Chapter 45
"Great accomplishment looks incomplete;
Use will not wear it out.
Great fullness looks empty;
Use will not exhaust it.
Great straightness looks crooked;
Great skill looks clumsy;
Great eloquence sounds stuttering;
"Being in motion overcomes cold;
Being still overcomes heat."
Be clear and still, and you will be the lord of all under Heaven.
- Translated by Ha Poong Kim, Chapter 45
"True perfection seems flawed
Yet its usefulness is never exhausted.
True fulfillment seems empty
Yet its usefulness is infinite.
True straightness seems crooked,
Great skill appears easy,
Great eloquence sounds awkward.
Cold overcomes heat.
Tranquility conquers agitation.
Purity and stillness is the universal ideal."
- Translated by John R. Mabry, Chapter 45
"Sit quietly
focus and forget
rest with the great achievement.
The ancient child asks
"what is the great achievement?"
It is beyond description in any language
it can only be felt intuitively
it can only be expressed intuitively.
Engage a loose, alert, and aware
body, mind, and sound
then look into the formless
and perceive no thing.
See yourself as a sphere
small at first
growing to encompass
the vastness of infinite space.
Sit quietly
focus and forget then
in a state of ease and rest
secure the truth of the great achievement.
Employing the truth will not exhaust its power
when it seems exhausted it is really abundant
and while human art will die at the hands of utility
the great achievement is beyond being useful.
Great straightness is curved and crooked
great intelligence is raw and silly
great words are simple and naturally awkward.
Engaged movement drives out the frozen cold
mindful stillness subdues the frenzied heart.
Sit quietly
focusing
forgetting
summon order from the void
that guides the ordering of the universe."
- Translated by John Bright-Fey, 2006, Chapter 45
"Great perfection appears defective,
but its usefulness is not diminished.
Great fullness appears empty,
but its usefulness is not impaired.
Great straightness seems crooked,
Great cleverness seems clumsy,
Great triumph seems awkward.
Bustling about vanquishes cold,
Standing still vanquishes heat.
Pure and still, one can put things right everywhere under heaven."
- Translated by Victor Mair, Chapter 45
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