Chapter 9 · The Peril of Fullness

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

It is better to leave a vessel unfilled,

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

It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness. When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them safe. When wealth and honours lead to arrogancy, this brings its evil on itself. When the work is done, and one's name is becoming distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven.

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than to attempt to carry it — missed when it is full

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Chapter 9, in a second rendering

Fill It to the Brim

Dao De Kooi — an original rendering by David Kooi

Fill your cup to the brim and you'll spill it carrying it. Sharpen the blade to its limit and the edge won't hold. A room full of gold and jade is just a room you now have to guard. Get rich and proud and you've planted your own downfall. Do the work, then step back. That's how the sky does it - the season turns and it doesn't hang around taking a bow.

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