第三十五章 Dao De Jing · Chapter 35
Hold to the great image and the world comes in peace; the Way is plain, unseen and inexhaustible.
Text
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执大象，天下往；
Hold to the great image, and the world will come;
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往而不害，安平太。
it comes and is not harmed: peace, calm and ease.
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乐与饵，过客止。
Music and fine food make the passer-by stop.
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道之出口，
But when the Way is spoken,
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淡乎其无味。
it is bland and has no flavor.
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视之不足见，
Looked at, it cannot be seen;
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听之不足闻，
listened to, it cannot be heard;
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用之不足既。
used, it cannot be exhausted.
Words in this chapter
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 执 | zhí | to hold, to grasp |
| 大 | dà | great, big |
| 象 | xiàng | image, form |
| 天下 | tiān xià | all under heaven, the world |
| 往 | wǎng | to go, to come |
| 而 | ér | and yet, but |
| 不 | bù | not |
| 害 | hài | to harm |
| 安 | ān | calm, at rest |
| 平 | píng | calm, level |
| 太 | tài | ease, great peace |
| 乐 | yuè | music |
| 与 | yǔ | with, and |
| 饵 | ěr | fine food |
| 过客 | guò kè | the passer-by |
| 止 | zhǐ | to stop, to rest |
| 道 | dào | the Way |
| 之 | zhī | that (clause particle) |
| 出 | chū | to come out, emerge |
| 口 | kǒu | mouth, palate |
| 淡 | dàn | bland, flavorless |
| 乎 | hū | -ly, so (descriptive) |
| 其 | qí | it, he, they (subject) |
| 无 | wú | not have, without, no |
| 味 | wèi | flavor; to taste |
| 视 | shì | to look at |
| 之 | zhī | it, them (object) |
| 足 | zú | enough, sufficient |
| 见 | jiàn | to see |
| 听 | tīng | to listen |
| 闻 | wén | to hear |
| 用 | yòng | to use |
| 既 | jì | to exhaust |
Compare: James Legge (1891)
To him who holds in his hands the Great Image (of the invisible Tao), the whole world repairs. Men resort to him, and receive no hurt, but (find) rest, peace, and the feeling of ease.
Music and dainties will make the passing guest stop (for a time). But though the Tao as it comes from the mouth, seems insipid and has no flavour, though it seems not worth being looked at or listened to, the use of it is inexhaustible.
Public domain. Source: Wikisource.
Meaning of chapter 35
Chapter 35 says that whoever holds to the Way draws the world without harming it, though the Way itself has nothing to catch the eye or the ear.
The great image (大象) stands for the Way; chapter 41 says that the great image has no shape. Whoever holds to it sees the world come, and those who come suffer no harm: peace, calm and ease. The chapter then sets this against what usually draws people: music and fine food make the passer-by stop. When the Way is put into words, by contrast, it is bland and has no flavor.
The last three lines echo chapter 14: looked at, it cannot be seen; listened to, it cannot be heard. The chapter adds a third line that turns the lack into a strength: used, it cannot be exhausted, like the empty vessel of chapter 4 that is never filled. In this chapter the plainness of the Way and its endurance are two sides of the same thing.