41 上士聞道 勤而行之

老子道德經第四十一章

上士聞道　勤而行之
中士聞道　若存若亡
下士聞道　大笑之
不笑不足以為道
故建言有之　明道若昧　進道若退
夷道若纇　上德若谷　大白若辱
廣德若不足　建德若偷　質德若渝
大方無隅　大器晚成
大音希聲　大象無形
道隱無名　夫唯道　善貸且成

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FORTY-ONE (Feng)

The wise student hears of the Tao and practices it diligently.
The average student hears of the Tao and gives it thought now and again.
The foolish student hears of the Tao and laughs aloud.
If there were no laughter, the Tao would not be what it is.

Hence it is said:
The bright path seems dim;
Going forward seems like retreat;
The easy way seems hard;
The highest Virtue seems empty;
Great purity seems sullied;
A wealth of Virtue seems inadequate;
The strength of Virtue seems frail;
Real Virtue seems unreal;
The perfect square has no corners;
Great talents ripen late;
The highest notes are hard to hear;
The greatest form has no shape.
The Tao is hidden and without name.
The Tao alone nourishes and brings everything to fulfillment.

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41 (ah san's version)

Upon hearing about Tao,
The talented one follows it "diligently";
The average one thinks it suspicious;
The slow one laughs at it--
If he doesn't laugh at its absurdity, then it is not Tao.

You must have heard:
Bright path seems dim;
Forward path seems backward;
Smooth path seems rugged;
High seems low, pure seems dirty;
Broad seems insufficient, strong seems weak;
Reality seems illusory;
A perfect square has no corners;
The best article is made last;
The loudest sound is in stillness;
The largest shape has no form.

So I say,
Tao is hidden and can't be described,
But from Tao, everything forms and grows.