道德经全文和注释 (英文版)

Dr.Wayne WANG

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.

【原文】
       孔德之容，惟道是从。
       道之为物，惟恍惟惚。
       惚兮恍兮，其中有象；
       恍兮惚兮，其中有物；
       窈兮冥兮，其中有情；
       其情甚真，其中有信。
       自古及今，其名不去，以阅众甫。
       吾何以知众甫之状哉？以此。

Dr.Wayne WANG

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.

【原文】
       曲则全，枉则直，洼则盈，敝则新，少则得，多则惑。
       是以圣人抱一为天下式。
       不自见，故明；
       不自是，故彰；
       不自伐，故有功；
       不自矜，故长。
       夫唯不争，故天下莫能与之争。
       古之所谓"曲则全"者，岂虚言哉？诚全而归之。

Dr.Wayne WANG

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.

【原文】
       希言，自然。
       飘风不终朝，骤雨不终日。
       孰为此者？天地。
       天地尚不能久，而况于人乎？
       故从事于道者：
       道者同于道，德者同于德，失者同于失。
       同于道者，道亦乐得之；
       同于德者，德亦乐得之；
       同于失者，失亦乐得之。
       信不足焉，有不信焉。

Dr.Wayne WANG

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.

【原文】
       企者不立，跨者不行。
       自见者不明，
       自是者不彰，
       自伐者无功，
       自矜者不长。
       其在道也，曰余食赘行。
       物或恶之，故有道者不处。

Dr.Wayne WANG

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.

【原文】
       有物混成，先天地生。
       寂兮寥兮，独立而不改，周行而不殆，可以为天下母。
       吾不知其名，字之曰道，强为之名，曰大。
       大曰逝，逝曰远，远曰反。
       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，无法道，道法自然。

Dr.Wayne WANG

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.

【原文】
       重为轻根，静为躁君。
       是以圣人终日行不离辎重，虽有荣观，燕处超然。
       奈何万乘之主而以身轻天下？
       轻则失根，躁则失君。

Dr.Wayne WANG

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.

【原文】
　　善行，無轍跡；
　　善言，無瑕謫；
　　善計，不用籌策；
　　善閉，無關鍵而不可開；
　　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。
　　是謂襲明。
　　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。

Dr.Wayne WANG

28. Becoming
Using the male, being female,
Being the entrance of the world,
You embrace harmony
And become as a newborn.

Using strength, being weak,
Being the root of the world,
You complete harmony
And become as unshaped wood.

Using the light, being dark,
Being the world,
You perfect harmony
And return to the Way.

【原文】
　　知其雄，守其雌，為天下谿。
　　為天下谿，常德不離，復歸於嬰兒。
　　知其白，守其黑，為天下式。
　　為天下式，常德不忒，復歸於無極。
　　知其榮，守其辱，為天下谷。
　　為天下谷，常德乃足，復歸於樸。
　　樸散則為器，聖人用之則為官長。
　　故大制不割。

Dr.Wayne WANG

29. Ambition
Those who wish to change the world
According with their desire
Cannot succeed.

The world is shaped by the Way;
It cannot be shaped by the self.
Trying to change it, you damage it;
Trying to possess it, you lose it.

So some will lead, while others follow.
Some will be warm, others cold
Some will be strong, others weak.
Some will get where they are going
While others fall by the side of the road.

So the sage will be neither wasteful nor violent.

【原文】
       将欲取天下而为之，吾见其不得已。
       天下，神器，不可为也。
　     为者败之，执者失之。
       故物或行或随，或歔或吹，或强或羸，或载或隳。
       是以圣人去甚，去奢，去泰。

Dr.Wayne WANG

30. Violence
Powerful men are well advised not to use violence,
For violence has a habit of returning;
Thorns and weeds grow wherever an army goes,
And lean years follow a great war.

A general is well advised
To achieve nothing more than his orders:
Not to take advantage of his victory.
Nor to glory, boast or pride himself;
To do what is dictated by necessity,
But not by choice.

For even the strongest force will weaken with time,
And then its violence will return, and kill it.

【原文】
       以道佐人主者，不以兵强天下，其事好还。
       师之所处，荆棘生焉；大军之后，必有凶年。
       善者果而已，不敢以取强。
       果而勿矜，果而勿伐，果而勿骄，果而不得已，果而勿强。
       物壮则老，是谓不道，不道早已。