Tao Te Ching
by Laozi, translated from Chinese by Wikisource
Chapter XX
Discard conventional doctrines and be relieved from anxieties.
Approval or flattery, what difference does it make?
Good or evil, what difference does it take?
Just because the people are at awe, you cannot be indifferent?
Ridiculous! Ungrounded!
When everyone is celebrating and joyous,
As if relishing a spiritual triumph,
As if enjoying a victorious feast.
I alone am peaceful! Contemplating the myriad future,
Dazed like a newborn child,
Seizing the moment! Pondering the uncertainties.
When everyone feels lavished,
I alone am hollowed.
I am a fool! Confounded!
When everyone seemed enlightened, I alone am in suspense;
When everyone is watchful, I alone become restful.
Enigmatic! Like the obscure twilight,
Desolate! Like the infinite universe.
When everyone is focused, I alone am playful and trivial.
I alone am different from the common,
I find refuge in the womb of this profound conception.
