Chapter 29 Dyer
Do you think you can take over the universe and improve it?
I do not believe it can be done.
Everything under Heaven is a sacred vessel and cannot be controlled.
Trying to control leads to ruin.
Trying to grasp we lose.
Allow your life to unfold naturally.
Know that it too is a vessel of perfection.
Just as you breathe in and breathe out, there's a time for being ahead and a time for being behind.
A time for being in motion and a time for being at rest.
A time for being vigorous and a time for being exhausted.
A time for being safe and a time for being in danger.
To the sage all of life is a movement toward perfection.
So what need has he for the excessive, the extravagant, or the extreme?
Chapter 29 Henricks
1. For those who would like to take control of thw world and act on it—
2. I see that with this they simply will not succeed.
3. The world is a sacred vessel;
4. It is not something that can be acted upon.
5. Those who act on it destroy it;
6. Those who hold on to it lose it.
7. With things—some go forward, others follow;
8. Some are hot, others submissive and weak;
9. Some rise up while others fall down.
10. Therefore the Sage:
11. Rejects the extreme, the excessive, and the extravagant.
Chapter 29 Lau
Whoever takes the empire and wishes to do anything to it I see will have no respite.
The empire is a sacred vessel and nothing should be done to it.
Whoever does anything to it will ruin it;
whoever lays hold of it will lose it.
Hence some things lead and some follow;
Some breathe gently and some breathe hard;
Some are strong and some are weak;
Some destroy and some are destroyed.
Therefore the sage avoids excess, extravagance, and arrogance.
Chapter 29 Wu
Does anyone want to take the world and do what he wants with it?
I do not see how he can succeed.
The world is a sacred vessel, which must not be tampered with or grabbed after.
To tamper with it is to spoil it, and to grasp it is to lose it.
In fact, for all things there is a time for going ahead, and a time for following behind;
A time for slow-breathing and a time for fast-breathing;
A time to grow in strength and a time to decay;
A time to be up and a time to be down.
Therefore, the Sage avoids all extremes, excesses and extravagances.