Some say my teaching is nonesense.
Others call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonesense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep.

I have just three things to teach:*
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
you return to the source of being.**
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.

^{---
(*) ELLEN M. CHEN comments:
"The three cardinal virtues according to the Tao Te Ching are motherly love, frugality and daring not to be at the front. The first treasure, tz'u, has been rendered many ways: 'deep love' by Chan, 'compassion' by Lao, Chang and Blakney, 'commiseration' by Young and Ames, and 'pity' by Waley. [...] Primarily tz'u is the love that protects and nurtures, most characteristic of a mother's love."
---
(**) HO-SHANG-KUNG [an ancient commentator] says:
"[The Taoist] keeps to modesty, retires and does not
play the leading part."}

All under heaven say that my Tao is great,
That it seems useless.
Because it is great,
Therefore it seems useless.
If it were useful,
It would have long been small.

I have three treasures,
To hold and to keep:
The first is motherly love,
The second is frugality,
The third is daring not to be at the world's front.

With motherly love one can be courageous,
With frugality one can be wide reaching,
Daring not to be at the world's front,
One can grow to a full vessel.

Now to discard motherly love, yet to be courageous,
To discard frugality, yet to be wide reaching,
To discard staying behind, yet to be at the front,
One dies!

One with motherly love is victorious in battle,
Invulnerable in defence.
When Heaven wills to save a people
It guards them with motherly love.

^---

The world talks about honoring the Tao,
but you can't tell it from their actions.
Because it is thought of as great,
the world makes light of it.
It seems too easy for anyone to use.

There are three jewels that I cherish:
compassion, moderation, and humility.
With compassion, you will be able to be brave,
With moderation, you will be able to give
to others,      
With humility, you will be able to become
a great leader.      
To abandon compassion while seeking to be brave,
or abandoning moderation while being benevolent,
or abandoning humility while seeking to lead
will only lead to greater trouble.
The compassionate warrior will be the winner,
and if compassion is your defense you
will be secure.     
Compassion is the protector of Heaven's salvation.

Everyone under heaven says my Tao is great
      and resembles nothing else.
It is because it is great that it seems different.
If it were like anything on earth
      it would have been small from
            the beginning.

I have three treasures that I cherish and hold fast.
      The first is gentleness,
      the second is simplicity,
      the third is daring not to be first
            among all things under heaven.
Because of gentleness I am able to be courageous.
Because of simplicity I am able to be generous.
Because of daring not to be first
I am able to lead.

If people forsake gentleness and attempt
      to be courageous, forsake simplicity and
      attempt to be generous, forsake the last
      place and attempt to get the first place,
      this is certain death.

Gentleness conquers in battle and protects
      in defense.
What heaven guards, it arms with the gift
      of gentleness.

^---

T'ien hsia chieh wei wo tao ta
Everyone under heaven calls my TAO great,
And unlike anything else.

It is great only because
It is unlike anything else.
If it were like anything else
It would stretch and become thing.

I have three treasures
To maintain and conserve:
The first is compassion.
The second is frugality.
The third is not presuming
To be first under heaven.

Compassion leads to courage.
Frugality allows generosity.
Not presuming to be first
Creates a lasting instrument.

Nowadays,
People reject compassion
But want to be brave,
Reject frugality
But want to be generous,
Reject humility
But want to come first.

This is death.

Compassion:
Attack with it and win.
Defend with it and stand firm.

Heaven aids and protects
Through compassion.

The accomplished person is not aggressive.
The good soldier is not hot-tempered.
The best conqueror does not engage the enemy.
The most effective leader takes the lowest place.

Shih wei pu cheng chih te
This is called the TE of not contending.
This is called the power of the leader.
This is called matching Heaven's ancient ideal.

^---

People say that my talk of Tao is all
      well and good,
but it doesn't relate to anything!
But this is precisely what makes it so
      important.
Tao doesn't 'relate' to anything,
because Tao 'is' everything!

I have three qualities that I treasure
      and hold close:
Love,
simplicity,
and daring not to put myself before others.
From love comes courage.*
From simplicity comes generosity.
From daring not to be first, comes
      leadership.
People today want to be courageous,
but not because of love.
They want to be generous, but not
      through simplicity.
They want to lead, but not with humility.
This is hopeless.

In conflict it is love that wins.
Love is the strongest protection.
If you have love,
it is as if Heaven itself were keeping you safe.

A good guide doesn't insist.
A good employer doesn't push people around.
A good competitor isn't angry,
and if they win they aren't vindictive.

Natural Goodness doesn't struggle,
it brings out the best in people.
In ancient times this was called
      'Heaven's Way.'

<sup>---
* Commentary on the TRANSLATION:
from love comes courage: the English word, cour-age,
literally, "to act from the heart," is built from two roots,
from Latin, age from agere, to act, to conduct (oneself),
and cour from Old French, meaning heart.</sup>