beck

Doing Less
The pursuit of learning is to increase day by day.
The practice of the Way is to decrease day by day.
Less and less is done until one reaches non-action.
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
The world is led by not interfering.
Those who interfere cannot lead the world.

blakney

The student learns by daily increment ...

The student learns by daily increment.
The Way is gained by daily loss,
Loss upon loss until
At last comes rest.

By letting go, it all gets done;
The world is won by those who let it go!
But when you try and try,
The world is then beyond the winning.

byrn

The student of knowledge goes into learning a little day by day;
The student of dao reduces his assets by dwindling or losing a bit each day.
Learning consists in adding daily to one's stock, and the practice of dao consists in loose dwindling day by day. It could be subtracting till one has reached inactivity. By steady reductions [of certain sorts] you reach certain sorts of laissez-faire. So decrease and further decrease until you reach the point of taking no action.
[This is clowning.] By artful inactivity everything [bad] can be set in motion.
He who conquers the [inside] domain does so [mostly] by doing nothing. Those who once won the adherence of all who live here, did so by not interfering much.
Had they interfered, they would never have won this adherence.
One who likes to do, may not be able to rule a kingdom [inside or outside].

feng

In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired.
In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.

Less and less is done
Until non-action is achieved.
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.

The world is ruled by letting things take their course.
It cannot be ruled by interfering.

ganson

The scholar needs to know more and more each day.
The follower of Tao needs to know less and less each day.

By lessening knowledge one reaches inaction.
By inaction everything can be done.

The world is won by those who leave it alone.
When one feels compelled to dominate,
the world is already beyond reach.

gnl

Inaction
The follower of knowledge learns as much as he can every day;
The follower of the Way forgets as much as he can every day.

By attrition he reaches a state of inaction
Wherein he does nothing, but nothing remains undone.

To conquer the world, accomplish nothing;
If you must accomplish something,
The world remains beyond conquest.

hansen

Forgetting
In deem-acting on 'study' one daily increases.
In deem-acting on 'the guide ' one daily decreases.
Decrease it and further decrease it.
In order to arrive at no deem-acting.
No deem-acting and nothing not deem-acted.
Taking the social world , you treat relying on lacking social acts as constant.
When it comes to engaging in social acts,
it is not sufficient for taking the social world.

legge

He who devotes himself to learning (seeks) from day to day to
increase (his knowledge); he who devotes himself to the Tao (seeks)
from day to day to diminish (his doing).

He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing
nothing (on purpose). Having arrived at this point of non-action,
there is nothing which he does not do.

He who gets as his own all under heaven does so by giving himself
no trouble (with that end). If one take trouble (with that end), he
is not equal to getting as his own all under heaven.

mccarroll

In the pursuit of learning,
every day something isadded.
In the pursuit of the Tao,
every day something is dropped.

Less and less is done
until you come to action with striving.
When you follow this practice,
nothing remains undone.

All under heaven is won by
letting things take their cuurse.
Nothing can be gained by interfering.

mcdonald

One who seeks knowledge learns something new every day.
One who seeks the Tao unlearns something new every day.
Less and less remains until you arrive at non-action.
When you arrive at non-action,
nothing will be left undone.

Mastery of the world is achieved
by letting things take their natural course.
You can not master the world by changing the natural way.

merel

Knowledge

The follower of knowledge acquires as much as he can every day;
The follower of Tao loses as much as he can every day.

By attrition he reaches a state of inaction
Wherein he does nothing, but leaves nothing undone.

To conquer the World, do nothing;
If you must do something,
The World remains beyond conquest.

merel2

Inaction
The follower of knowledge learns as much as he can every day;
The follower of the Way forgets as much as he can every day.
By attrition he reaches a state of inaction
Wherein he does nothing, but nothing remains undone.
To conquer the world, accomplish nothing;
If you must accomplish something,
The world remains beyond conquest.

mitchell

In pursuit of knowledge,
every day something is added.
In the practice of the Tao,
every day something is dropped.
Less and less do you need to force things,
until finally you arrive at non-action.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.

True mastery can be gained
by letting things go their own way.
It can't be gained by interfering.

muller

In studying, each day something is gained.
In following the Tao, each day something is lost.
Lost and again lost.
Until there is nothing left to do.
Not-doing, nothing is left undone.
You can possess the world by never manipulating it.
No matter how much you manipulate
You can never possess the world.

rosenthal

FORGETTING KNOWLEDGE
When pursuing knowledge,
something new is acquired each day.
But when pursuing the way of the Tao,
something is subtracted;
less striving occurs,
until there is no striving.

When effort is uncontrived,
nothing is left undone;
the way of nature rules
by allowing things to take their course,
not by contriving to change.