道德经全文和注释 (英文版)

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

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

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

20. Wandering
What is the difference between assent and denial?
What is the difference between beautiful and ugly?
What is the difference between fearsome and afraid?

The people are merry as if at a magnificent party
Or playing in the park at springtime,
But I am tranquil and wandering,
Like a newborn before it learns to smile,
Alone, with no true home.

The people have enough and to spare,
Where I have nothing,
And my heart is foolish,
Muddled and cloudy.

The people are bright and certain,
Where I am dim and confused;
The people are clever and wise,
Where I am dull and ignorant;
Aimless as a wave drifting over the sea,
Attached to nothing.

The people are busy with purpose,
Where I am impractical and rough;
I do not share the peoples' cares
But I am fed at nature's breast.

【原文】
       绝学，无忧。
       唯之与阿，相去几何？
       美之与恶，相去何若？
       人之所畏，不可不畏？
　　  　荒兮其未央哉！
       众人熙熙，如享太牢，如春登台。
       我独泊兮其未兆，如婴儿之未孩，傫傫兮，若无所归。
       众人皆有余，而我独若遗。
       我愚人之心也哉，沌沌兮！
       俗人昭昭，我独昏昏。
       俗人察察，我独闷闷。
       澹兮其若海，飂兮若无止。
       众人皆有以，而我独顽似鄙。
       我独异于人，而贵食母。

Dr.Wayne WANG

19. Simplify
If we could abolish knowledge and wisdom
Then people would profit a hundredfold;
If we could abolish duty and justice
Then harmonious relationships would form;
If we could abolish artifice and profit
Then waste and theft would disappear.

Yet such remedies treat only symptoms
And so they are inadequate.

People need personal remedies:
Reveal your naked self and embrace your original nature;
Bind your self-interest and control your ambition;
Forget your habits and simplify your affairs.

【原文】
　　絕聖棄智，民利百倍；
　　絕仁棄義，民復孝慈；
　　絕巧棄利，盜賊無有。
　　此三者以為文，不足，故令有所屬：
　　見素抱樸，少私寡欲。

Dr.Wayne WANG

18. Hypocrisy
When the Way is forgotten
Duty and justice appear;
Then knowledge and wisdom are born
Along with hypocrisy.

When harmonious relationships dissolve
Then respect and devotion arise;
When a nation falls to chaos
Then loyalty and patriotism are born.

【原文】
　　大道廢，有仁義；
　　智慧出，有大偽；
　　六親不和，有孝慈；
　　國家昏亂，有忠臣。

Dr.Wayne WANG

17. Rulers
The best rulers are scarcely known by their subjects;
The next best are loved and praised;
The next are feared;
The next despised:
They have no faith in their people,
And their people become unfaithful to them.

When the best rulers achieve their purpose
Their subjects claim the achievement as their own.

【原文】
       太上，不知有之；
       其次，亲之、誉之；
       其次，畏之；
       其次，侮之。
       信不足焉，有不信焉，悠兮其贵言。
       功成事遂，百姓皆谓"我自然"。

Dr.Wayne WANG

16. Decay and Renewal
Empty the self completely;
Embrace perfect peace.
The world will rise and move;
Watch it return to rest.
All the flourishing things
Will return to their source.

This return is peaceful;
It is the flow of nature,
An eternal decay and renewal.
Accepting this brings enlightenment,
Ignoring this brings misery.

Who accepts nature's flow becomes all-cherishing;
Being all-cherishing he becomes impartial;
Being impartial he becomes magnanimous;
Being magnanimous he becomes natural;
Being natural he becomes one with the Way;
Being one with the Way he becomes immortal:
Though his body will decay, the Way will not.

【原文】
       致虚极，守静笃，万物并作，吾以观其复。
       夫物芸芸，各复归其根。
       归根曰静，是曰复命。
       复命曰常，知常曰明。
       不知常，妄作，凶。
       知常，容。
       容乃公，公乃王，王乃天，天乃道，道乃久，没身不殆。

Dr.Wayne WANG

15. Enlightenment
The enlightened possess understanding
So profound they can not be understood.
Because they cannot be understood
I can only describe their appearance:

Cautious as one crossing thin ice,
Undecided as one surrounded by danger,
Modest as one who is a guest,
Unbounded as melting ice,
Genuine as unshaped wood,
Broad as a valley,
Seamless as muddy water.

Who stills the water that the mud may settle,
Who seeks to stop that he may travel on,
Who desires less than may transpire,
Decays, but will not renew.

【原文】
       古之善为士者，微妙玄通，深不可识。
       夫唯不可识，故强为之容：
       豫兮若冬涉川，犹兮若畏四邻，俨兮其若客；
       涣兮若冰之将释，敦兮其若朴，旷兮其若谷；
　　    混兮其若浊。
       孰能浊以澄？静之徐清；
       孰能安以久？动之徐生。
       保此道者不欲盈。
       夫唯不盈，故能敝而新成。

Dr.Wayne WANG

14. Mystery
Looked at but cannot be seen - it is beneath form;
Listened to but cannot be heard - it is beneath sound;
Held but cannot be touched - it is beneath feeling;
These depthless things evade definition,
And blend into a single mystery.

In its rising there is no light,
In its falling there is no darkness,
A continuous thread beyond description,
Lining what can not occur;
Its form formless,
Its image nothing,
Its name silence;
Follow it, it has no back,
Meet it, it has no face.

Attend the present to deal with the past;
Thus you grasp the continuity of the Way,
Which is its essence.

【原文】
       视之不见，名曰夷；
       听之不闻，名曰希；
       搏之不得，名曰微。
       此三者不可致诘，故混而为一。
       其上不皦，其下不昧，绳绳兮不可名，复归于无物。
       是谓无状之状，无物之象，是谓惚恍。
       迎之不见其首，随之不见其后。
       执古之道，以御今之有；能知古始，是谓道纪。