04道德经英译本85种-第270章
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At the beginning of time
The sage gave names to everything… see; and unseen。
A ruler who walks the Way
Is like a river reaching the sea
Gathering the waters of the streams
into himself;
as he goes。
33
When you know the true being of another;
You can judge …
And if you truly know the Tao
you will be in the light。
It takes force to control people:
but if I am humble; I can never beovercome。
If you know what you have is enough
you will be satisfied。
But if you think you don't have enough
then you will never have enough!
If you follow the Tao; what you arewill last。
You will live; and live; and outliveyourself again。
34
The Great Tao goes everywhere
past your left hand and your right…
filling the whole of space。
It is breath to every thing; and yetit asks for nothing back;
It feeds and creates everything; butit will never tell you so。
It nurtures all things
without lording it over anything。
It names itself in the lowest of thelow。
It holds what it makes;
Yet never fights to do so:
that is why we call it Great。
Why? Because it never tires to be so。
35
Everyone will gather to the man
Who rules in the light of the One。
To trust such a being is to live
In true happiness and healing。
Good food and sweet music
May make you stop …
You listen; in passing。
But the Tao: how does it seem?
Oh; tasteless and shapeless by comparison。
You cannot even hear it。
It is even worth trying to?
Yes; my friend
because it is unending。
36
What is going to be diminished
Must first be allowed to inflate。
Whatever you want to weaken
Must first be convinced of its strength。
What you want to overcome
You must first of all submit to 。。 。
What you want to take over
You must first of all give to …
This is called discerning。
You see; what is yielding and weak
Overcomes what is hard and strong:
(And just as a fish can't be seen
when he stays down in the deep
don't show your power to anyone)。
37
The Tao goes on forever
wu…wei … doing nothing
And yet everything gets done。
How? It does it by being;
And by being everything it does。
If people and rulers go by this
then every living thing will be well。
And if parts still want to separate
the true leader will use
the centrifugal weight
of this original
unnameable Oneness。
It is simple:
If no one wants anything for themselves
then there can be peace
and all things will know peace
the way music
ends in peace。
38
The highest kind of man
Has innate goodness;
And that is what he rules with。
The lesser man brags about how goodhe is …
And isn't much good; I can tell you。
A man of Te rules by wu…wei
Doing nothing for himself or of himself。
The lesser man acts from his ego
And what he wants is gratification。
A man who rules with compassion
Acts through it … and no one evenrealizes。
A legal man acts judiciously
But he is still serving his own ends。
And the rigid man uses laws
And if people don't like it; force。
If the true Tao is lost
then morality takes its place。
If that fails; we have 'conscience'。
When that fades; we get 'justice'。
When that disappears; we have the statusquo。
Confusion reigns。 No one knows
what's going on。 Forecasts
and prophecies abound …
and they are merely a gloss on theTao;
they are the root of all
twisted guidance。
So the sage only looks at what is reallyreal。
He doesn't just look at the surface…
He blows away the dust and drinksthe water 。 。 。
He doesn't just go for the flower
But also for the roots and the fruit。
Blow away the dust; now:
Come to the living water。
39
From its first days; the universe camefrom the One:
The heavens are one; and clear; andround because of it
The earth is one; and is its firminfused foundation 。 。 。
The spirit force is one; with allit brings into being …
The valley is a oneness; and so itflows and renews all things;
Everything is one … every living thingis one; and alive!
Kinds and lords are one in a kingdomthat is one:
And they can only rule truly becauseof the One。
If Heaven wasn't clear; then the skywould fall down。
If the earth cannot be peaceful; itwill tear itself apart。
If the Spirit cannot bless; then noone will believe in it …
If the valley can't rebirth; thenthe valley will run dry。
If life can't be itself; then lifewill be nothing:
And if the king is nothing; then theworld will be at war。
Everything has both yin and yang init …
and from their rise…and…fall…couplingcomes new life。
The highest authority needs the basementas its base;
And the depths are the foundationof the heights。
That is why rulers call themselveslonely;
like souls in a wilderness who haveno home。
And; in doing so; don't they see then
that their roots lie with the people?
To see yourself as extraordinary
is to stand out like jade among ordinarystones;
but what people ignore … the lonely;and the worthless
is the rock a true leader finds himselfon。
You see; you win by losing … and youlose by succeeding。
40
The Tao moves
in every direction at once …
its essence is fluid and yielding。
It is the marker of everything underthe sun:
And everything comes
out of nothing。
41
When the wisest student hears about theTao;
He follows it without ceasing
When the average student hears aboutit
He follows too; but not all the time。 。 。
And when the poor student gets windof it
he laughs at it like an idiot!
And if he didn't; then it wouldn'tbe the Tao!
That is why the ancient ones said:
The path that is bright seems dull;
And the one who is going towards theTao
Seems; in fact; to be going backwards…
And those who think that the Way iseasy
Will find it extremely hard。
The greatest virtue is to be emptylike a valley。
Those who think they are perfect neverare …
those who feel that they are feelinadequate to the task;
and morals seem to be no more thana contrivance。
A great square has no corners:
A great work is never done with;
A great shout comes from a whisper;
And the greatest of forms
is beyond shape。
Tao without substance …
Invisible …
Ever…creating
Forever creating
42
The Tao
gives birth to the One:
The One
gives birth tot he two;
The Two
give birth to the three …
The Three give birth to every livingthing。
All things are held in yin; and carryyang:
And they are held together in the ch'iof teeming energy。
43
The very softest thing of all
can ride like a galloping horse
through the hardest of things。
Like water; like water penetratingrock。
And so the invisible enters in。
That is why I know it is wise
to act by doing nothing。
And how few; how very few understandthis!
People teach in the world
what I know to be true:
if you live violently
that is how you will die。
44
What really matters most;
Your image or your soul?
What do you care about
You money; or your life?
What's actually the best;
Making it … or losing?
If you pour all your energy into onething;
You're sure to harm the rest of yourbeing
And if you invest it all in profit…
You'll end up losing the whole lot。
If you're not always wanting; you canbe at peace。
And if you're not always trying tobe someone
You can be who you really are
and go the whole way。
45
A great thing done is never perfect …
But that