04道德经英译本85种-第16章
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Misery for one is the result of someone else抯 wealth
When will this ever stop?
One who is wise is righteous and won抰 play that game
He is just and fair and will never hurt anybody
He shines; but does not blind
59
To get mankind to live in peace requires a full detachment
Because only one who is detached knows how to live truthfully
Letting go of everything before dying makes one live righteously
One who lives righteously knows no trouble
For one who knows no trouble; life is unbounded
One who is unbounded; considers the world as his home
One who feels united with creation; lives happily ever after
Then you抣l be rooted again and you抣l stand firmly
Only like that will you live happily ever after and understand everything
60
Making sure that mankind lives in peace is a trifle
Where righteousness is the main guide; delusions won抰 last
Not that there will be no delusions at all
But the people will be less susceptible to them
Delusions damage people; and a wise man shows them it's so
Therefore a wise man is a threat to delusion;
But no threat for mankind
Therefore they will become wise; too
61
When mankind lives in peace;
There will be no superiors and inferiors
It is like a big river;
In which all side currents have come to rest
The wildness comes to rest in peacefulness;
Because it is calm and most lowly
One who is the least by his disarming simplicity;
Is therefore appealing to his fellow men
And so it抯 a benefit for both of them
So one who looks big; has to become small again
62
Everything inclines towards the original balance
It抯 the bliss of true men
It抯 a sanctuary for the untruthful
But people flaunt themselves with flattery
They only do nice things in exchange for gratitude
Everybody does that so why shouldn抰 you?
Therefore the people shout with joy when a new leader comes on the scene
And let themselves be fooled by pomp and circumstance
It抯 wise not to participate in this
Do you know why the former wise people considered simplicity so important?
Because they experienced that; one who seeks will find
And that the truth sets one free from past and future
Therefore simplicity is most important in this life
63
Act without intention
Stop labouring
Just enjoy life
One who doesn抰 honour something small
Isn抰 worthy of something big
No more eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth
Turn to them your other cheek
Discover that what seems complicated is in fact very simple
See the grandeur in what seems insignificant
Don抰 turn simplicity into complexity
Living purely is simple
But people have made it complicated
So one who抯 wise will never make trouble
And therefore he can move mountains
One who promises a lot is hardly ever trustworthy
One with a lot of blinkers on will bring to pass lots of troubles
But one who is wise looks before he leaps
Therefore he won抰 start at all
And because of that he knows no trouble
64
Peace is easy to keep
What might happen is easy to prevent
That which is fragile is easy to break
What抯 still very small; can be chased away easily
A big tree starts with a small seed
A terrace…yard started with a mound of earth
A thousand…mile journey starts with a single step
One who disturbs the natural order; harms oneself
One who intervenes loses oneself
A wise man abstains far from this
Therefore he won抰 hurt himself and so he remains himself
But people break down everything and they call it 損rogress?br》 Once started; there is no end to
A wise man strives for what others don抰
And takes to be important what others take to be unimportant
He unlearns what other are still learning
And turns back to a state of mind others have left
Then he knows the way back to the source
But realizes that the people do not want to hear about it
65
The former sages; who travelled along the straight and simple path
Brought the people wisdom instead of knowledge
When people know much; unity is impossible to keep
That抯 why science disturbs the togetherness of men
And wisdom guards that togetherness
One who understands this
Understands that wisdom and knowledge are in conflict with each other
Once you understand this; you抣l be wise
And you will turn back to simplicity
And feel one with everything and everybody
66
Why are the seas and rivers the biggest among all waters?
Because they are located on the lowest places
Therefore they are the biggest
So one who is wise among fools must be the least
And therefore he is the greatest
But fools won抰 consider him as a threat
They just don抰 understand him and take no notice of him
Because he doesn抰 fight and argue with anybody; he is indisputable
67
In life I am great; but to the world I am a failure
In my grandeur; I am different from all the rest
And that is exactly therefore the reason I am great
If I would be like the rest; I would be just as unimportant and insignificant
I have three treasures I cherish:
The first is compassion
The second is austerity
The third is modesty
Thanks to my compassion I can be brave
Because I am austere I can be unselfish
Because I am modest I can lead the way
But one who abandons his compassion and yet wants to be brave
One who renounces austerity and yet wants to be unselfish
One who stops being modest and still wants to be important
Won抰 make it far
One who fights with compassion; will conquer
Because he doesn抰 need to defend himself; he抯 invulnerable
The Unspeakable will protect him with its compassion
68
One who fights for peace is non…violent
A true fighter is unshakeable
A true victor does not argue
A true leader is the least
That抯 what people call 搉on…violent defensibility?br》 And that抯 how one gets the people on his side
That is called 搇iving according to your nature?br》 That is the perfection of which the wise of old spoke
69
One who understands that quarrels will never solve anything;
Won抰 start them anymore and prefers to wait
He rather takes a step back or retracts
That抯 what people call winning by losing
Showing strength without impressing
Standing firm without starting a fight
Nothing is more disastrous than underestimating your enemy
One who underestimates his enemy exposes oneself to danger
Therefore he who抯 driven by compassion
Is always the winner in a conflict
70
My words are easy to comprehend
And easy to bring to practice
Yet no one in the world wants to surrender to them
And no one feels capable of living according to them
My words have an origin; my way of living a principle
But because the people do not dare to see this
They are not able to understand me
There are only a few who understand me and to them I am most precious
One who is wise therefore acts unnoticed; but remains oneself
71
Realizing you can抰 know anything; is wise
One who does not understand he can抰 know anything; is insane
One who realizes his insanity;
Is able to get rid of it
One who is wise is not insane anymore;
Because he has disposed of his insanity
Therefore he has a clear view
72
When people have forgotten what to be afraid of;
They will live in vague fear
Why do they come to terms with this miserable way of living?
Why don抰 they see the beauty of life?
Why are they so scared of escaping their rut?
One who is wise understands this; and won抰 flaunt it
He enjoys it but doesn抰 consider it as his own merit
He abandons his old way of living and embraces true life
73
Having guts and being reckless will lead to death
Having guts a