Avoiding Activity, Existence from Non-Existence, By Contraries Proceeds, Movement of Tao, 去用
"The movement of the Tao
By contraries proceeds;
And weakness marks the course
Of Tao's mighty deeds.
All things under heaven sprang from It as existing and named.
That existence sprang from It as non-existent and not named."
- Translated by
James Legge, 1891,
Chapter 40
"Retirement is characteristic of Tao just as weakness
appears to be a characteristic of its activity.
Heaven and earth and everything are produced from existence, but existence comes
from nonexistence."
- Translated by
Dwight Goddard, 1919,
Chapter 40
Translated by Eva Wong 
Translated by Philip Ivahoe
By James Miller
Translated by Stephen Bokencamp
By Alexander and Annellen Simpkins
Translated by Thomas Cleary
By Livia Kohn
"Homeward is Reason's course,
Weakness is Reason's force.
Heaven and earth and the ten thousand things come from existence, but
existence comes from non-existence."
- Translated by
Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki and
Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 40
"fan zhe dao zhi dong,
ruo zhe dao zhi yong.
tian xia wan wu sheng yu you,
you sheng yu wu."
- Pinyin romanization, Chapter 40
Translation and elucidation by Hua Ching Ni
Translated by Brian Walker 
Translated by Lionel and and Herbert Giles
By Eva Wong
"Reversion is the action of the Dao.
Softness is the function of the Dao.
The myriad things under Heaven achieve life in existence.
Existence arises from nothingness."
- Translation
Richard Lynn, Chapter 40
By Alexander Simkins. 
By Derek Lin.
By Ming-Dao Deng.
By Benjamin Hoff.
By Ming-Dao Deng.
Translated by Thomas Cleary.
"The movement of Tao [in the course of time] is to
return [to Simplicity];
The working of Tao is so subtle [that is ostensible effect may not be
immediately] noticeable.
Myriad things and creatures on Earth [as we can conjecture] were originated from
something;
This something [describable by us] was launched [ultimately] from nothing [which
is beyond our description]."
- Translated by
Lee Sun Chen Org, Chapter 40
By Hu Xuzehi
Annotated translation by Victor Mair 
By Ha Poong Kim
By Hans-Georg Moeller 
By Roger T. Ames and David T. Hall
By Wes Burgess
By Arthur Waley
"The motion of the Way is to return;
The use of the Way is to accept;
All things come from the Way,
And the Way comes from nothing."
- Translation by
Peter
Merel, 1992, Chapter 40
Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching
Translated by Livia Kohn
Dao De Jing: The Book of the Way
"The path of the Tao is backward.
The characteristic of Tao is gentleness.
Everything in the universe comes from existence, and existence from non-existence."
- Translated by
Walter Gorn-Old, 1904, Chapter 40
Walking the Way: 81 Zen Encounters with the Tao Te Ching
The Tao of Zen
Tao Te Ching: Zen Teachings on the Taoist Classic
Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual, and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China
"He who returns is sent forth by Tao,
He who is weak is used by Tao.
In the world things are born into existence,
Existing things are born into Inner Life."
- Translated by
Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 40
Next Chapter of the Tao Te Ching #41
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Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching
Commentary, Interpretations, Research Tools, Resources
Chapter 40
Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition
Yellow Bridge
Dao De Jing Comparison Table, Chapter 40 Provides side by side comparisons of translations of the Tao Te
Ching by James Legge,
D. T. Suzuki, and Dwight Goddard. Chinese characters for each paragraph in
the Chapter are on the left; place your cursor over the Chinese characters to
see the Pinyin romanization of the Chinese character and a list of meanings.
Center Tao.
Includes a commentary on each Chapter.
The Complete Works of Lao Tzu: Tao Teh Ching & Hua Hu Ching
Tao Te Ching Commentaries - Google Search
Translators'
Index, Tao Te Ching Translators Sorted Alphabetically by Translator, Links
to Books and Online Versions
Tao Te Ching: A
Bibliography and Index of Translations on the Web
Chapter 40 in the
Rambling
Taoist Commentaries by Trey Smith. The
Rambling Taoists are Trey Smith and Scott Bradley.
By Hans-Georg Moeller. Columbia University Press, 2006, 176 pages.
Valley Spirit, Gu Shen,
Concept, Chapter 6
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
The largest collection of very nicely formatted complete versions of the Tao
Te Ching. The
collection includes 209 complete versions in 27 languages,
plus 28 Chinese versions. There are 112 English language
versions of the
Tao Te Ching available at this website. A variety of search methods and comparison methods are provided, as well a a detailed
index.
Lao-tzu's Taoteching
Reading Lao Tzu: A Companion to the Tao Te Ching with a New Translation
Dao De Jing: A Philosophical Translation
Thematic Index to the
81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu: Te-Tao Ching - A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-wang-tui
Texts (Classics of Ancient China)
Lieh-Tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living
Revealing the Tao Te Ching: In Depth Commentaries on an Ancient Classic.
By Hu Huezhi. Edited by Jesse Lee Parker. Seven Star Communications,
2006. 240 pages.
Cloud Hands Blog
Mike Garofalo writes about Taoism, Gardening, Taijiquan, Walking, Mysticism,
Qigong, and the Eight Ways.
Tao Te
Ching: A New Translation and Commentary. By Ellen Chen. Paragon
House, 1998. Detailed glossary, index, bibliography, notes, 274 pages.
The Tao
and Method: A Reasoned Approach to the Tao Te Ching. By Michael
Lafargue. New York, SUNY Press, 1994. 640 pages. Detailed
index, bibliography, notes, and tables. An essential research tool.
The Whole Heart of Tao:
The Complete Teachings From the Oral Tradition of Lao Tzu.
Gushen Grove Notebooks for the Tao Te Ching
Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Grove, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Red Bluff, California
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This webpage was first distributed online on February 7, 2011.
Brief Biography of Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.
Valley Spirit Grove, Red Bluff, California
Weekend Qigong Workshops with Mike Garofalo in Beautiful Red Bluff, California
Ripening Peaches: Daoist Studies and Practices
Taoist Perspectives: My Reading List
One Old Druid's Final Journey: Notebooks of the Librarian of Gushen Grove
Index to Translators of the Tao Te Ching
The Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) circa 500 BCE
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