beck

Three Treasures
Everyone says the Way is great and beyond comparison.
Because it is great, it cannot be compared.
If it were compared, it already would have seemed small.

I have three treasures to be maintained and cherished:
the first is love;
the second is frugality;
the third is not pushing oneself ahead of others.

From love comes courage;
from frugality comes generosity;
from not pushing oneself ahead of others comes leadership.

Now courage without love, generosity without frugality,
and leadership by pushing oneself ahead of others are fatal.
For love wins all battles and is the strongest defense.
Heaven gives love to save and protect.

blakney

Compassion, frugality and ruling ...

Everywhere, they say the Way, our doctrine,
Is so very like detested folly;
But greatness of its own alone explains
Why it should be thus held beyond the pale.
If it were only orthodox, long since
It would have seemed a small and petty thing!

I have to keep three treasures well secured:
The first, compassion; next, frugality;
And third, I say that never would I once
Presume that I should be the whole world's chief.

Given compassion, I can take courage;
Given frugality, I can abound;
If I can be the world's most humble man,
Then I can be its highest instrument.

Bravery today knows no compassion;
Abundance is, without frugality,
And eminence without humility:
This is the death indeed of all our hope.

In battle, 'tis compassion wins the day;
Defending, tis compassion that is firm:
Compassion arms the people God would save!

byrn

Every one says my dao is greatly like folly. Just because it's great, it looks like folly. Great ways don't look like the ordinary anyhow.
If it did not look like folly, it could have turned small and petty long ago! Then it would have been small. As for things that don't look foolish to common men, there can be no question about their smallness.

I have three treasures. Guard and keep them:
The first is a deep, deep concern; call it mystic pity, if you like.
The second is never too much, which may mean frugality.
And the third is refusal to be ahead, foremost or first, for I hardly dare to be ahead.

Deep, concerned love brings guts [or fall].
Through not doing too much, one has amplitude (of reserve power): Who has spared, may then give and seem generous.
Through not presuming to be the first and best there is, one can develop one's talent and strength; let it mature to dominate a world.

On the other hand,
to be bold by forsaking deep love;
to be generous by forsaking frugality-won reserves and clever, artful restraint;
and to be ahead and rushing in front by forsaking following behind;
all this could prove fatal in the end.

Ardent, loving concern can't fight well without conquering a lot. It shall help in the case of attack, and likewise to be firm in the case of defence.
When heaven is to save a person, heaven will protect him through deep love. Heaven arms those it would not see beaten, with all right concern. [Let's hope that.]

feng

Everyone under heaven says that my Tao is great and beyond compare.
Because it is great, it seems different.
If it were not different, it would have vanished long ago.

I have three treasures which I hold and keep.
The first is mercy; the second is economy;
The third is daring not to be ahead of others.
From mercy comes courage; from economy comes generosity;
From humility comes leadership.

Nowadays men shun mercy, but try to be brave;
They abandon economy, but try to be generous;
They do not believe in humility, but always try to be first.
This is certain death.

Mercy brings victory in battle and strength in defense.
It is the means by which heaven saves and guards.

ganson

The world says:
"Tao is great but seems so foolish!"
It seems foolish because it is great.
If it did not seem so foolish
it would long since have lost its value.

I have three treasures.
Guard them and keep them safe!
The first is love,
the second is moderation,
the third is humility.

From love one gains courage,
from moderation one gains ability,
from humility one achieves greatness.

To forsake love and courage,
to forsake moderation and ability,
to forsake humility and rush to the forefront,
is death to all hope.

With love battles can be won,
with love defense proves invulnerable,
with love heaven arms those it would protect.

gnl

Unimportance
All the world says,
"I am important;
I am separate from all the world.
I am important because I am separate,
Were I the same, I could never be important."

Yet here are three treasures
That I cherish and commend to you:
The first is compassion,
By which one finds courage.
The second is restraint,
By which one finds strength.
And the third is unimportance,
By which one finds influence.

Those who are fearless, but without compassion,
Powerful, but without restraint,
Or influential, yet important,
Cannot endure.

hansen

Three Treasures
Everyone in the social world calls my guide 'great'
It's like not resembling.
In general only being great hence like not resembling.
If it resembled, it would long since have been small!
I have three treasures. I grasp and preserve them.
The first is called 'charity' the second 'frugality' and the third not presuming to deem-act coming before the social world.
Charity, hence one can be brave.
Frugal, hence one can be magnanimous.
Not presuming to deem-act coming before the social world, hence one can to fulfill the artifactual role of an elder.
Moderns abandon charity and are still brave.
Abandon frugality and are still liberal.
Abandon following and still put themselves in front.
Dead already!
Using charity in battle, one is victorious.
If involved in preserving then inherent nature will save it. Use charity to defend it.

legge

All the world says that, while my Tao is great, it yet appears
to be inferior (to other systems of teaching). Now it is just its
greatness that makes it seem to be inferior. If it were like any
other (system), for long would its smallness have been known!

But I have three precious things which I prize and hold fast. The
first is gentleness; the second is economy; and the third is shrinking
from taking precedence of others.

With that gentleness I can be bold; with that economy I can be
liberal; shrinking from taking precedence of others, I can become a
vessel of the highest honour. Now-a-days they give up gentleness and
are all for being bold; economy, and are all for being liberal; the
hindmost place, and seek only to be foremost;--(of all which the end
is) death.

Gentleness is sure to be victorious even in battle, and firmly to
maintain its ground. Heaven will save its possessor, by his (very)
gentleness protecting him.

mccarroll

Everyone under heaven says my Tao is great
and resembles nothing else.
It is because it is great that it seems different.
If it were like anything on earth
it would have been small from the beginning.

I have three treasures that I cherish and hald fast.
The first is gentleness,
the second is simplicity,
the third is daring not to be first
among all things under heaven.
Because of gentleness I am able to be courageous.
Because of simplicity I am able to be generous.
Because of daring not to be first
I am able to lead.

If people forsake gentleness and attempt to be courageous,
forsake simplicity and attempt to be generous,
forsake the last place and attempt to get the first place,
this is certain death.

Gentleness conquers in battle and protects in defense.
What heaven guards, it arms with the gift of gentleness.

mcdonald

The world talks about honoring the Tao,
but you can't tell it from their actions.
Because it is thought of as great,
the world makes light of it.
It seems too easy for anyone to use.

There are three jewels that I cherish:
compassion, moderation, and humility.
With compassion, you will be able to be brave,
With moderation, you will be able to give to others,
With humility, you will be able to become a great leader.
To abandon compassion while seeking to be brave,
or abandoning moderation while being benevolent,
or abandoning humility while seeking to lead
will only lead to greater trouble.
The compassionate warrior will be the winner,
and if compassion is your defense you will be secure.
Compassion is the protector of Heavens salvation.

merel

Three Treasures

It may seem that my teaching means nothing;
It describes the infinite, so of course it means nothing;
If it meant something it would long since have been refuted.

Yet I have three treasures which I follow and commend to you:
The first is love,
By which one finds courage.
The second is restraint,
By which one finds strength.
The third is not contending,
By which one finds influence.

Those who are fearless, but without love,
Strong, but without restraint,
Or influential, yet contentious,
Are doomed.

Only love conquers all and is defeated by none.
It is Nature's finest tool and sharpest weapon.

merel2

Lead by Following
The river carves out the valley by flowing beneath it.
Thereby the river is the master of the valley.
In order to master people
One must speak as their servant;
In order to lead people
One must follow them.
So when the sage rises above the people,
They do not feel oppressed;
And when the sage stands before the people,
They do not feel hindered.
So the popularity of the sage does not fail,
He does not contend, and no one contends against him.

mitchell

Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Others call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep.

I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.

muller

The reason everybody calls my Tao great
Is because there is nothing quite like it.
It is exactly because it is great
That there is nothing quite like it.
If there were something that were consistently like it

How could it be small?

I have three treasures which I hold and cherish.
The first is compassion,
The second is frugality,
The third is not daring to put myself ahead of everybody.

Having compassion, I can be brave.
Having frugality, I can be generous.
Not daring to put myself ahead of everybody
I can take the time to perfect my abilities.
Now if I am brave without compassion
Generous without frugality, or
Go to the fore without putting my own concerns last,
I might as well be dead.

If you wage war with compassion you will win.
If you protect yourself with compassion you will be impervious.
Heaven will take care of you,

Protecting you with compassion.

rosenthal

THE THREE PRECIOUS ATTRIBUTES
Those who follow the natural way
are different from others in three respects.
They have great mercy and economy,
and the courage not to compete.
From mercy there comes courage;
from economy, generosity;
and from humility, willingness to lead from behind.

It is the way of sickness to shun the merciful,
and to acclaim only heroic deeds,
to abandon economy, and to be selfish.

They are sick, who are not humble,
but try always to be first.

Only he who is compassionate
can show true bravery,
and in defending, show great strength.
Compassion is the means by which
mankind may be guarded and saved,
for heaven arms with compassion,
those whom it would not see destroyed.