Saturday, June 04, 2005

Chapter 27 第二十七章

第二十七章

  善行,無轍跡﹔善言,無瑕謫﹔善數,不用籌策﹔善閉,無關楗而不可開﹔善結,無繩約而不可解。是以聖人常善救人,故無棄人﹔常善救物,故無棄物。是謂神明。故善人者,不善人之師﹔不善人者,善人之資。不貴其師,不愛其資,雖智大迷。是謂要妙。

27. Perfection
The perfect traveller leaves no trail to be followed;
The perfect speaker leaves no question to be answered;
The perfect accountant leaves no working to be completed;
The perfect container leaves no lock to be closed;
The perfect knot leaves no end to be ravelled.

So the sage nurtures all men
And abandons no one.
He accepts everything
And rejects nothing.
He attends to the smallest details.

So the strong must guide the weak,
For the weak are raw material to the strong.
If the guide is not respected,
Or the material is not cared for,
Confusion will result, no matter how clever one is.

This is the secret of perfection:
When raw wood is carved, it becomes a tool;
When a man is employed, he becomes a tool;
The perfect carpenter leaves no wood to be carved.

Retrived From Here

Friday, June 03, 2005

Chapter 26 第二十六章

第二十六章

  重為輕根,靜為躁君。是以君子終日行不離輜重。雖有榮觀,燕處超然。奈何萬乘之主,而以身輕天下?輕則失根,躁則失君。

26. Calm
Gravity is the source of lightness,
Calm, the master of haste.

A lone traveller will journey all day, watching over his belongings;
Yet once safe in his bed he will lose them in sleep.

The captain of a great vessel will not act lightly or hastily.
Acting lightly, he loses sight of the world,
Acting hastily, he loses control of himself.

A captain can not treat his great ship as a small boat;
Rather than glitter like jade
He must stand like stone.

Retrived From Here

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Chapter 25 第二十五章

第二十五章

  有物混成,先天地生。寂兮寥兮,獨立而不改,周行而不殆,可以為天地母。吾不知其名,字之曰道,強為之名曰大。大曰逝,逝曰遠,遠曰反。故道大,天大,地大,人亦大。域中有四大,而人居其一焉。人法地,地法天,天法道,道法自然。

25. Beneath Abstraction
There is a mystery,
Beneath abstraction,
Silent, depthless,
Alone, unchanging,
Ubiquitous and liquid,
The mother of nature.
It has no name, but I call it "the Way";
It has no limit, but I call it "limitless".

Being limitless, it flows away forever;
Flowing away forever, it returns to my self:

The Way is limitless,
So nature is limitless,
So the world is limitless,
And so I am limitless.

For I am abstracted from the world,
The world from nature,
Nature from the Way,
And the Way from what is beneath abstraction.

Retrived From Here

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Chapter 24 第二十四章

第二十四章

  企者不立﹔跨者不行﹔自見者不明﹔自是者不彰﹔自伐者無功﹔自矜者不長。其在道也,曰餘食贅形,物或惡之,故有道者不居。

24. Indulgence
Straighten yourself and you will not stand steady;
Display yourself and you will not be clearly seen;
Justify yourself and you will not be respected;
Promote yourself and you will not be believed;
Pride yourself and you will not endure.

These behaviours are wasteful, indulgent,
And so they attract disfavour;
Harmony avoids them.

Retrived From Here

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Chapter 23 第二十三章

第二十三章

  希言自然。故飄風不終朝,驟雨不終日。孰為此者?天地。天地尚不能久,而況于人乎?故從事于道者,同于道﹔德者,同于德﹔失者,同于失。同于道者,道亦樂得之﹔同于德者,德亦樂得之﹔同于失者,失亦樂得之。信不足焉,有不信焉。

23. Words
Nature says only a few words:
High wind does not last long,
Nor does heavy rain.
If nature's words do not last
Why should those of man?

Who accepts harmony, becomes harmonious.
Who accepts loss, becomes lost.
For who accepts harmony, the Way harmonizes with him,
And who accepts loss, the Way cannot find.

Retrived From Here

Monday, May 30, 2005

Chapter 22 第二十二章

第二十二章

  「曲則全,枉則直,窪則盈,敝則新,少則得,多則惑。」是以聖人抱一為天下式。不自見,故明﹔不自是,故彰﹔不自伐,故有功﹔不自矜,故長。夫唯不爭,故天下莫能與之爭。古之所謂「曲則全」者,豈虛言哉!誠全而歸之。


22. Home
Accept and you become whole,
Bend and you straighten,
Empty and you fill,
Decay and you renew,
Want and you acquire,
Fulfill and you become confused.

The sage accepts the world
As the world accepts the Way;
He does not display himself, so is clearly seen,
Does not justify himself, so is recognized,
Does not boast, so is credited,
Does not pride himself, so endures,
Does not contend, so none contend against him.

The ancients said, "Accept and you become whole",
Once whole, the world is as your home.

Retrived From Here

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Chapter 21 第二十一章

第二十一章

  孔德之容,惟道是從。道之為物,惟恍惟惚。惚兮恍兮,其中有象﹔恍兮惚兮,其中有物﹔窈兮冥兮,其中有精﹔其精甚真,其中有信。自今及古,其名不去,以閱眾甫。吾何以知眾甫之狀哉?以此。

21. Accept
Harmony is only in following the Way.

The Way is without form or quality,
But expresses all forms and qualities;
The Way is hidden and implicate,
But expresses all of nature;
The Way is unchanging,
But expresses all motion.

Beneath sensation and memory
The Way is the source of all the world.
How can I understand the source of the world?
By accepting.

Retrived From Here