Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu – Chapter 42


Flower

道生一,一生二,二生三,三生萬物。
萬物負陰而抱陽,沖氣以為和。
人之所惡,唯孤、寡、不穀,而王公以為稱。
故物或損之而益,或益之而損。人之所教,我亦教之。
強梁者不得其死,吾將以為教父。

Out of Tao, One is born;
Out of One, Two;
Out of Two, Three;
Out of Three, the created universe.
The created universe carries the yin at its back
and the yang in front;
Through the union of the pervading principles it
reaches harmony.

To be “orphaned,” “lonely,” and “unworthy” is what men hate most.
Yet the princes and dukes call themselves by such names.
For sometimes things are benefited by being taken away from,
And suffer by being added to.

Others have taught this maxim,
Which I shall teach also:
“The violent man shall die a violent death.”
This I shall regard as my spiritual teacher.
(Translation by Translation by Lin Yu-tang )

Where do people come from? Where did all the other things come from? All this, Lao Tzu very clearly said: from “Tao”.
It’s gradual and step by step. It is:
Tao is none, it gives birth to 1, and one gives birth to 2 which is the yin and yang, and they give birth to 3 (a child), a child gives birth to children and multiplies to the tens and thousands.

All things are yin and yang since the beginning, so yin and yang can be reconciled to achieve harmony.

Everything has its own fixed number and will balance out. Therefore, it is quite understandable that if we gain, we must face the loss and vice versa.

In the end, he taught us what he was taught- “A violent man will die a violent death!” He also uses the phrase to teach people to be gentle, not just violent to reflect on himself and his personality.

Previous How Did Father's Day Begin?
Next Red Envelope Story