Tao Te Ching...

verse for today (*):

The thirty spokes unite in the one nave;
but it is on the empty space (for the axle),
that the use of the wheel depends.
Clay is fashioned into vessels;
but it is on their empty hollowness,
that their use depends.
The door and windows are cut out (from the walls)
to form an apartment;
but it is on the empty space (within),
that its use depends.
Therefore, what has a (positive) existence
serves for profitable adaptation,
and what has not that for (actual) usefulness.

(translation by James Legge, 1891)
-+-+-+-

We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.

We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.

We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.

We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.

(translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
-+-+-+-

Thirty spokes join in one hub
In its emptiness, there is the function of a vehicle
Mix clay to create a container
In its emptiness, there is the function of a container
Cut open doors and windows to create a room
In its emptiness, there is the function of a room

Therefore, that which exists is used to create benefit
That which is empty is used to create functionality

(translation by Derek Lin, 2006)
-+-+-+-

It is the gaps that define.
That definition is perfect.
Ornate vessels hold water --
So it is Nothingness which has been defined,
not the vessel.
The unwise have been tricked.

(translation by Jeremy M. Miller, 2013)
-+-+-+-

*) The

Tao Te Ching

is a Chinese classic.
It was written around the 6^th century BC by the sage Lao Tzu.
The short text consists of 81 brief chapters, or verses.
Every day we issue a "verse of the day" for contemplation, at first in two leading English translations (Mitchell and Lin), that nevertheless differ substantially.
Since December 8^th 2013, we had a radically different third translation:

"Nothingness and Zero"
A Post New-Age Approach to Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, published by courtesy of the translator and interpreter.
© Copyright 2013 Jeremy M. Miller. All rights reserved.
Acknowledgments: The hundreds of prior translations, especially that by Arthur Waley.
To Pythagoras, who understood Zero and taught It; and to Chuang Tzu, the ideal poetic student.

On May 31^st 2024, we added the classic James Legge translation from 1891, and put it on top of the other three, in chronological order.

The I Ching is based on the number 2, with its 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 (2⁶) = 64 hexagrams.
The Tao Te Ching is based on the number 3, with its 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 81 chapters.
We now offer it in four translations.
Comparing these four translations can be fascinating.
Perhaps, when reflecting on the four interpretations, the true meaning will emerge.
These 81 verses simply rotate; every day the next number, and after 81, number 1 will appear again.
This is done deliberately; if you want to read the complete text, you should purchase the resp. translations by James Legge, Stephen Mitchell, Derek Lin or Jeremy M. Miller below.
(All four available in Kindle edition as well.)

If you missed yesterday's verse, you can still read it at ICHING.ONLINE, which is always one day behind of I Ching Online.NET.

Tao Te Ching

James Legge