Back to collection

Daode Jing 道德經

Daode Jing 《道德經》

Click on any word to see more details.

老子道德經
作者老子
王弼

王弼老子道德經老子重要注釋之一也是研究王弼思想主要著作

老子道德經
華亭原本
 王弼

非常非常

指事造形不可不可。〉
無名天地有名萬物

」、「無名萬物及其有形」、「有名無形無名萬物不知其所玄之又玄。〉


萬物而後而後空虛可以。〉
常有

無為而後常有可以。〉
兩者異名玄之又玄
(Embodying the Dao)
The Dao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Dao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name. (Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all things.
Always without desire we must be found,
If its deep mystery we would sound;
But if desire always within us be,
Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.
Under these two aspects, it is really the same; but as development takes place, it receives the different names. Together we call them the Mystery. Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that is subtle and wonderful.

兩者出於異名不可默然無有不可得不可同名而言不可得然則不可以而已則是玄之又玄。〉

天下皆知皆知相生難易相成長短相較高下相和前後相隨

人心人心惡疾美惡喜怒是非喜怒是非同門不可得自然不可。 〉
是以聖人無為

自然。〉
萬物不辭

智慧自備。 〉
功成

不居。〉
是以
(The nourishment of the person)
All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what ugliness is; they all know the skill of the skilful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what the want of skill is. So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to (the idea of) the other; that difficulty and ease produce the one (the idea of) the other; that length and shortness fashion out the one the figure of the other; that (the ideas of) height and lowness arise from the contrast of the one with the other; that the musical notes and tones become harmonious through the relation of one with another; and that being before and behind give the idea of one following another. Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything, and conveys his instructions without the use of speech. All things spring up, and there is not one which declines to show itself; they grow, and there is no claim made for their ownership; they go through their processes, and there is no expectation (of a reward for the results). The work is accomplished, and there is no resting in it (as an achievement).
The work is done, but how no one can see;
'Tis this that makes the power not cease to be.

使不可。〉

使不爭難得使不為不見使民心

何為穿沒命不見。 〉
是以聖人

心懷無知。 〉


無知生事心虛。 〉
使無知

。 〉
使智者不敢

知者。〉
無為無不
(Keeping the people at rest)
Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder. Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties their minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens their bones. He constantly (tries to) keep them without knowledge and without desire, and where there are those who have knowledge, to keep them from presuming to act (on it). When there is this abstinence from action, good order is universal.


不盈萬物不知之子
(The fountainless)
The Dao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in our employment of it we must be on our guard against all fulness. How deep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the Honoured Ancestor of all things! We should blunt our sharp points, and unravel the complications of things; we should attemper our brightness, and bring ourselves into agreement with the obscurity of others. How pure and still the Dao is, as if it would ever so continue! I do not know whose son it is. It might appear to have been before God.

一家不能全家不能舉重不能故人萬物不以不能不法不能不法不能不能滿不盈無窮不能不能充其量萬物安在不亦萬物不渝不亦不能不能天地不亦天帝。〉

天地不仁萬物

天地自然無為萬物自相治理不仁仁者造立有為造立有為不足不為不為人生無為萬物萬物其所莫不。〉
聖人不仁百姓

聖人天地百姓。〉
天地之間不屈

之中空洞無情無為不得不可竭盡天地之中蕩然自然不可得。〉
多言不如
(The use of emptiness)
Heaven and earth do not act from (the impulse of) any wish to be benevolent; they deal with all things as the dogs of grass are dealt with. The sages do not act from (any wish to be) benevolent; they deal with the people as the dogs of grass are dealt with. May not the space between heaven and earth be compared to a bellows?
'Tis emptied, yet it loses not its power;
'Tis moved again, and sends forth air the more.
Much speech to swift exhaustion lead we see;
Your inner being guard, and keep it free.

不濟不理無窮盡莫不有意不足。〉

谷神不死天地
(The completion of material forms)
The valley spirit dies not, aye the same;
The female mystery thus do we name.
Its gate, from which at first they issued forth,
Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.
Long and unbroken does its power remain,
Used gently, and without the touch of pain.

谷神中央無形不動不衰不見不可得天地 其所同體天地不見萬物無物不成。〉

天長地久天地所以

。〉
長生是以聖人無私
(Sheathing the light)
Heaven is long-enduring and earth continues long. The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves. This is how they are able to continue and endure. Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him, and yet that person is preserved. Is it not because he has no personal and private ends, that therefore such ends are realised?

無私無為。〉

萬物不爭眾人

。〉
幾於

無水。〉
善信善能不爭
(The placid and contented nature)
The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike. Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Dao. The excellence of a residence is in (the suitability of) the place; that of the mind is in abysmal stillness; that of associations is in their being with the virtuous; that of words is in their trustworthiness; that of government is in its securing good order; that of (the conduct of) affairs is in its ability; and that of (the initiation of) any movement is in its timeliness. And when (one with the highest excellence) does not wrangle (about his low position), no one finds fault with him.

治道。〉
九章
不如

勢必傾危不如不如。〉
不可

勢必不可。〉
金玉滿堂

不若。〉
富貴

不可。〉
退
(Fulness and complacency contrary to the Dao)
It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness. When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them safe. When wealth and honours lead to arrogancy, this brings its evil on itself. When the work is done, and one's name is becoming distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven.

四時功成。〉



居處萬物。〉
嬰兒

自然嬰兒。〉
滌除

滌除至於能不。〉
愛國無知

以求運數以求治國。〉
天門開闔

天門天下開闔治亂之際天下天門開闔因而不為天門。〉
明白無為

以為物化所謂無為侯王萬物。〉


。〉


不禁。〉

(Possibilities through the Dao)
When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one embrace, they can be kept from separating. When one gives undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) babe. When he has cleansed away the most mysterious sights (of his imagination), he can become without a flaw. In loving the people and ruling the state, cannot he proceed without any (purpose of) action? In the opening and shutting of his gates of heaven, cannot he do so as a female bird? While his intelligence reaches in every direction, cannot he (appear to) be without knowledge? (The Dao) produces (all things) and nourishes them; it produces them and does not claim them as its own; it does all, and yet does not boast of it; it presides over all, and yet does not control them. This is what is called 'The mysterious Quality' (of the Dao).

不禁何為長足不知出乎幽冥。〉
十一
三十

所以三十無能。〉
以為戶牖以為以為以為
(The use of what has no substantive existence)
The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty space (for the axle), that the use of the wheel depends. Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that their use depends. The door and windows are cut out (from the walls) to form an apartment; but it is on the empty space (within), that its use depends. Therefore, what has a (positive) existence serves for profitable adaptation, and what has not that for (actual) usefulness.

之所以無為之所以以為。〉
十二
五色令人目盲五音令人耳聾五味令人馳騁畋獵令人發狂

差失失口耳目不以性命自然。〉
難得令人

難得塞人正路令人。〉
是以聖人不為故去
(The repression of the desires)
Colour's five hues from the eyes their sight will take;
Music's five notes the ears as deaf can make;
The flavours five deprive the mouth of taste;
The chariot course, and the wild hunting waste
Make mad the mind; and objects rare and strange,
Sought for, men's conduct will to evil change.
Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of) the belly, and not the (insatiable longing of the) eyes. He puts from him the latter, and prefers to seek the former.

聖人不為。〉
十三
何謂

得寵不足天下。〉
何謂

榮寵榮寵。〉
所以患者有身

。〉


自然。〉
身為天下天下

如此可以天下。〉
身為天下天下
(Loathing shame)
Favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared; honour and great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions (of the same kind). What is meant by speaking thus of favour and disgrace? Disgrace is being in a low position (after the enjoyment of favour). The getting that (favour) leads to the apprehension (of losing it), and the losing it leads to the fear of (still greater calamity) - this is what is meant by saying that favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared. And what is meant by saying that honour and great calamity are to be (similarly) regarded as personal conditions? What makes me liable to great calamity is my having the body (which I call myself); if I had not the body, what great calamity could come to me? Therefore he who would administer the kingdom, honouring it as he honours his own person, may be employed to govern it, and he who would administer it with the love which he bears to his own person may be entrusted with it.

無物可以如此可以天下不以然後可以天下。〉
十四
不見聞名不得不可

無狀無聲不通不得而知耳目不知不可。〉
不可復歸無物無狀無物

無邪不見無狀無物。〉


不可得。〉
不見隨之不見其後

其事。〉

(The manifestation of the mystery)
We look at it, and we do not see it, and we name it 'the Equable.' We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it 'the Inaudible.' We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it, and we name it 'the Subtle.' With these three qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and obtain The One. Its upper part is not bright, and its lower part is not obscure. Ceaseless in its action, it yet cannot be named, and then it again returns and becomes nothing. This is called the Form of the Formless, and the Semblance of the Invisible; this is called the Fleeting and Indeterminable. We meet it and do not see its Front; we follow it, and do not see its Back. When we can lay hold of the Dao of old to direct the things of the present day, and are able to know it as it was of old in the beginning, this is called (unwinding) the clue of Dao.

無形無名萬物不同莫不上古可以。〉
十五
微妙不可不可

不可得。〉
四鄰

四鄰中央不知向者不可不可。〉


不可得。〉


靜物動物自然能者。〉
此道

。〉
不盈
(The exhibition of the qualities of the Dao)
The skilful masters (of the Dao) in old times, with a subtle and exquisite penetration, comprehended its mysteries, and were deep (also) so as to elude men's knowledge. As they were thus beyond men's knowledge, I will make an effort to describe of what sort they appeared to be. Shrinking looked they like those who wade through a stream in winter; irresolute like those who are afraid of all around them; grave like a guest (in awe of his host); evanescent like ice that is melting away; unpretentious like wood that has not been fashioned into anything; vacant like a valley, and dull like muddy water. Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear. Who can secure the condition of rest? Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise. They who preserve this method of the Dao do not wish to be full (of themselves). It is through their not being full of themselves that they can afford to seem worn and not appear new and complete.

覆蓋。〉
十六


篤守靜物真正。〉
萬物

動作生長。〉


虛靜反復萬物動作復歸虛靜。〉
芸芸復歸

其所。〉
歸根復命復命

歸根復命復命復命性命。〉
不知妄作

萬物不容以往不知妄作。〉


無所不包。〉


無所不包乃至蕩然公平。〉


蕩然公平乃至不周。〉


不周乃至。〉


大通乃至虛無。〉


窮極虛無乃至不窮。〉

(Returning to the root)
The (state of) vacancy should be brought to the utmost degree, and that of stillness guarded with unwearying vigour. All things alike go through their processes of activity, and (then) we see them return (to their original state). When things (in the vegetable world) have displayed their luxuriant growth, we see each of them return to its root. This returning to their root is what we call the state of stillness; and that stillness may be called a reporting that they have fulfilled their appointed end. The report of that fulfilment is the regular, unchanging rule. To know that unchanging rule is to be intelligent; not to know it leads to wild movements and evil issues. The knowledge of that unchanging rule produces a (grand) capacity and forbearance, and that capacity and forbearance lead to a community (of feeling with all things). From this community of feeling comes a kingliness of character; and he who is king-like goes on to be heaven-like. In that likeness to heaven he possesses the Dao. Possessed of the Dao, he endures long; and to the end of his bodily life, is exempt from all danger of decay.

水火不能金石不能兵戈鋒刃危殆。〉
十七


大人大人太上大人無為萬物不為而已。〉
其次

不能無為善行使。〉
其次

不復威權。〉
其次

不能齊民治國不從。〉
不足不信

疾病失真不足不信自然不足。〉
功成百姓自然
(The unadulterated influence)
In the highest antiquity, (the people) did not know that there were (their rulers). In the next age they loved them and praised them. In the next they feared them; in the next they despised them. Thus it was that when faith (in the Dao) was deficient (in the rulers) a want of faith in them ensued (in the people). How irresolute did those (earliest rulers) appear, showing (by their reticence) the importance which they set upon their words! Their work was done and their undertakings were successful, while the people all said, 'We are as we are, of ourselves!'

自然不可得意趣不可得無物可以無為不以功成百姓不知所以然。〉
十八
大道仁義

無為。〉
智慧

智慧。〉
六親不和孝慈國家昏亂忠臣
(The decay of manners)
When the Great Dao (Way or Method) ceased to be observed, benevolence and righteousness came into vogue. (Then) appeared wisdom and shrewdness, and there ensued great hypocrisy. When harmony no longer prevailed throughout the six kinships, filial sons found their manifestation; when the states and clans fell into disorder, loyal ministers appeared.

所謂美惡同門六親父子兄弟夫婦六親國家自治孝慈忠臣不知其所江湖。〉
十九
百倍孝慈盜賊無有以為不足有所寡欲
(Returning to the unadulterated influence)
If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be better for the people a hundredfold. If we could renounce our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again become filial and kindly. If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers.
Those three methods (of government)
Thought olden ways in elegance did fail
And made these names their want of worth to veil;
But simple views, and courses plain and true
Would selfish ends and many lusts eschew.

仁義不足有所以為令人有所素樸寡欲。〉
二十
無憂相去幾何相去不可不畏

學者日益道者然則所能智者不知燕雀鳩鴿自然美惡相去故人以為。〉
未央

。〉
眾人太牢

眾人榮利太牢。〉
嬰兒

無形嬰兒未能。〉


。〉
眾人有餘

眾人無不懷有盈溢有餘無為遺失。〉
愚人

不可頹然。〉


不可。〉
俗人昭昭

耀。〉
俗人察察

分別。〉
悶悶

不可。〉


。〉
眾人

有所施用。〉