Virtuous Passivity, Virtue of the Mysterious, Circumspection in Speech,
Ineffability,
Closing the Senses, Mystic Oneness, Independence, Mysterious Identity,
玄德
"Those who know do not talk.
Those who talk do not know.
Stop up your orifices.
Close your doors.
Blunt your sharpness.
Release your tangles.
Harmonize your lights.
Make same your dust.
So doing is called the dark and mysterious identity.
Therefore [those who have attained to the mysterious identity] cannot be made to
be intimate, and they cannot be alienated.
They cannot be benefited, and they cannot be injured.
They cannot be ennobled, and they cannot suffer degradation.
Therefore they are noble among all those in the world."
- Translated by
Patrick E. Moran,
Chapter 56
"He who knows does not speak.
He who speaks does not know.
He closes the mouth
And shuts the doors;
Blunts sharp edges,
Unties all tangles;
Softens the glare,
And blends with the dust.
This is called mystical union.
He who can attain this state
Is not concerned with being liked or disliked,
Benefited or harmed,
Exalted or despised.
Thus he is valued by the world."
- Translated by
Keith H. Seddon,
Chapter 56
"One who knows does not speak,
One who speaks does not know.
Stop the apertures,
Close the door;
Blunt the sharp,
Untie the entangled;
Harmonize the bright,
Make identical the dust.
This is called the mystical identity (hsüan t'ung).
Therefore with this person you cannot get intimate (ch'in),
Cannot get distant,
Cannot benefit,
Cannot harm,
Cannot exalt,
Cannot humiliate.
Therefore such person is the exalted of the world."
- Translated by
Ellen M. Chen,
Chapter 56
Tao Te Ching
Translated by Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching
Translated by Livia Kohn
Dao De Jing: The Book of the Way
"Those who know, do not speak.
Those who speak, do not know.
So shut your mouth
Guard your senses
Blunt your sharpness
Untangle your affairs
Soften your glare
Be one with All dust.
This is the mystery of union.
You cannot approach it Yet you cannot escape it.
You cannot benefit it
Yet you cannot harm it.
You cannot bestow any honor on it
Yet you cannot rob it of its dignity.
That is why the whole Universe reveres it."
- Translated by
John Mabry,
Chapter 56
"The one who speaks doesn't know,
The one who doesn't speak knows.
By closing the eyes, not hearing, not smelling,
Not touching, nor tasting, the senses are closed.
But a world of harmony it is opened in the mind.
The Wise Person is not concerned by friends,
enemies, glory or disgrace.
He reaches perfection by following the Tao Way."
- Translated by
Octavian Sarbatorare, Chapter 56
"Those who know do not say; those who say do not know.
Close the senses, shut the doors; blunt the sharpness, resolve the
complications; harmonize the light, assimilate to the world. This is called the
mysterious sameness.
It cannot be made familiar, yet cannot be estranged; it cannot be profited, yet
cannot be harmed; it cannot be valued, yet cannot be demeaned.
Therefore it is precious for the world."
- Translated by
Thomas Cleary,
1991, Chapter 56
By Alexander Simkins. 
By Derek Lin.
By Ming-Dao Deng.
By Benjamin Hoff.
By Ming-Dao Deng.
Translated by Thomas Cleary.
"One who understands won't be willing to use words;
One who uses words won't be willing to understand.
Shut off your dissipation.
Seal up your door.
Harmonize with your brightness.
Adapt to the dust in your life.
Blunt your sharpness.
Untangle your disorder.
This is correctly described as the mystery of putting the pieces together.
Therefore, what can't be obtained and held closely also can't be obtained and cast off.
What can't be obtained and used for profit also can't be obtained and used for
harm.
What can't be obtained and valued also can't be obtained and cheapened.
Therefore, every action in the world is precious."
- Translated by
Nina Correa,
Chapter 56
"Those who know do not talk
Those who talk do not know
Close the mouth
Shut the doors
Blunt the sharpness
Unravel the knots
Dim the glare
Mix the dust
This is called mystic oneness
They cannot obtain this and be closer
They cannot obtain this and be distant
They cannot obtain this and be benefited
They cannot obtain this and be harmed
They cannot obtain this and be valued
They cannot obtain this and be degraded
Therefore, they become honored by the world."
- Translated by
Derek Lin, Chapter
56
"The one who knows does not speak; the one who speaks
does not know.
The wise man shuts his mouth and closes his gates.
He softens his sharpness, unravels his tangles, dims his brilliancy, and reckons
himself with the mysterious.
He is inaccessible to favor or hate; he cannot be reached by profit or injury;
he cannot be honored or humiliated.
Thereby he is honored by all."
- Translated by
Dwight Goddard, 1919, Chapter 56
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
"To know does not mean to speak
To speak does not mean to know
Close the passages
Secure the gates
Blunt the sharpness
Resolve the tangles
Shade the glare
Be one with the world
This may be called “mystic union”
Such as may not be gained by affection
May not be gained by detachment
May not be gained by favor
May not be gained by suffering
May not be gained by esteem
May not be gained by humility
And so becomes precious to (all) under heaven"
- Translated by
Bradford Hatcher,
Chapter 56
"He who knows the truth does not brag,
He who brags does not know the truth.
Closing the apertures, Shutting the doors,
Blunting the sharpness, Resolving inner conflicts,
Softening brightness, and
Harmonizing with the dusty world,
He is then in profound harmony with Tao.
Thus he is no longer:
Affected by being close to, or
Bothered by being distant from others;
Touched by gains, or
Influenced by losses
Tempted by nobleness, or
Shamed by lowliness.
Therefore he is respected by the world."
- Translated by
Cheng, Chapter 56
Translation and elucidation by Hua Ching Ni
Translated by Brian Walker
Translated by Arthur Waley
Translated by Lionel and and Herbert Giles
By Eva Wong
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Chapter 56
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By Hans-Georg Moeller. Columbia University Press, 2006, 176 pages.
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Lao Tzu: Te-Tao Ching - A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-wang-tui
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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,
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Tao Te
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The Tao
and Method: A Reasoned Approach to the Tao Te Ching. By Michael
Lafargue. New York, SUNY Press, 1994. 660 pages.
The
Whole Heart of Tao: The Complete Teachings from the Oral Tradition of Lao-Tzu.
By John Bright-Fey. Crane Hill Publishers, 2006. 376 pages.
Commentary on Chapter 56
"The truly wise understand the Tao,
so they know that actions speak louder than words. Rather than to talk endlessly
about what they should do or how they should be, they put their time and effort
into the actual doing and being.
On the other hand, those who prattle on and on only demonstrate that they know
little about the Tao. They spend so much time talking about what they think they
know that they end up not putting any of it into actual practice. Without
real-life applications, the Tao means nothing.
Tao cultivators close openings and doors - the passages that lead to, or allow
in, the many temptations and distractions of the material world. They realize
that the sensory thrills of such distractions are short-lived and ultimately
illusory, so they prefer to stick to the real and practical.
When interacting with others, they are gentle and compassionate, because caustic
and abrasive words can form a sharp edge that hurts people. Their gentle
approach unravels the complexities of personal interactions, so they can enjoy a
simple, direct connection with fellow human beings that is mutually enriching.
They are also humble and full of self-effacing humor, because those who like to
show off their mental brilliance end up alienating people with the blinding
glare of their arrogance.
True Tao cultivators do not try to set themselves apart from the rest of
humanity. They do not go into hermitage far away from civilization. Instead,
they are fully immersed in the dust of the material world where they can really
put their spiritual cultivation to the test.
All of the above are aspects of what we call "Mystic Oneness." It is a crucial
element in any spiritual path.
Those who achieve true understanding of Mystic Oneness (whether they call it by
that name or not) are the ones who can be fully involved with life in the
material world... and yet transcend beyond it. One cannot influence them by
getting close to them or treating them in a cold and distant manner. They are
unmoved by the promise of benefits or threats of injury. It is equally useless
to flatter them, feed their ego, or attempt to pummel them into submission by
degrading or condemning them.
Such people are truly exceptional, and that is why they will invariably become
honored by the entire world."
- Comments by
Derek Lin, Chapter
56
Gushen Grove Notebooks for the Tao Te Ching
Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Grove, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Red Bluff, California
This webpage was last updated on November 18, 2011.
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Brief Biography of Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.
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The Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) circa 500 BCE