Tao Te Ching - Chapter 1 to 10
DaoXuanziChapter 1
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 true Way cannot be fully captured in words;
What can be named is not the eternal truth.
Before language existed, there was the essence of existence;
Once we name things, we begin to shape the world.
To embrace emptiness is to witness life's mystery;
To engage with form is to observe its boundaries.
These two perspectives share the same origin,
Yet carry different names — both are doorways
To the profound mystery within all mysteries:
The gateway to understanding life itself.
Chapter 2
天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已。皆知善之为善，斯不善已。有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相盈，音声相和，前后相随。恒也。是以圣人处无为之事，行不言之教；万物作而弗始，生而弗有，为而弗恃，功成而不居。夫唯弗居，是以不去。
When the world fixates on "beauty," ugliness becomes its shadow.
When we rigidly define "goodness," its opposite takes root.
Contrasts breathe life into each other:
Being and nonbeing shape existence, hard and easy define progress, long and short measure space, high and low create perspective, sound and silence compose harmony, front and back map direction.
This dance of opposites is eternal.
Thus the wise move through life
with actions that feel effortless, teaching through quiet presence.
They let life unfold without control, create without claiming ownership, act without demanding credit.
When work is done, they step back — for only what isn't clung to can truly endure.
Chapter 3
不尚贤，使民不争；不贵难得之货，使民不为盗；不见可欲，使民心不乱。是以圣人之治，虚其心，实其腹，弱其志，强其骨。常使民无知无欲。使夫智者不敢为也。为无为，则无不治。
Stop idolizing "the exceptional", and people will stop scrambling for status.
Stop inflating rare treasures' worth, and stealing loses its motive.
Stop amplifying desire's glitter, and hearts find their compass.
Wise leaders govern like gardeners:
Nourish quiet minds with full bellies, temper ambition with strong foundations, replace cleverness with grounded strength.
Let people live free from schemes and cravings, so even the cunning hesitate to manipulate.
When leadership flows with life's rhythm — true order blossoms on its own.
Chapter 4
道冲，而用之或不盈。渊兮，似万物之宗；湛兮，似或存。吾不知谁之子，象帝之先。
The Flow runs hollow, yet never runs dry — deeper than the darkest sea, cradling all beginnings, clearer than hidden springs pulsing beneath reality.
Whose child is this mystery?
It holds the blueprints older than starlight, ancient ink staining the blank page of existence before gods learned to speak.
Chapter 5
天地不仁，以万物为刍狗；圣人不仁，以百姓为刍狗。天地之间，其犹橐龠乎？虚而不屈，动而愈出。多言数穷，不如守中。
The sky doesn't weep for droughts, treating all life like wind-scattered dandelion seeds.
True leaders hold this storm's gaze — people become rain patterns dancing in Earth's water cycle.
Between heaven and ground swirls the primal weather engine:
Its vacuum fuels hurricanes, its motion births monsoons.
The harder you chase explanations, the faster your words evaporate.
Stay anchored in the eye's stillness where silent pressure gradients hold the power of unborn storms.
Chapter 6
谷神不死，是谓玄牝。玄牝之门，是谓天地根。绵绵若存，用之不勤。
The Valley Spirit never dies — it’s the sacred mother of all life.
Her gateway is the source of creation, flowing like an underground spring that never runs dry.
Though invisible, her power nourishes all things.
Draw from her endlessly — she only grows stronger, like a river fed by a thousand rains.
Chapter 7
天长地久。天地所以能长且久者，以其不自生，故能长生。是以圣人后其身而身先;外其身而身存。非以其无私邪?故能成其私。
The sky endures, the earth persists — not by clinging to existence, but by serving beyond themselves.
So the wise ones:
Step back yet find themselves leading, release attachment yet continue thriving.
Is this paradox not proof — that true fulfillment flows when we release our grip?
Chapter 8
上善若水。水善利万物而不争，处众人之所恶，故几于道。居善地，心善渊，与善仁，言善信，政善治，事善能，动善时。夫唯不争，故无尤。
True goodness flows like water:
It nourishes without demanding, settles where others disdain — the low places where life grows.
It mirrors the way of nature:
Adapting to every terrain,
Deepening like quiet pools,
Giving like mountain springs,
Speaking with honest currents,
Leading by carving channels,
Acting when the season calls.
Because it never struggles against, it leaves no scars on the land — just fertile soil where tomorrow's forests take root.
Chapter 9
持而盈之，不如其已；揣而锐之，不可长保。金玉满堂，莫之能守；富贵而骄，自遗其咎。功遂身退，天之道也。
Excessive fullness leads to loss — know when to stop.
Extreme sharpness invites breakage — moderation preserves.
Hoarded wealth creates vulnerability — nothing lasts under greedy eyes.
Arrogance in success plants the seeds of future failure.
True wisdom lies in conscious closure — completing the task, then stepping aside.
This is nature's rhythm: growth and retreat in sustainable cycles.
Chapter 10
载营魄抱一，能无离乎？专气致柔，能如婴儿乎？涤除玄鉴，能如疵乎？爱国治民，能无为乎？ 天门开阖，能为雌乎？明白四达，能无知乎？ 生之蓄之，生而不有，为而不恃，长而不宰，是谓玄德。
Can you maintain mind-body integrity without fragmentation?
Channel your energy with supple coordination like a healthy nervous system?
Sustain pure awareness free from mental clutter?
Govern with attentive release instead of rigid control?
Keep sensory gates open without addictive grasping?
Stay wise yet humble amidst clear understanding?
This is the art of
Sustainable Cultivation:
Nurture without possession, act without entitlement, guide without domination — the deep integrity woven into life's code.