Tao Te Ching – Verse 4
The Tao is like a well:
used but never used up.
It is like the eternal void:
filled with infinite possibilities.
It is hidden but always present.
I don’t know who gave birth to it.
It is older than God.(translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
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The Tao is empty
When utilized, it is not filled up
So deep! It seems to be the source of all things
It blunts the sharpness
Unravels the knots
Dims the glare
Mixes the dusts
So indistinct! It seems to exist
I do not know whose offspring it is
Its image is the predecessor of the Emperor
(translation by Derek Lin, 2006)
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Nothingness is empty.
But Zero is full.
In attempting to fill Zero it loses its Status.
For Zero creates all.
Do not analyze it.
Therein is destruction.
Let it be, and live simple happiness.
Be clean and be full.
Zero has no predecessor, so stop perplexing on the unknowable.
(translation by Jeremy M. Miller, 2013)
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from I Ching Online
