Chapter 55

含德之厚，比于赤子。毒虫不螫，猛兽不据，攫鸟不搏。
骨弱筋柔而握固。未知牝牡之合而全作，精之至也。终日号而不嗄，和之至也。知和曰常，知常曰明。
益生曰祥。心使气曰强。物壮则老，谓之不道，不道早已。

Translation
When one possesses the abundant Teh, he can be described as a new born baby. The venomous insects will not bite him, the wild animals will not attack him, the birds of prey will not strike him.
His bones are soft, his sinews pliable and yet his grip is firm. He does not know the union between the male and female, and yet he fully experiences, this is because his ultimate cultivation of the essence (semen). Being an infant, he cries all day long and yet never get hoarse, this is because his ultimate cultivation of harmony. To know the harmony one is remains undisturbed, and in turn become enlightened.
To cultivate life is a good omen. One gains strength when direct the breath from the heart. When things become strong they grow old, which is opposite to the Tao and its death is loomed.

Note
Recently I have been reading Yogananda’s book, Autobiography of a Yogi, which is so good that I didn’t find time to visit Lao Tzu. However it is interesting that in the book, Yogananda described an experience of his master, when the insects of northern India never bite him.
There are a couple of interesting points. First the firm grip comes from the seemingly weak bones and pliable sinews. It is perhaps true that the weight lifters do not live a long life, so called物壮则老. The internal organs and sinews are week and rigid, his life force has departed him. There is vague indication in this chapter on how to achieve this, that is 心使气, to direct the breath from the heart. No special techniques, is mentioned, how to use the heart to direct the breath? Perhaps Lao Tzu knows that this cannot be written in text and can only be learned from the masters.
Second is the mentioning of the 精, which literally means semen. It is believed in China, without western scientific proof, that the semen is the essence of blood. In Indian systems, the semen is even more precious. In the text Lao Tzu describes the Sage as not knowing the union of the sexes. Does this mean he believed the householder cannot be a sage?

Chapter 54

善建者不拔，善抱者不脱，子孙以祭祀不辍。
修之于身，其德乃真；修之于家，其德乃馀；修之于乡，其德乃长；修之于邦，其德乃丰；修之于天下，其德乃普。
故以身观身，以家观家，以乡观乡，以邦观邦，以天下观天下。吾何以知天下然哉？以此。
Translation
Those who are skilful in cultivating (the Tao) can never be up-rooted, those who are skilful in maintaining (the Tao) will not be afraid the escape (of the Tao from them). (Having possess the eternal Tao), their offspring keep worshipping them.
When cultivating the Tao in one’s own body, one gets the genuine Teh; when cultivated in the family, the Teh is abundant; when cultivated in the village, the Teh is enduring; when cultivated in the kingdom, the Teh is exuberant; when cultivated to the world, the Teh is universal.
Therefore the body, family, village, kingdom and world can be observed by analysing one’s own self, and it is for this reason that I know heaven and earth.
Note
The keyword is cultivation. Cultivation involves effort and thus the opposite of Wu Wei. Here is a catch twenty-two. In order to be Wu Wei, you need to cultivate first.
The way to cultivate is absent in the whole text.

Chapter 53

使我介然有知，行于大道，唯施是畏。大道甚夷，而人好径。
朝甚除，田甚芜，仓甚虚；服文采，带利剑，厌饮食，财货有馀；是为盗夸。非道也哉！

Translation
If I was to possess the all-embracing knowledge and carry on my life within the great Tao, I would only be afraid to impart this knowledge (to other people). The Tao is indeed very flat (unfashioned), and yet the people likes the by ways.
The court of government is devoid of merits, the field left unattended, the granaries are empty. (On the other hand,) People wear sumptuous garments, carry sharp swards, waste food and drinks and accumulate more material wealth than they ever need; this is indeed not Tao.
Notes
One of the interesting one in this chapter is 唯施是畏. There are various translations, but I have believed that Lao Tzu means he is afraid of imparting the Tao for fear of misunderstanding. This can be proved the by sentence immediately after, 大道甚夷， 而人好径. It is fascinating that the only fear he has was to teach other people the Tao, maybe that is why he only leave this work when he retires into the oblivion.
The development of good and bad has complicated this world, and to fulfil certain functions, numerous ways was invented. Inevitably the simple ones are lost. As such, the ignorance of people cannot be forced to awaken from the outside. Lao Tzu must have tried it and it must have failed and that is why he is afraid. The result is that the known men keep the knowledge within themselves. This is reflected by Chuang Tzu in his Levelling of All Beings (齊物論), 聖人懷之，眾人辯之以相示也。 This means that the sage hold the truth within him whereas others debate to convince each other.
When imparting the knowledge to someone, one first needs to convince that person. The person doubts and you debate. Once you debate, you don’t possess the Tao. That is why the real knower doesn’t talk. If you find some “spiritual teacher” who is on the talk all the times, take note that he is not the real deal.

養生主

養生主 (On the preservation of life)
吾生也有涯，而知也無涯。以有涯隨無涯，殆已！已而為知者，殆而已矣！
Translation
I have realized that human life is limited, however the knowledge is without a limit; To use one’s limit life and pursuit the limitless knowledge, one is doomed to failure. If however that one believes he knows, he is already in danger.
Note
I am taking an excursion to Chuang Tzu, who is considered to be the one after Lao Tzu in Taoism.
This work is written more than 2000 years ago, and yet, Chuang Tzu had already realized the limitless nature of knowledge. The advance in science only proves his point. The world we live in is limitless in every direction. To the big side, there is the universe; to the small side, there is the atom. We can say that the world is infinitely big and infinitely small. If we believe that human is made of the chemical elements that composed the body, which indeed it is, then the action of these chemical elements is fascinating. What makes this combination of the atoms act this way? How can the lifeless atoms and chemical elements realize their own existence?

Chapter 52

天下有始，以为天下母。既得其母，以知其子，复守其母，没身不殆。
塞其兑，闭其门，终身不勤。开其兑，济其事，终身不救。
见小曰明，守柔曰强。用其光，复归其明，无遗身殃；是为袭常。
Translation
At the beginning, there is a Mother (creator) of the world. The son found his mother, the mother knows the sons, the son returns to the Mother and he can be in no danger.
Close his mouth, shut his door, he will not labor all his life; Open his mouth, strive for his affairs, his whole life will have no salvation.
To know the small is called enlightened, to abide by the soft is called the mighty. Note, the rest of the chapter is too difficult to understand

Notes
This chapter is ambiguous even by Lao Tzu’s standard. I find it impossible to translate word for word in this chapter. There is only one thing I need to reflect upon. 济其事，终身不救. To manage and strive for one’s own affairs is the opposite of Wu Wei. It is however not possible to do nothing. One needs to do things, for survival and all the other reasons. The question here is the attitude in the doing. Let’s say that you want to do certain things at work and in doing so your job is a better job. However, some colleagues do not have the same idea. This happened serval times. Now you have a choice. You can feel very frustrating, and wonder why is it that the colleague is against you, or you can be indifferent. After all, it is only work. When you feel frustrating, you are caught and this is the origin of all unhappiness and sufferings. If you can take it easy, you are on top of yourself.
If you amplify this, you would find that the problems of this world is no longer problematic, not even interesting. The result? 塞其兑，闭其门. You close the door and you meditate.
The Taoism developed by later people who want to live forever is a far cry from what Lao Tzu had prescribed. These 道士, or Taoist parishioners (they are not monks, although they live in temple like residences), focus on the preservation of this mortal body. For two thousand years, none had succeeded, apparently.

Chapter 51

道生之，德畜之，物形之，势成之。是以万物莫不尊道而贵德。道之尊，德之贵，夫莫之命而常自然。故道生之，德畜之；长之育之；成之熟之；养之覆之。生而不有，为而不恃，长而不宰。是谓玄德。
Note

The content of this chapter had be covered by previous chapters.

Chapter 50

出生入死。
生之徒十有三；死之徒十有三；人之生，动之于死地，亦十有三。夫何故？以其生生之厚。
盖闻善摄生者，路行不遇兕虎，入军不被甲兵；兕无所投其角，虎无所措其爪，兵无所容其刃。夫何故？以其无死地。
Translation
Through birth, men emerge; through death, men enter.
Of the ten, three are destined to live, three are destined to die, three are born to live, but because of his own actions, he moves toward death. Why? Because he wanted so much for his very life.
I have heard that those whose are skilful in living, when travelling they don't encounter the rhinoceros or tigers, when enlisted no weapons will harm them. The rhinoceros have nowhere to thrust its horn, the tiger has nowhere to fix its claws; the weapons has nowhere to inflict its edge. Why? Because he is in no place of death.

Notes
It seems that Lao Tzu means some people will live, some will die. The one-third proportion is a rough indication. We learned that some of us are borne to live, some are borne to die. This is fate and there is nothing we can do about it. Some people die in accidents, plane crashes. Children die of cancer. One person had been doing good all his life and yet he is caught in a natural disaster. There is nothing he can do. He is destined to die prematurely, he is born to die. Again, Lao Tzu did not specify why. Why is this person has cancer? He is a good guy. Why is this criminal have a good life, and live until his late 80s? He killed many good man. Why September 11th happen? It is interesting more people goes to church when their God fails them. The answer is given in Hinduism and Buddhism in the form of the wheel of birth and law of Karma.
I am fascinated by the way Lao Tzu describes death. He uses the word enter, not exit. One enters into death. Does this mean death is just a whole new beginning?
We have to forget about those fixed fate people. The majority of people belongs to the third category, they move toward death. The reason? 以其生生之厚。 Here I reflect on Chapter 40 反者道之动. The movement of the Tao lies in its tendency to return. The more you want for you life, the more you move toward death. Why is it you move to death if you want too much? The saying “人为财死，鸟为食亡” says all. Ever see a dead bird on the road? It wants to find some food on the road.

Chapter 49

圣人无常心，以百姓心为心。善者，吾善之；不善者，吾亦善之；德善。信者，吾信之；不信者，吾亦信之；德信。
圣人在天下歙歙，为天下浑其心，百姓皆注其耳目，圣人皆孩之.

Translation
The sage does not have a heart of a normal person; he has the heart that accommodates all. To those who are good, I treat him well; to those who are evil, I also treat him well. This is called the virtue in discerning good and evil. To those are trustworthy, I trust; to those who are not trustworthy, I also trust. This is called the virtue of discerning trustworthiness.
The sage is harmonious with this world, in doing so he blurs his heart. The people all look up to the sage and the sage treats them as his children.

Comments
The 常心 in the first paragraph is bit tricky to understand. Most translations say that it is a changeable heart; therefore the sage doesn’t have an unchangeable heart. The normal person has got likes and dislikes. When the majority agrees on things, they become the social standard. The ethics that emerge from these standards guides this society. When one abides by these standards and ethics, he is said to be “good”, otherwise he is “evil”. This is the source of the judgement of people. When you are doing good, you expect others to do the same and if they don’t, you will think or act negatively about that person. Some people will treat others nicely on the surface but hate them in their hearts. This is the reason I believe that 常心 should be translated into normal heart, or a heart of a normal person, who likes and dislikes, loves and hates.
In Chapter 5, Lao Tzu said 圣人不仁，以百姓为刍狗. That’s right, the sage is not kind, he is only indifferent. He chooses not to distinguish, and automatically he does not hate.
I cannot quite reconcile the last sentence with the general idea of Lao Tzu. If the sage treats the people like grass dogs, why then he also treat them like their children. Is it because there is no difference between the grass dog and the children?