Into the Daodejing

寵辱若驚 貴大梡若身
[chong3] [ru3] [ruo4] [jing1] [gui4] [da4] [huan4] [ruo4] [shen1]
Dote on disgrace as if it were a surprise, value [brings] great misfortune as if it were [your] self
寵辱若驚，貴大患若身。
[chong3] [ru3] [ruo4] [jing1]， [gui4] [da4] [huan4] [ruo4] [shen1] 。
Dote on disgrace as if it were a surprise, value [brings] great misfortune as if it were [your] self

These sections are a bit tricky as it is hard to gather exactly what is going on without the context provided below.… Read the rest here “道德经 Chapter 13”

This chapter is a laid out a bit different than the others due to the fact that even though this chapter says almost exactly the same thing, it is organized differently. I kept the main section breaks per the second version, but the wording for the first major section is in a completely different order.… Read the rest here “道德经 Chapter 12”

卅輻同一轂 當其无 有車之用也
[sa4] [fu2] [tong2] [yi1] [gu3] [dang1] [qi2] [wu2] [you3] [che1] [zhi1] [yong4] [ye3]
30 spokes [of a wheel] become [come together as] a hub, but what is missing [empty] gives the carriage its usefulness
三十輻共一轂，當其無，有車之用。
[san1] [shi2] [fu2] [gong4] [yi1] [gu3]， [dang1] [qi2] [wu2]， [you3] [che1] [zhi1] [yong4]。
30 spokes [of a wheel] become [come together as] a hub, but what is missing [empty] gives the carriage its usefulness

A solid wheel works, but is heavy.… Read the rest here “道德经 Chapter 11”

戴營抱一 能毋離乎 摶氣至柔 能嬰兒乎
[dai4] [ying2] [bao4] [yi1] [neng2] [wu2] [li2] [hu1] [tuan2] [qi4] [zhi4] [rou2] [neng2] [ying1] [er2] [hu1]
Carrying and commanding [the self] while embracing the one[ness], is it possible to not separate [them]? Focusing qi to become soft [relaxed], can one become [as soft/relaxed as] an infant?… Read the rest here “道德经 Chapter 10”

持而盈之 不若其已
[chi2] [er2] [ying2] [zhi1] [bu4] [ruo4] [qi2] [yi3]
To continue [filling] even though [the vessel is] full, is not as good as stopping
持而盈之，不如其已﹔
[chi2] [er2] [ying2] [zhi1]，[bu4] [ru2] [qi2] [yi3]﹔
To continue [filling] even though [the vessel is] full, is not as good as stopping

This section can be translated several ways, but I feel that this conveys the point most clearly for what I took from it.… Read the rest here “道德经 Chapter 9”

上善如水 水利萬物而有爭居眾人之所惡 故幾於道矣
[shang4] [shan4] [ru2] [shui3] [shui3] [li4] [wan4] [wu4] [er2] [you3] [zheng1] [ju1] [zhong4] [ren2] [zhi1] [suo3] [wu4] [gu4] [ji1] [yu2] [dao4] [yi3]
The higher good is like water, water benefits the Ten Thousand Things and struggles to reside near the place the people [the masses] despise, thus, it is close to the Dao
上善若水。水善利萬物而不爭。處眾人之所惡，故幾於道。
[shang4] [shan4] [ruo4] [shui3]。 [shui3] [shan4] [li4] [wan4] [wu4] [er2] [bu4] [zheng1]。 [chu3] [zhong4] [ren2] [zhi1] [suo3] [wu4]， [gu4] [ji1] [yu2] [dao4]。
The higher good is like water.… Read the rest here “道德经 Chapter 8”

天長地久
[tian1] [chang2] [di4] [jiu3]
Heaven and Earth are eternal [lit. long lasting]
天長地久。
[tian1] [chang2] [di4] [jiu3]。
Heaven and Earth are eternal [lit. long lasting]

Both heaven and earth are long lasting to the point of (seeming) eternal. The phrasing in the original is more poetic but harder to translate into English in a more literal sense.… Read the rest here “道德经 Chapter 7”

浴神不死 是謂玄牝
[yu4] [shen2] [bu4] [si3] [shi4] [wei4] [xuan2] [pin4]
The spring spirit doesn’t die, it is called the dark [black, mysterious] female
谷神不死，是謂玄牝。
[gu3] [shen2] [bu4] [si3] ， [shi4] [wei4] [xuan2] [pin4] 。
The valley spirit doesn’t die, it is called the dark [black, mysterious] female

A fertile valley produces an abundance of crops and is a safe haven overall for those living in it; a spring produces what can be considered infinite water.… Read the rest here “道德经 Chapter 6”

天地不仁 以萬物爲芻狗 聖人不仁 以百姓爲芻狗
[tian1] [di4] [bu4] [ren2] [yi3] [wan4] [wu4] [wei2] [chu2] [gou3] [sheng4] [ren2] [bu4] [ren2] [yi3] [bai3] [xing4] [wei2] [chu2] [gou3]
“Heaven and Earth” is not compassionate [merciful], it treats the Ten Thousand Things as straw dogs, the sages are not compassionate [merciful], they treat the common people as straw dogs
天地不仁，以萬物為芻狗﹔聖人不仁，以百姓為芻狗。
[tian1] [di4] [bu4] [ren2]， [yi3] [wan4] [wu4] [wei2] [chu2] [gou3]﹔ [sheng4] [ren2] [bu4] [ren2]， [yi3] [bai3] [xing4] [wei2] [chu2] [gou3]。
“Heaven and Earth” is not compassionate [merciful], it treats the Ten Thousand Things as straw dogs.… Read the rest here “道德经 Chapter 5”

道沖而用之 有弗盈也 潚呵 始萬物之宗
[dao4] [chong1] [er2] [yong4] [zhi1] [you3] [fu2] [ying2] [ye3] [xiao1] [a1] [shi3] [wan4] [wu4] [zhi1] [zong1]
The Dao is poured from and used, [but] it is not filled, it is vast, it is ancestor to the start of the Ten Thousand Things
「道」沖，而用之或不盈。淵兮，似萬物之宗﹔
「[dao4]」 [chong1]， [er2] [yong4] [zhi1] [huo4] [bu4] [ying2]。 [yuan1] [xi1]， [si4] [wan4] [wu4] [zhi1] [zong1]
“The Dao” is poured from and used, [but] it it is not filled.… Read the rest here “道德经 Chapter 4”