Introduction

This verse was the most challenging one to translate so far, taking nearly five times as long as any other verse. With only three more verses to go, the odds are high that it will retain its title as the Supreme Pain in the Butt. 

The reconstruction of the verse from the older manuscripts and received texts was unusually challenging. Furthermore, the verse employed many indirect references that were difficult to parse and used archaic terms with no satisfactory English counterparts. 

Reading others’ translations, commentaries, footnotes, and exegesis all left me feeling … grossly dissatisfied. After dozens of iterations, I present this offering. 

Translation

Under Heaven, nothing is
  more yielding than water,
And in handling the unyielding,
  There is nothing that can surpass it.

It is because of what water lacks,
  that it is so transformational.

Water’s seam is hardness.
Softness’s seam is strength.
Everyone in the world knows it,
  but no one enacts it.

It is thus that
  The Wise have a saying:
    Suffering national humiliation,
      is called the Host of the Nation.
    Bearing responsibility for the state’s misfortunes,
      Is called the King of All Under Heaven

Aligned speech, although reversed.

Commentary

Under Heaven, nothing is
  more yielding than water,
And in handling the unyielding,
  There is nothing that can surpass it.

I’ve lost track of the number of times this motif has been presented. The repetition of this theme tells us, emphatically, to examine the natural function of water in nature as a source of inspiration for navigating life. This contemplation is perhaps the most crucial for learning to weave the Way in daily life. 

It is because of what water lacks,
  that it is so transformational. 

In this instance, we are called to examine how water’s lack of solidity is the source of its transformational power. For us, as Weavers of the Way, this insight unfolds in many directions at once. Here are three:

1. The less fixed our position is (i.e., the less rigid we are in our sense of self), the more capacity we have to be a transformational force. 
2. The more we feel ourselves breaking down, the better we can recognize what we are resisting. 
3. Splashing about for a while may feel unproductive, but just as a drip drills a hole through granite and water seeps through bedrock, we can be sure to find a way through anything if we remain persistent and fluid.