Translation

Use honesty to maintain order,
Use surprise when using force,
Use non responsibility when seeking all under heaven.

How do I know so? Because of this.
The wider spread the taboos, the poorer the people.
The sharper their tools, the more confusion grows.
The more clever they are, the more strange things appear.
The more laws multiply, the more conspicuous the robbers.

For this reason, the holy person says,
I do nothing and the people change themselves.
I love stillness and the people straighten themselves.
I am without responsibility and the people thrive themselves.
I am without desire and the people simplify themselves.

use (take; so as to_and; as well as) straight (upright; main; honest) rule (govern; manage; peace) country (state; of our country),

use (take; so as to_and; as well as) strange (rare; surprise; wonder) use (apply; <formal> hence) weapons (private; army),

use (take; so as to_and; as well as) nothing (without; not) matter (affair; thing; responsibility) take (get; seek; adopt) land under heven.

I (we) who (why) know (realize; tell) his (its; their; they; that) correct (so; like that<frml conj> but; nevertheless) zai (exclamatory or interrog. part.)? use (take; so as to_and; as well as) this.

land under heaven much (more; too many; excessive) taboo (avoid as taboo; avoid as harmful) <conj.>(and / but not) the people (civilian) full (overflowing; more) poor (deficient; garrulous; loquacious).

the people (civilian) much (more; too many; excessive) sharp weapon (good tool) country (state; nation) grow (multiply; more> spurt; burst) dim (confused; muddled; lose consciousness; faint).

person (adult; grown-up) much (more; excessive) ability (trick) clever (deceitful; artful) strange (rare; surprise) thing (matter; the outside world as distinct from oneself) drip (trickle) get up (remove; pull; appear).

method (law; follow; model after) command (decree; make; cause) grow (multiply; more> spurt; burst) clear (evident; conspicuous) robbers (bandits) much (more; too many; excessive) have (exist).

reason (cause; on purpose; hence) wise person say (cloud).

I (we) nothing (without; not) do (act; act as; serve as; be; mean; support) <conj.>(and / but not) the people (civilian) self (oneself; certainly) change (turn; transform; convert; influence).

I (we) good (be easy_like; be fond of) still (quiet; calm) <conj.>(and / but not) the people (civilian) self (oneself; certainly) straight (upright; main; honest).

I (we) nothing (without; not) matter (affair; thing; involvement) <conj.>(and / but not) the people (civilian) self (oneself; certainly) rich (wealthy; abundant).

I (we) nothing (without; not) desire (wish; want; about to) <conj.>(and / but not) the people (civilian) self (oneself; certainly) simple (plain).

Original

以正治国，
以奇用兵，
以无事取天下。
吾何以知其然哉？
以此。
天下多忌讳而民弥贫。
民多利器国家滋昏。
人多伎巧奇物泫起。
法令滋彰盗贼多有。
故圣人云
我无为而民自化。
我好静而民自正。
我无事而民自富。
我无欲而民自朴。

Commentary, November 2010

Not being meddlesome is another way to consider the notion of using non responsibility. Both meddling and taking responsibility come from a desire on the part of the “responsible” meddling person to control the situation in order to have an outcome that agrees with their ideal objective. The desire to have things go your way is the fly in the ointment of life.

But what about the desire for “good”? The problem with good and bad is that one person’s “good” (pleasure) is another’s “bad” (poison). Being without desire, means being without responsibility for either good or bad. That may feel shocking at first, but consider Nature for a moment. Looking at the natural world, I see no good or bad – impartiality rules the day. Good and bad are obviously projections of what personally brings us pleasure and pain. Simply said, if it’s pleasurable and I like it, it’s good. If it’s painful and I dislike it, it’s bad. If animals could talk, they’d formulate a similar set of words for their emotional experience of pleasure and pain.

Of what are taboos, sharp tools, and laws symptomatic? Our instinctive, boundless need for comfort and security. Taboos are restrictions that evolve in cultures to preserve the security of the status quo. This stability is useful to an extent, but eventually serves to undermine the people’s ability to adapt to the changing conditions nature throws their way. The poorer the people is the end result. Sharp tools enable people to circumvent nature in order to maximize comfort and security. Tools allow us to get life done quicker; confusion grows as we get ahead of ourselves in our rush to “progress”.

Finally, laws multiply as group cohesion and mutual trust wanes. Most members of prehistoric, hunter gatherer groups lived their entire lives together from birth to death. That connection fostered intuitive trust and mutual obligation. As that sense of intimate connection wanes, it becomes easier for people to rob, cheat and lie. As we transitioned from hunter-gatherer tribal existence to civilization, everyone beyond one’s family became a stranger to some degree. Indeed, today even member of nuclear families have become strangers somewhat as they share less and less of the activities that previous generations did (work, music, food, etc.). (See Ethics, Do They Work Any More?) It is a “lonely brave new world” in ways we’ve yet to fully realize.

The world I experience is largely a reflection of how I feel. Thus, when I hold firmly to stillness, the whole world feels more tranquil than otherwise. “I love stillness”, is the heart and sole of what we call meditation and prayer. It is one sure way for people to straighten themselves. Stillness is more than meditation and prayer though: a sigh, a cigarette break, a tea break, a nap,… many are the ways of stillness.

On the other hand, rushing around taking responsibility and getting things done is symptomatic of what we feel deficient in life (i.e., Nature abhors a vacuum). The imperfection we see in the world is simply a reflection of what we feel missing, and so hunger for. Saying I do nothing and the people transform themselves can be very misleading if it comes across as implying that doing nothing results in their objective transformation. Although, that is the first impression many have.

It may be more accurate to see both as happening in concert together; one doesn’t cause the other. Rather, when I feel a need to change something, I will act. When I feel contentment with how things are, I do nothing (much). When I feel contentment, everything is perfect; I am free from desire and the people of themselves become simple like the uncarved block. (I suppose a more accurate way to put this would be: I am free from desire and thus my perception is transformed and I see the people simple like the uncarved block. (Alas, what we gain in accuracy, we lose in the poetry).