Thirty spokes meet at a nave;

Because of the hole we may use the wheel.

Clay is moulded into a vessel;

Because of the hollow we may use the cup.

Walls are built around a hearth;

Because of the doors we may use the house.

Thus tools come from what exists,

But use from what does not.

12. Substance

Too much colour blinds the eye,

Too much music deafens the ear,

Too much taste dulls the palate,

Too much play maddens the mind,

Too much desire tears the heart.

In this manner the sage cares for people:

He provides for the belly, not for the senses;

He ignores abstraction and holds fast to substance.

13. Self

Both praise and blame cause concern,

For they bring people hope and fear.

The object of hope and fear is the self -

For, without self, to whom may fortune and disaster occur?

Therefore,

Who distinguishes himself from the world may be given the world,

But who regards himself as the world may accept the world.

14. Mystery

Looked at but cannot be seen - it is beneath form;

Listened to but cannot be heard - it is beneath sound;

Held but cannot be touched - it is beneath feeling;

These depthless things evade definition,

And blend into a single mystery.

In its rising there is no light,

In its falling there is no darkness,

A continuous thread beyond description,

Lining what can not occur;

Its form formless,

Its image nothing,

Its name silence;

Follow it, it has no back,

Meet it, it has no face.

Attend the present to deal with the past;

Thus you grasp the continuity of the Way,

Which is its essence.

15. Enlightenment

The enlightened possess understanding

So profound they can not be understood.

Because they cannot be understood

I can only describe their appearance:

Cautious as one crossing thin ice,

Undecided as one surrounded by danger,

Modest as one who is a guest,

Unbounded as melting ice,

Genuine as unshaped wood,

Broad as a valley,

Seamless as muddy water.

Who stills the water that the mud may settle,

Who seeks to stop that he may travel on,

Who desires less than may transpire,

Decays, but will not renew.