Tao Teh Ching Chapter 29

将欲取天下而为之，吾见其不得已。天下神器，不可为也，不可执也。为者败之，执者失之。
是以圣人无为，故无败；无执，故无失。
夫物或行或随；或嘘或吹；或强或羸；或载或隳。
是以圣人去甚，去奢，去泰。
Translation
For those who want to impose their own will to the world, I see that they cannot succeed. The world is an instrument of divine and cannot be changed or held (hijacked) according to individual desires. Those who want to impose their will fail and those who try to hold will lose.
Therefore the sage does not action according to his own will and he will never fail; He does not try to hold anything for himself and he will never lose.
There are those who lead and those who follow, those who breath softly and those who blow hard, those who are strong and those who are weak, those who are able and those who are useless.
Therefore the sage abolishes extremity, lavishness and grandeur.

Comments
There has not been anything new in this chapter. It is generally repeating what Lao Tzu had said. One interesting note is that the world is the instrument of the divine and cannot be tampered with. This leads me to recollect the Chinese saying (don’t know the origin) that human will for sure win the battle against heaven and earth. The communist party, as being Marxists, over uses this saying. They are atheists by definition. Lao Tzu is of course renounced. Now the consequence of the communist rule is self-explainable. North Korea is impoverished, so is China before the 1980s. East Germany is far behind West Germany, etc, etc. Lao Tzu had already said, 为者败之. You try to impose your own will you will fail. (The current China is hardly communist, and they have learned to let go of their own will)

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 28

知其雄，守其雌，为天下溪。为天下溪，常德不离，复归于婴儿。
知其白，守其黑，为天下式。为天下式，常德不忒，复归于无极。
知其白，守其辱，为天下谷。为天下谷，常德不忒，复归于朴。
朴散则为器，圣人用之，则为官长，故大制不割。

Translation
The sage knows how to be a strong and muscular man, yet he chooses to be a subtle female in his attitude, and he becomes the tributes of the world. Flow like the little tributes, the virtue never departs from him and he returns to the infant state.
The sage knows how to be bright and shiny, yet he chooses to stay in the shadow and set the way for the people of the world. In doing so, the virtue never departs from him and he returns to the place where there is no duality.
The sage knows how to be glorious, and yet he chooses to be humble, like an accommodating valley. Like the valley, the virtue never departs from him and he returns to simplicity.
When the simple un-fashioned is distributed, they become utensils. When utilised by the sage, they become officers. Note: I am yet to understand what the last four words mean.

Comments
The main theme in this is chapter is 归, or return. A normal person is not home, he is somewhere else. The task of life is to return to home, where he comes from. This home has three attributes: 婴儿, 无极, 朴, or infant-like, no duality nor extreme, and simplicity. Being an infant, it has no stains and it is perfect. 极, is one extreme. The home has no extremes, things like good and evil, beauty and beast, black and white does not exist. The sage returns to the 无极. That is why a truly self-realized master will love absolutely everyone. The third attribute is simplicity or朴. If you put in tons of make-up, you only appear to be young. If you dress expensively, you only appear to be successful.
There are three types of people in the world, I believe. The ones that are self-realized, I say that they are home. The ones who know that they are not home and wanted to come home, I say they are on the journey home. The last ones are those who don’t realize they are not home, and I say they are lost.

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 27

善行无辙迹，善言无瑕谪；善数不用筹策；善闭无关楗而不可开，善结无绳约而不可解。
是以圣人常善救人，故无弃人；常善救物，故无弃物。是谓袭明。
故善人者，不善人之师；不善人者，善人之资。不贵其师，不爱其资，虽智大迷，是谓要妙。

Translation
The skilful traveller leaves no trials, the master speaker leaves no faults; He who knows how to count make no use of the abacus, he who knows how to lock make no use of bolts and yet it cannot be opened; He who knows how to bind make no use of strings or knot and yet it is impossible to unbind.
Thus the sage is skilful to bring salvation to people, and never abandons anyone; He is skilful to salvage even the lifeless objects, and never abandons anything. This is called inherited understanding.
Therefore the sage is the teacher of ordinary people, and the mundane are the subjects of the sage. If the ordinary one does not honor his guru, or the guru does not love his subjects, then even if both of them are intelligent, they are really ignorant. Remember, this is a very important principle.

Comments
The appearance never reveals what is really behind. Therefore to the normal person, a real master is hard to recognize. The skilful traveller and etc conceals their ability. The sage is responsible to the salvation of the world; however, they don’t appear to be doing it.
In the third paragraph, for the first time Lao Tzu mentions the relationship between a student and a guru. A student is 不善, or not kind, or not great. One cannot be a sage without realizing the truth, therefore all students are 不善. The dedication from a student to a guru and the love from a guru to a student is the most important thing in the student’s journey to enlightenment.

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 26

重为轻根，静为躁君。是以圣人终日行不离辎重。虽有荣观，燕处超然。奈何万乘之主，而以身轻天下？轻则失本，躁则失君。

Translation
The heavy is the root of the light, the tranquil is the ruler of the agitated. Thus is the reason that the saint is never far from all of his supports. Although the spectacular scenery is available, he treats it with ease. He is the ruler of a whole nation and he does not take that responsibility lightly. To be light one loses the root, to be agitated one cannot be a king.

Comments

This is perhaps one of the simple chapters in the remaining sutras. It is another aspect of the way we treat things. In addition to act within our limit, we learn to be stable. Treat everything with ease. 虽有荣观，燕处超然. When they say there is a waterfall over there, many run to see it. Today I was discussing with a colleague of a technical problem. We had a good idea. We were making coffee at the time. The colleague gets so excited that he cannot wait to go back to the computer. Lao Tzu teaches us not to get excited. To be exited one cannot be a king of himself.

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 25

有物混成，先天地生。寂兮寥兮，独立而不改，周行而不殆，可以为天地母。
吾不知其名，字之曰道，强为之名曰大。大曰逝，逝曰远，远曰反。故道大，天大，地大，王亦大。
域中有四大，而王居其一焉。人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。

Translation
Something is formed from the chaos, this happens before the birth of the heaven and earth. Silent and empty, it stands alone and has not changed ever since. It pervade to every corner and never dies. This is the Mother of the Universe.
I don’t know its name, if I have to express it in words, I write it as Tao; if I have to name it, then I will name it the Great. So great it is, it seems to depart from you, seems very far away from you, and yet you will only discover its return. Therefore I say that the Tao is great, and so is the heaven, earth and the Man. There are four greats in this world, and Man is one of them. Man gets the law from the earth, earth from heaven, heaven from Tao, and Tao gets its law from itself.

Comment
By reading the first sentence of this chapter, you wonder if the author’s name was Stephen Hawking. From this Chapter onwards, the text because more difficult. It takes more time to try to figure out what Lao Tzu is trying to tell us.
In the first paragraph, Lao Tzu talks about the state of the Tao. We have already known that the Tao is before the heaven and earth. The key word here is 混 or chaos. From a modern physics point of view, is it fare to say that because of the state of chaos, the concept of time, which is the fourth dimension, doesn’t exist at this level of plane? Here again, Lao Tzu emphasis the empty nature of the Tao, which is the basis of Buddhism.
The next paragraph is mainly concerned with the four greats, the Tao, the heaven, the earth and the King. The purpose of this is not clear though. The definition of the four greats is tricky. The King would be human. Earth is not just the earth we live in, I think it is anything that humans can control or have effect on. Heaven on the other hand is everything we can’t control, and the Tao is everything. The translation from 大 to Great is literal, but I found it bit far-fetched. It doesn’t make too much sense when you read the translation. To me, This 大 mean more like essential entity. I think what Lao Tzu really means by域中有四大, is that the world has got four essential entities, they are the Tao, the man, things Man can control and those things Man cannot.
王 literally mean king, but I think here it means just human. There are those people who think the Tao Teh Ching is a political book, which perhaps misses the point.

寥, void, empty.

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 24

企者不立；跨者不行；
自见者不明；自是者不彰；自伐者无功；自矜者不长。
其在道也，曰：馀食赘形。物或恶之，故有道者不处

Translation
He who stands on his tiptoe cannot stand firm; He who stride cannot travel with ease. He who claims understanding cannot be wise; He who claims righteousness cannot be prominent; He who claims to have achieved cannot not have credit; He who praises himself cannot be superior.
These action as opposed to the Tao is called remnant food or a tumour in the body which is dislike by all, therefore those who possesses the Tao do not act as thus.

Comments
Moderation is the topic in the first paragraph. Lao Tzu had used analogy to express that one should always act within one’s limit. This limit is regarding to ability. When coming into the office, I can jump down a big step to save about 5 secs or I can walk around the step. I have the ability to jump, but I choose not to. Why would I risk injury to save that 5 seconds? This is also true when driving. On the freeway, we can drive at 100 Km/h on a narrow road, which is the speed limit, or we can drive at 90 km/h and we have better control of the car. Most people drive at 100. I have the ability to drive 100 but I choose not to. This is exactly 跨者不行.
The second paragraph is a repetition of Chapter 22. I suspect there might be a corruption in the original text. See Chapter 22 for a detailed comment.

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 23

希言自然。故飘风不终朝，骤雨不终日。孰为此者？天地。天地尚不能久，而况于人乎？
故从事于道者，同于道；德者，同于德；失者，同于失。同于道者，道亦乐得之；同于德者，德亦乐得之；同于失者，失亦乐得之。
信不足，焉有不信焉。

Translation
Reticence in speech is the nature of man. See that the boisterous wind cannot last the whole morning and that the heavy rain cannot outlast the day. Who is making the wind and rain? The nature. If the nature cannot do it, how is it possible to Man?
Therefore those who identify themselves with the Tao will merge with the Tao, Those who identify themselves with the Teh will merge with the Teh; Those fails to identify themselves with the Tao and TeH will merge with the loss. When you merge with the Tao, you are happily accepted by the Tao, and so is the Teh. When you merge with the failure of the both, you will be welcome and embraced by the failure.
When you have not enough faith and for sure faith is not coming to you!

Comments
Are we talking too much? For some, no. For a lot of others, the answer is a definite yes. Lao Tzu says talking too much is against our own nature. In Chapter 1 , he said 名可名，非常名, the eternal name cannot be named or expressed by words. This takes us back to origin of language. In networking, there exist different protocols. The protocols are used for communication. They are merely a set of rules every computer node on the network agrees on. Language itself has limitations. We have to agree on certain basic things so that another object can be defined by language. We often find in dictionaries that one word is interpreted using another only to find out that the very interpreting word is again referred back to the original word. Therefore the ultimate cannot be expressed by languages. Having realized this, it is easy to understand why Lao Tzu says that speak less is your nature.
The second paragraph is vague. I am not sure what exactly the author means. Is it the reasoning for the third paragraph? We see people are happy doing what they do. Some tries to find enlightenment, they go to temples and peace is with them. Others cannot live without evening feasts with the likeminded. They are busy having the good time and therefore result in failure in cultivating the Tao. The higher the degree they are indulged, the more they will love that and failure is more likely.

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 22

曲则全，枉则直，洼则盈，敝则新，少则多，多则惑。
是以圣人抱一为天下式。不自见，故明；不自是，故彰；不自伐，故有功；不自矜，故长。夫唯不争，故天下莫能与之争。
古之所谓「曲则全」者，岂虚言哉！诚全而归之。

Translation
The wronged are preserved, the bent are straitened, the empty are filled, the old are renewed, the scarce are made abundant, however the abundant are made confused.
Therefore the sage embraces one universal rule for the world to follow. He does not see himself and therefore he is wise; He does not affirm himself, therefore he is prominent; He does not claim any merit, therefore he is rewarded; He does not praise himself, therefore he is regarded as superior. It is because he never strives (against anything or anyone), nothing and nobody could strive against him.
The ancient saying that the wronged are preserved is verily true! He is truly preserved and returned (to the root).

Comments
In the first paragraph, Lao Tzu talked about opposite conditions. One is a favoured condition by the people, the other is the opposite. Naturally, we want to be new, abundant. But only when we are naturally the opposite of these desired conditions, we can then naturally achieve the desire conditions.
The second paragraph is about humility. We get the idea here pretty well. But it seems to be humility is only a superficial manifestation of the abolishment of ego. We the ego has disappeared, everything Lao Tzu is talking about are natural behaviours. What is ego? Recently when chatting with a friend, I couldn’t help to notice the number of I, or My he had used. There is another friend can relate anything we talk about to his own experience. Subtlety, we all have that tendency. We tend to claim we have done so much for the company, family and friends, even if that is a fact. We feel satisfied privately when we solve a problem, even we didn’t boast to others. Let’s not fool ourselves, ego is present in anyone that has not achieved self-realization. The reduction of ego is the path of achieving self-realization. When the last sentence of the paragraph 诚全而归之 is said, isn’t it mean abolishing ego leads to self-realization?

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 21

孔德之容，惟道是从。道之为物，惟恍惟惚。惚兮恍兮，其中有象；恍兮惚兮，其中有物。窈兮冥兮，其中有精；其精甚真，其中有信。自今及古，其名不去，以阅众甫。吾何以知众甫之状哉？以此

Translation
The manifestation of the highest virtue is merely full compliance of the Tao. If Tao is considered to be a substance, it is vague and obscure. Vague as it is, images are inside; obscure as it is, with in which substances reside. Mysterious as it is, inside with there is the spirit, which is true and faithful. From the past to the present, it’s name does not diminish. Note: I don’t know what the rest of the chapter means, and I cannot agree on any other translation

Comments

I don’t have a comment for this Chapter.

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 20

绝学无忧。唯之与阿，相去几何？美之与恶，相去若何？人之所畏，不可不畏。荒兮，其未央哉！
众人熙熙，如享太牢，如春登台。我独泊兮其未兆；沌沌兮，如婴儿之未孩；累累兮，若无所归。众人皆有馀，而我独若遗。我愚人之心也哉！俗人昭昭，我独昏昏。俗人察察，我独闷闷。澹兮其若海，飙兮若无止。众人皆有以，而我独顽且鄙。我独异于人，而贵食母

Translation
Abolish learnedness and there will not be worries. What is the difference between the formal “yes” and the informal “yeah”? However, what is the huge difference between the good and the evil? What people fear should be feared. Alas! There is no end to this.
The multitudes of people are enjoying the sun, as if they are having a great feast, as if they are on a high ground enjoying the spring. I only appear to be quiet as if my future is not certain. I am like a baby who hasn’t learned to smile; I am listless as if nowhere that I belong. Everyone have spares, but I seem to have relinquished everything. I have the heart of a fool! The vulgar are informed, but I seem confused; they have sharp understandings, however I alone seem to be bored. I am tossed around by the water and wind. Everyone has a function, but I alone seem stubborn and useless. I alone am different from the rest in that I value the nursing mother (The Tao).

Comments
To possess the Tao means you are different from ordinary people. In this chapter, Lao Tsu describes his image in the eyes of the public. First, he says do not learn, as it will give you anxiety. This seems odd at first glance, but think more thoroughly it is the truth.
In the second paragraph, Lao describe what the public looks like. They are enjoying themselves; completely satisfied, at least appears to be so. Everyone accumulate a fortune, everyone seem to understand the politics, the economy and every aspect that there is knowledge. However, Lao has relinquished all of these, of course he will appear to be stupid and useless to the ordinary eye. The last sentence however is the key to this chapter. The difference between the public and the saint is the TAO.
In here, I would like to take a look at 俗人察察，我独闷闷. We see smart people all the times. Do they just appears to be smart? The wisest man always seems stupid, this is the old Chinese saying.

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 18

大道废，有仁义；智慧出，有大伪；六亲不和，有孝慈；国家昏乱，有忠臣

Translation
When the great Tao is not prevalent, there appears men with integrity; When the wen of wisdom came forth,, there arises the hypocrites; When all the relatives are not in harmony, there arises the filial piety; When the country is in disarray, then comes the loyal servants.

CommentsThis chapter is simple but I am yet to figure out what is the purpose. For now I will just leave it as the translations.

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 17

太上，下知有之；其次，亲而誉之；其次，畏之；其次，侮之。
信不足，焉有不信焉。悠兮其贵言。功成事遂，百姓皆谓我自然。

Translation
For the highest standard (of ruling), the subordinates only knows the ruler exists; To a lesser degree, they love and honour him; Worse, they are afraid of him; To the worst, they humiliate him.
If you don't have enough faith in this, it is certain that you will not have faith. He who possesses the Tao hesitates to speak out (his achievements). When accomplished, every one just say: " Isn't that just nature's process?!"

Comments

There are four levels of ruling according to Lao Tzu. We see the last three all the times. In today's world, we can take a few examples; Leaders like Mandela are of the second rank, Bush as the fourth, Saddam of the third. It seems to me that Hu of China is close to the first rank, however, this is only due to my lack of knowledge of other rulers of the world.
The second paragraph is quite sudden. It seems the connection to the first paragraph is not clear when Lao Tzu said faith cannot be accomplished if not enough faith is possessed. Generally speaking, this chapter expands the idea of the idea of Wu Wei, or no action.

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 16

致虚极，守静笃。万物并作，吾以观复。夫物芸芸，各复归其根。归根曰静，静曰复命。复命曰常，知常曰明。不知常，妄作凶。
知常容，容乃公，公乃全，全乃王，王乃天，天乃道，道乃久，没身不殆。

Translation
Realize the ultimate void, keep oneself at rest and steady. The countless creatures are all eager to move into actions, however I am here only to see their return (to where they come from). For those creatures, they grow like the rampant weed, only to return to their own root. To return to the root is to be at rest, to be at rest is to return the mission; To return the mission is said to know the unchangeable; To know the unchangeable is to be wise. Those who do not know the unchangeable will only do evil in vain.
To know the unchangeable is to be patient, unhurried and graceful; To be graceful one becomes gentleman; to be a gentleman results in completeness in turn a king of himself; To be a king he reaches on high; to be close to heaven he knows the Tao, which is perpetual, he is then not afraid of losing this body.


Comments
The man with the Tao is an observer. He observes the world in function but is not part of it. Therefore Lao Tzu first said: 致虚极，守静笃. To sit still, to be at rest, don't panic. He said, look around, every creature has his day. Even the longest living tree die after a thousand years. What ever they do, there is one thing that is not escapable, they will die and will return the root. Then why do you go out and strive to do all things? To do all these is not to 知常, the unchangeable. What is the unchangeable? The unchangeable is the fact that sooner or later we will return to the root or source. Not knowing it, you will 妄作凶, do evil in vain. 妄, have a few meanings. It can mean mistaken, random, or erroneous. To this point I have to mention the current American president George W. Bush. He is the ultimate example of not knowing the unchangeable, and therefore the evils he had done are doomed to be in vain.
The second paragraph deals with the unchangeable and the Tao. In fact, because the unchangeable is the dying of the body, knowing and accepting it will result in overcome of fear of the very fact of losing the body.

笃, slow and steady paced movement of a horse.
芸, A kind of herb. In here it mean to grow.
容,从容 to be relaxed and graceful, not in a hurry to finish something.

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 15

古之善为士者，微妙玄通，深不可识。夫唯不可识，故强为之容：豫焉若冬涉川；犹兮若畏四邻；俨兮其若客；涣兮其若冰之将释；敦兮其若朴；旷兮其若谷；混兮其若浊。
孰能浊以静之徐清？孰能安以动之徐生？保此道者不欲盈。夫唯不盈，故能蔽而新成。
Translation
People who have the Tao from ancient times are very subtle, mystic and understands all, their personality is so deep that it is not possible to be recognized. Since is cannot be recognized, here I strive my best to describe it: He is so cautious as if he is crossing a frozen river in the winter; He is so hesitate as if he is afraid the neighbors; He is respectful (to everyone) as if he is a guest; He readily disperses, just as ice about to thaw; He is as unpolished as the raw wood; He is as empty as a valley, he looks as if he is stupid, just like muddy water.
Who can clarify the troubled waters by allowing it to settle down quietly? Who can give life to the motionless by gently stirring? He who preserves this method does not want to be full. It is because he is not full; he is always protected and appears anew.

Comments
In this Chapter, we learned what it would be look like when a person possesses the Tao. Look around, I think I actually know one who seem very close to it. By looking at these properties of the master of Tao, we do not seem ability, charisma, energy, and greatness. We see instead seemingly dull, cautious even monotonous attributes. He we understand to have the Tao, you have passed the stage of being sharp, clever. You are only shrewd, you know it, but you never show it to other people. That is why the masters appear to be just normal persons, however inside they only know too well.
The second paragraph is hard to understand. Again, this personal interpretation is very different from all other translations. I believe the key word here is 徐, slowly. This slowness indicates the saint do not want to interfere with natural process. The best way to clarify the muddy water is to allow it to settle. You cannot pull a plant to make it grow faster. If you have wound to your hand, don't mess around with it. Nature takes care of it. Therefore, by allowing nature to take its own cause, one naturally doesn’t want to be completely full.
Here are some words and meanings.
俨, respect
涣, Disperse
敦, without flare or garnish