道德经全文和注释 (英文版)

Dr.Wayne WANG

50. Death
Men flow into life, and ebb into death.

Some are filled with life;
Some are empty with death;
Some hold fast to life, and thereby perish,
For life is an abstraction.

Those who are filled with life
Need not fear tigers and rhinos in the wilds,
Nor wear armour and shields in battle;
The rhinoceros finds no place in them for its horn,
The tiger no place for its claw,
The soldier no place for a weapon,
For death finds no place in them.

【原文】
       出生，入死。
       生之徒，十有三；
       死之徒，十有三；
       人之生，动之死地，亦十有三。
       夫何故？以其生生之厚。
       盖闻善摄生者：
       陆行不遇兕虎，入军不被甲兵。
       兕无所投其角，虎无所措其爪，兵无所容其刃。
       夫何故？以其无死地。

Dr.Wayne WANG

51. Nurture
The Way bears all things;
Harmony nurtures them;
Nature shapes them;
Use completes them.

Each follows the Way and honours harmony,
Not by law,
But by being.

The Way bears, nurtures, shapes, completes,
Shelters, comforts, and makes a home for them.

Bearing without possessing,
Nurturing without taming,
Shaping without forcing,
This is harmony.

【原文】
　　道生之，德畜之，物形之，勢成之。
　　是以萬物莫不尊道而貴德。
　　道之尊，德之貴，夫莫之命而常自然。
　　故道生之，德畜之，長之育之，亭之毒之，養之覆之。
　　生而不有，為而不恃，長而不宰，是謂玄德。

Dr.Wayne WANG

52. Clarity
The origin of the world is its mother;
Understand the mother, and you understand the child;
Embrace the child, and you embrace the mother,
Who will not perish when you die.

Reserve your judgments and words
And you maintain your influence;
Speak your mind and take positions
And nothing can save you.

As observing detail is clarity,
So maintaining flexibility is strength;
Use the light but shed no light,
So that you do yourself no harm,
But embrace clarity.

【原文】
　　天下有始，以為天下母。
　　既得其母，以知其子；既知其子，復守其母，沒身不殆。
　　塞其兌，閉其門，終身不勤；
　　開其兌，濟其事，終身不救。
　　見小曰明，守柔曰強。
　　用其光，復歸其明，無遺身殃，是謂襲常。

Dr.Wayne WANG

53. Difficult Paths
With but a small understanding
One may follow the Way like a main road,
Fearing only to leave it;
Following a main road is easy,
Yet people delight in difficult paths.

When palaces are kept up
Fields are left to weeds
And granaries empty;
Wearing fine clothes,
Bearing sharp swords,
Glutting with food and drink,
Hoarding wealth and possessions -
These are the ways of theft,
And far from the Way.

【原文】
　　使我介然有知，行于大道，唯施是畏。
　　大道甚夷，而人好徑。
　　朝甚除，田甚蕪，倉甚虛；
　　服文采，帶利劍，厭飲食，資貨有餘。
　　是謂盜竽，非道也哉！

Dr.Wayne WANG

54. Cultivate Harmony
Cultivate harmony within yourself, and harmony becomes real;
Cultivate harmony within your family, and harmony becomes fertile;
Cultivate harmony within your community, and harmony becomes abundant;
Cultivate harmony within your culture, and harmony becomes enduring;
Cultivate harmony within the world, and harmony becomes ubiquitous.

Live with a person to understand that person;
Live with a family to understand that family;
Live with a community to understand that community;
Live with a culture to understand that culture;
Live with the world to understand the world.

How can I live with the world?
By accepting.

【原文】
　　善建者不拔，善抱者不脫，子孫以祭祀不輟。
　　修之於身，其德乃真；
　　修之於家，其德乃餘；
　　修之於鄉，其德乃長；
　　修之於邦，其德乃豐；
　　修之於天下，其德乃普。
　　故以身觀身，以家觀家，以鄉觀鄉，以邦觀邦，以天下觀天下。
　　吾何以知天下之然哉？以此。

Dr.Wayne WANG

55. Soft Bones
Who is filled with harmony is like a newborn.
Wasps and snakes will not bite him;
Hawks and tigers will not claw him.

His bones are soft yet his grasp is sure,
For his flesh is supple;
His mind is innocent yet his body is virile,
For his vigour is plentiful;
His song is long-lasting yet his voice is sweet,
For his grace is perfect.

But knowing harmony creates abstraction,
And following abstraction creates ritual.
Exceeding nature creates calamity,
And controlling nature creates violence.

【原文】
       含德之厚，比于赤子；
       毒虫不螫，猛兽不据，攫鸟不搏，骨弱筋柔而握固，未知牝牡之合而俊作，精之至也；
       终日号而不嗄，和之至也。
       知和曰常，知常曰明。
       益生曰祥，心使气曰强。
       物壮则老，谓之不道，不道早已。

Dr.Wayne WANG

56. Impartiality
Who understands does not preach;
Who preaches does not understand.

Reserve your judgments and words;
Smooth differences and forgive disagreements;
Dull your wit and simplify your purpose;
Accept the world.

Then,
Friendship and enmity,
Profit and loss,
Honour and disgrace,
Will not affect you;
The world will accept you.

【原文】
　　知者不言，言者不知。
　　塞其兌，閉其門；
　　挫其銳，解其紛；
　　和其光，同其塵。
　　是謂玄同。
　　故不可得而親，不可得而疏；
　　不可得而利，不可得而害；
　　不可得而貴，不可得而賤。
　　故為天下貴。

Dr.Wayne WANG

57. Conquer with Inaction
Do not control the people with laws,
Nor violence nor espionage,
But conquer them with inaction.

For:
The more morals and taboos there are,
The more cruelty afflicts people;
The more guns and knives there are,
The more factions divide people;
The more arts and skills there are,
The more change obsoletes people;
The more laws and taxes there are,
The more theft corrupts people.

Yet take no action, and the people nurture eachother;
Make no laws, and the people deal fairly with eachother;
Own no interest, and the people cooperate with eachother;
Express no desire, and the people harmonize with eachother.

【原文】
       以正治国，以奇用兵，以无事取天下。
       吾何以知其然哉？以此：
       天下多忌讳，而民弥贫；
       民多利器，国家滋昏；
       人多伎巧，奇物滋起；
       法令滋彰，盗贼多有。
       故圣人云：
       我无为而民自化，我好静而民自正；
       我无事而民自富，我无欲而民自朴。

Dr.Wayne WANG

58. No End
When government is lazy and informal
The people are kind and honest;
When government is efficient and severe
The people are discontented and deceitful.

Good fortune follows upon disaster;
Disaster lurks within good fortune;
Who can say how things will end?
Perhaps there is no end.

Honesty is ever deceived;
Kindness is ever seduced;
Men have been like this for a long time.

So the sage is firm but not cutting,
Pointed but not piercing,
Straight but not rigid,
Bright but not blinding.

【原文】
       其政闷闷，其民淳淳；
       其政察察，其民缺缺。
       祸兮，福之所倚；
       福兮，祸之所伏。
       孰知其极？其无正也。
       正复为奇，善复为妖。
       人之迷，其日固久。
       是以圣人方而不割，廉而不刿，直而不肆，光而不耀。

Dr.Wayne WANG

59. Restraint
Manage a great nation as you would cook a delicate fish.

To govern men in accord with nature
It is best to be restrained;
Restraint makes agreement easy to attain,
And easy agreement builds harmonious relationships;
With sufficient harmony no resistance will arise;
When no resistance arises, then you possess the heart of the nation,
And when you possess the nation's heart, your influence will long endure:
Deeply rooted and firmly established.
This is the method of far sight and long life.

【原文】
       治人，事天，莫若啬。
       夫唯啬，是谓早服。
       早服谓之重积德。
       重积德则无不克。
       无不克则莫知其极。
       莫知其极，可以有国。
       有国之母，可以长久。
       是谓深根固柢、长生久视之道。