Laozi
上士聞道，勤而行之； 中士聞道，若存若亡； 下士聞道，大笑之。 不笑不足以為道。 故建言有之：明道若昧； 進道若退；夷道若纇； 上德若谷；大白若辱； 廣德若不足；建德若偷； 質真若渝；大方無隅； 大器晚成；大音希聲； 大象無形；道隱無名。 夫唯道，善貸且成。
James Legge
Scholars of the highest class, when they hear about the Tao, earnestly carry it into practice. Scholars of the middle class, when they have heard about it, seem now to keep it and now to lose it. Scholars of the lowest class, when they have heard about it, laugh greatly at it. If it were not (thus) laughed at, it would not be fit to be the Tao.
Therefore the sentence-makers have thus expressed themselves:—
‘The Tao, when brightest seen, seems light to lack; Who progress in it makes, seems drawing back; Its even way is like a rugged track. Its highest virtue from the vale doth rise; Its greatest beauty seems to offend the eyes; And he has most whose lot the least supplies. Its firmest virtue seems but poor and low; Its solid truth seems change to undergo; Its largest square doth yet no corner show A vessel great, it is the slowest made; Loud is its sound, but never word it said; A semblance great, the shadow of a shade.‘
The Tao is hidden, and has no name; but it is the Tao which is skilful at imparting (to all things what they need) and making them complete.
Victor H. Mair
When the superior man hears the Way, he is scarcely able to put it into practice. When the middling man hears the Way, he appears now to preserve it, now to lose it. When the inferior man hears the Way, he laughs at it loudly. If he did not laugh, it would not be fit to be the Way. For this reason, There is a series of epigrams that says: “The bright Way seems dim. The forward Way seems backward. The level Way seems bumpy. Superior integrity seems like a valley. The greatest whiteness seems grimy. Ample integrity seems insufficient. Robust integrity seems apathetic. Plain truth seems sullied. The great square has no corners. The great vessel is never completed. The great note sounds muted. The great image has no form. The Way is concealed and has no name.” Indeed, The Way alone is good at beginning and good at completing.
C. Spurgeon Medhurst
The true student hears of the Tao; he is diligent and practices it.
The average student hears of it; sometimes he appears to be attentive, then again he is inattentive.
The half hearted student hears of it; he loudly derides it. If it did not provoke ridicule it would not be worthy the name—Tao.
Again there are those whose only care is phraseology.
The brilliancy of the Tao is as obscurity; the advance of the Tao is as a retreat; the equality of the Tao is as inequality; the higher energy is as cosmic space; the greatest purity is as uncleanness; the widest virtue is as if insufficient; [^1] established virtue is as if furtive; the truest essence is as imperfection; the most perfect square is cornerless; the largest vessel is last completed; the loudest sound has fewest tones; the grandest conception is formless.
The Tao is concealed and nameless, yet it is the Tao alone which excels in imparting and completing.
Of Himself the great Master said: “The foxes have holes and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.” Of those who would be His disciples the same Master said: “He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he that doth not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” In the Indian Gita the qualifications for discipleship are described as “Unattachment, absence of self-identification with son, wife or home, and constant balance of mind in wished-for and unwished-for events.” “For narrow is the gate, and straightened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few be they that find it.” No wonder that when “the half hearted” hear of it, they loudly deride it. It means obscurity, retreat, self-repression, crucifixion, until the flesh rebels and cries out in bitterness, only to find its wail unheeded. There is nothing here to attract any but those who are indifferent to objects of sense. Established virtue is as if furtive. The square which is most complete is without parts, it has no corners; in the words of Paul, the true student is “as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things”; for though “concealed and nameless, yet it is the TAO alone which excels in imparting and completing.”
[^1] The “Virtue” of this chapter is the “Energy” of chap. 38 and elsewhere. See “energy” in index.
Ursula K. Le Guin
Thoughtful people hear about the Way and try hard to follow it. Ordinary people hear about the Way and wander onto it and off it. Thoughtless people hear about the Way and make jokes about it. It wouldn’t be the Way if there weren’t jokes about it.
So they say: The Way’s brightness looks like darkness; advancing on the Way feels like retreating; the plain Way seems hard going. The height of power seems a valley; the amplest power seems not enough; the firmest power seems feeble. Perfect whiteness looks dirty. The pure and simple looks chaotic.
The great square has no corners. The great vessel is never finished. The great tone is barely heard. The great thought can’t be thought.
The Way is hidden in its namelessness. But only the Way begins, sustains, fulfills.