Tao Te Ching 42: Yin and Yang

- 42 -

The Tao gave birth to the One.

The One gave birth to the Two.

The Two gave birth to the Three.

The Three gave birth to all of creation.

~

All things carry yin and embrace yang;

they achieve harmony by combining these forces.

~

People suffer at the thought of being

without parents, without food, or without worth.

Yet one may gain by losing;

and one may lose by gaining.

Ordinary men hate solitude.

But the Sage makes use of it.

~

What others have taught I too will repeat:

“A man of violence will come to a...