Chapter 47 · Knowing Without Travelling

Tao Te Ching (Legge, 1891) · chapter title added by Learn the Dao

Learn the Dao: a quiet practice for learning the thing that can’t be known.

The chapter’s first line

Without going outside his door,

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This chapter in plain modern English — David Kooi’s rendering ↓

Without going outside his door, one understands (all that takes place) under the sky; without looking out from his window, one sees the Tao of Heaven. The farther that one goes out (from himself), the less he knows. Therefore the sages got their knowledge without travelling; gave their (right) names to things without seeing them; and accomplished their ends without any purpose of doing so.

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Therefore the sages got their — missed knowledge without travelling

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Chapter 47, in a second rendering

Without Going Out the Door

Dao De Kooi — an original rendering by David Kooi

You can know how the world works without going out the door. You can see the lay of things without leaning out the window. The further you chase it, the less you tend to actually know. So the steady hand gets there without the trip, sees it without the staring, and gets it done without the thrashing around.

Next · Chapter 48He who devotes himself to learning (seeks) from day to day to increase (his knowledge)…Read chapter 48 →

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