Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu – Chapter 56


知者不言,言者不知。
塞其兑,閉其門,挫其銳,解其分,和其光,同其塵,是謂玄同。
故不可得而親,不可得而踈;不可得而利,不可得而害;不可得而貴,不可得而賤。
故為天下貴。
He who knows does not speak;
He who speaks does not know.
Fill up its apertures,
Close its doors,
Dull its edges,
Untie its tangles,
Soften its light,
Submerge its turmoil,
– This is the Mystic Unity.
Then love and hatred cannot touch him.
Profit and loss cannot reach him.
Honor and disgrace cannot affect him.
Therefore is he always the honored one of the world.
(Translation by Lin Yutang )

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Those who know Tao do not speak it, those who speak Tao do not know.
The following are the characteristic of those who cultivate Tao-
They are the men of a few words.
They keep their mouth shut.
They close their eyes and ears (guard their senses.)
They dull their sharpness.
They remove their paranoia (dilution).
They cover their brightness.
They treat themselves as the dust of the earth.
This is the mysterious great unity.

He who has achieved this state, he also has the following traits –
You cannot be particularly close to him nor alienate him.
He will not be affected by his gains or harmed, nor honored or disgraced.
In other words, he is selfless and desireless to the extent that there is no intimacy, no alienation, no gain, no harm, no honor, and no grace in him. He stands in the doctrine of moderation, so he is regarded as the highest state of man and always be honored.

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