Daodejing Part Twenty Two

LYRICS: Bent becomes whole, the yielding stays unbroken, Crooked grows straight when it no longer claims. Hollow is filled where nothing seeks possession, Worn becomes new when it forgets its name. Less returns the root, More is led astray. Do not shine — and light remains. Do not claim — and truth is plain. Do not raise yourself above, And no one stands against your way. Little receives what excess cannot gather, Many are lost where the simple endure. Branches spread far and wander from the root, What keeps to one remains silent and sure. Hold to the One, And form need not contend. Do not shine — and light remains. Do not claim — and truth is plain. Do not raise yourself above, And no one stands against your way. The sage holds one and becomes the measure, Nothing displayed, yet nothing concealed. No need for victory, no need for proving, What does not struggle cannot be unsealed. Yield and remain, Withdraw and endure. Do not shine — and light remains. Do not claim — and truth is plain. Do not raise yourself above, And no one stands against your way. Bent becomes whole. Empty is filled. Worn becomes living. Quiet is will. Yield to the Way — And all returns fulfilled. DAODEJING PART TWENTY TWO: The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. He whose are few gets them; he whose are many goes astray. Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing, and manifests it to all the world. He is free from self- display, and therefore he shines; from self-assertion, and therefore he is distinguished; from self-boasting, and therefore his merit is acknowledged; from self-complacency, and therefore he acquires superiority. It is because he is thus free from striving that therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him. That saying of the ancients that 'the partial becomes complete' was not vainly spoken: - all real completion is comprehended under it.