Ruling, Governing, Fish, Emotions, Maintaining the Throne, Ghosts, Keep Your
Perspective,
Not Harming, Power,
居位
"Whether governing a big country or cooking a little
fish, follow Nature's way and no evil tendencies will get control.
This does not mean that the dangers of evils can be eliminated entirely, but
only that they will cease to harm men.
When ordinary men are unharmed, their leaders are unharmed.
And when nobody harms anybody, perfect harmony prevails."
- Translated by
Archie J. Bahm,
Chapter 60
"Governing a great state,
Is like cooking small fish.
If you rule the world by Tao,
The ghosts (kuei) will lose their spiritual (shen) power.
Not that the ghosts lose their spiritual power,
But their spiritual power will not harm the people.
Not that their spiritual power will not harm the people,
But neither does the sage harm the people.
Since both are harmless,
Te flows back and forth [without impediment]."
- Translated by
Ellen M. Chen,
Chapter 60
Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching
Translated by Livia Kohn
Dao De Jing: The Book of the Way
"Ruling a large state is like cooking a small fish.
When you use the Way to govern the world,
Evil spirits will not have godlike power,
It is that their power will not harm men.
But it is not only that their powers will not harm men,
The sage also, will not harm them.
Since these two do not do not harm others,
Therefore their Virtues intermingle and returns to them."
- Translated by
Bram den Hond,
Chapter 60
"To govern a great state, one should act like someone
cooking a very small fish (very delicately, otherwise they break up).
When a state is governed according to the Principle, phantoms do not appear
there to harm the people, because the Sage who governs does not harm the people.
Not that the spirits have no more powers,
But their powers will not harm men.
Neither will they harm men,
Nor will the Sage harm the people.
The merit of this double tranquility (on the part of the living and the dead)
comes back, therefore, to the Sage."
- Translated by
Derek Bryce,
Chapter 60
By Alexander Simkins. 
By Derek Lin.
By Ming-Dao Deng.
By Benjamin Hoff.
By Ming-Dao Deng.
Translated by Thomas Cleary.
"Ruling a large kingdom is indeed like cooking small
fish.
They who by Tao all that is under heaven
Did not let an evil spirit within them display its powers.
Nay, it was not only that the evil spirit did not display its powers;
Neither was the Sage's good spirit used to the hurt of other men.
Nor was it only that his good spirit was not used to harm other men,
The Sage himself was thus saved from harm.
And so, each being saved from harm,
Their “powers” could converge towards a common end."
- Translated by
Arthur Waley,
Chapter 60
"Nurturing your love
is like tending a small garden.
If you keep pulling up the plants
to see if the roots are growing
you will harvest nothing.
If you focus on your troubles
you give them added power.
Step aside as would a martial arts master.
The troubles still exist,
but you are not unbalanced by their blows.
They lose their power to disturb.
They become food for growth."
- Translated by
William Martin,
Chapter 60
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
"Ruling a large country is like cooking a small fish.
When the world is ruled by Tao, spirits do not haunt.
It is not that Spirits are no longer numinous, but that their powers do not harm
men.
It is not just that their powers do not harm men, the Sage also does not harm
men.
If neither side harms the other, Te spreads throughout."
- Translated by
Tam Gibbs, Chapter
60
Govern a big country as you would fry a smal fish.
Approach the world with the Tao and evi will have no power.
Not that evi has no power, but it will not harm people.
Not that evi is not harmful,
But the Sage is dedicated to not harming people-even evi people.
When no one hurts another,
All will eventually return to the good.
- Translated by
John R. Mabry,
Chapter 60
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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Lao-tzu's Taoteching
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Thematic Index to the
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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.
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Cloud Hands Blog
Mike Garofalo writes about Taoism, Gardening, Taijiquan, Walking, Mysticism,
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Tao Te
Ching: A New Translation and Commentary. By Ellen Chen. Paragon
House, 1998. 274 pages.
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.
Gushen Grove Notebooks for the Tao Te Ching
Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Grove, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Red Bluff, California
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The Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) circa 500 BCE