨，使民不為盜﹔
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。使夫智者不敢為也。為「無為」，則無不治。

Neglecting to praise the worthy deters people from emulating them; just as not prizing rare treasures deters a man from becoming a thief;
or ignoring the things which awaken desire keeps the heart at rest.
Therefore the wise ruler does not suggest unnecessary things, but seeks to satisfy the minds of his people. He seeks to allay appetites but strengthen bones. He ever tries by keeping people in ignorance to keep them satisfied and those who have knowledge he restrains from evil. If he, himself, practices restraint then everything is in quietness.

「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 Dao appears to be emptiness but it is never exhausted. Oh, it is profound! It appears to have preceded everything. It dulls its own sharpness, unravels its own fetters, softens its own brightness, identifies itself with its own dust.
Oh, it is tranquil! It appears infinite; I do not know from what it proceeds. It even appears to be antecedent to the Lord.

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 蘥乎？虛而不屈，動而愈出。多言數窮，不如守中。

Heaven and earth are not like humans, they are impartial. They regard all things as insignificant, as though they were playthings made of straw. The wise man is also impartial. To him all men are alike and unimportant.
The space between heaven and earth is like a bellows, it is empty but does not collapse; it moves and more and more issues. A gossip is soon empty, it is doubtful if he can be impartial.

谷神不死，是謂玄牝。玄牝之門，是謂天地根。綿綿若存，用之不勤。

The Spirit of the perennial spring is said to be immortal, she is called the Mysterious One. The Mysterious One is typical of the source of heaven and earth. It is continually and endlessly issuing and without effort.

天長地久。天地所以能長且久者，以其不自生，故能長久。
是以聖人後其 身而身先，外其身而身存。非以其無私邪？故能成其私。

Heaven is eternal, earth is lasting. The reason why heaven and earth are eternal and lasting is because they do not live for themselves; that is the reason they will ever endure.
Therefore the wise man will keep his personality out of sight and because of so doing he will become notable. He subordinates his personality and therefore it is preserved. Is it not because he is disinterested, that his own interests are conserved?

上善若水。水善利萬物而不爭。
處眾人之所惡，故幾於道。居善地，心善 淵，與善仁，言善信，政善治，事善能，動善時。
夫唯不爭，故無尤。

True goodness is like water, in that it benefits everything and harms nothing. Like water it ever seeks the lowest place, the place that all others avoid. It is closely kin to the Dao.
For a dwelling it chooses the quiet meadow; for a heart the circling eddy. In generosity it is kind; in speech it is sincere; in authority it is order; in affairs it is ability; in movement it is rhythm.
In as much as it is always peaceable it is never rebuked.

持而盈之，不如其已﹔揣而銳之，不可長保。金玉滿堂，莫之能守。
富貴 而驕，自遺其咎。功遂身退，天之道。

Continuing to fill a pail after it is full the water will be wasted. Continuing to grind an axe after it is sharp will soon wear it away.
Who can protect a public hall crowded with gold and jewels? The pride of wealth and position brings about their own misfortune. To win true merit, to preserve just fame, the personality must be retiring. This is the heavenly Dao.

載營魄抱一，能無離乎？專氣致柔，能嬰兒乎？滌除玄覽，能無疵乎？
愛 國治民，能無為乎？天門開闔，能為雌乎？明白四達，能無知乎？生之畜 之，生而不有，為而不恃，長而不宰，是謂玄德。

By patience the animal spirits can be disciplined. By self-control one can unify the character. By close attention to the will, compelling gentleness, one can become like a little child. By purifying the subconscious desires one may be without fault. In ruling his country, if the wise magistrate loves his people, he can avoid compulsion.
In measuring out rewards, the wise magistrate will act like a mother bird. While sharply penetrating into every corner, he may appear to be unsuspecting. While quickening and feeding his people, he will be producing but without pride of ownership. He will benefit but without claim of reward. He will persuade, but not compel by force. This is de [teh], the profoundest virtue.