[Note: I italicize phrases I borrow from the chapter, and link to phrases I borrow from other chapters to help tie chapters together. While making it more tedious to read, the Tao Te Ching is best pondered in the context of the whole.

In having no mind of our own it becomes easier to notice the world ‘outside the box’ our mind puts us in. I suppose we can’t truly have no mind of our own. However, as we become more tentative, hesitant, murky and vacant of mind, we soften the glaring reflection of our own agenda in what ever we see ‘out there’. Interestingly, this allows us to better notice the hoodwink at play.

I’ve long ‘known’ that people are all children in various stages of maturity. Even more simply has been the knowledge that we are all animals. I always wondered why that ‘knowledge’ couldn’t better defuse the interpersonal emotional issues I experienced from time to time. The answer: Contending, plain and simple. How much my mind ‘knows’ makes no difference in the end. Resolution lies much deeper and only comes slowly with maturity. Nevertheless, ‘knowing’ is better than nothing (although, knowing Nothing may be best of all :wink. We just have to patiently wait till ‘being’ catches up to the ‘knowing’.

Note: The slightly awkward way my translations turn out can be helpful to prod the mind to see the chapter from another angle. After all, truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. Words that ‘roll off the mind’ easily are often preconceptions reflecting an agenda (cultural or otherwise). Hopefully the awkwardness helps one read between the line more.

First, with a dash or two of poetic license:
The wise person without mind uses the mind of the people.
Of the friendly I am friendly.
Of the unfriendly I am also friendly, at heart friendly.
Of the true I trust.
Of the untrue I also trust, at heart trust.
The wise person lives inhaling all under heaven,
Being all under heaven, simple and natural his heart.
The multitude, all concentrate on taking sides,
The wise person, all as children.

Now the most literal, in all its synonymic glory:
wise person without heart (mind, intention, feeling).
use (take, in order to) common people heart (mind, intention, feeling).
the good (friendly; be good at) I of good, friendly; be good at).
not good, friendly; be good at) I also good, friendly; be good at) virtue (heart, kindness, favour) good, friendly; be good at).
the true (trust, confidence) I of true (trust, confidence).
the not true (trust, confidence) I also of true (trust, confidence) virtue (heart, kindness, favor) true (trust, confidence).
wise person exist( be living; rest with; depend on) heaven under inhale herein,
do (act, serves as, be, mean) heaven under muddy (simple and natural, unsophisticated, whole, all over) its heart (mind, intention, feeling).
numerous family names all pour (concentrate, fix) its ear (on both sides, flanking, side),
wise person all (each and every) of child.