To renounce learning is to be free of sorrow.

What is the difference between a respectful ‘yes’ and a careless ‘ah’?
How far apart are ‘good’ and ‘evil’?
What others fear, must one also fear?
How desolate, how endless!

The multitude are bright and bustling,
as if enjoying a great feast of the ox,
as if climbing a terrace in spring.
I alone am still, showing no sign,
like an infant who has not yet learned to smile.
Adrift, as if with no home to return to.

The multitude all have more than enough;
I alone seem to have been left out.
My heart is that of a fool;
how muddled, how confused!

Ordinary people are clear and bright;
I alone am clouded and dim.
Ordinary people are sharp and clever;
I alone am dull and vague.
I am calm, like the deep sea;
I am moving, like the wind that never rests.

The multitude all have purpose and use;
I alone appear stubborn and lowly.
I alone am different from them,
for I treasure the nourishment of the mother.