| | 刻意: |
故曰：夫恬惔寂寞，虚无无为，此天地之平而道德之质也。 |
| Ingrained Ideas: |
Hence it is said, 'Placidity, indifference, silence, quietude, absolute vacancy, and non-action: these are the qualities which maintain the level of heaven and earth and are the substance of the Dao and its characteristics.' |
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故曰：圣人休，休焉则平易矣，平易则恬惔矣。平易恬惔，则忧患不能入，邪气不能袭，故其德全而神不亏。 |
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In accordance with this it is said, 'The sage is entirely restful, and so (his mind) is evenly balanced and at ease. This even balance and ease appears in his placidity and indifference. In this state of even balance and ease, of placidity and indifference, anxieties and evils do not find access to him, no depraving influence can take him by surprise; his virtue is complete, and his spirit continues unimpaired.' |
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故曰：圣人之生也天行，其死也物化；静而与阴同德，动而与阳同波；不为福先，不为祸始；感而后应，迫而后动，不得已而后起。去知与故，循天之理，故无天灾，无物累，无人非，无鬼责。其生若浮，其死若休；不思虑，不豫谋；光矣而不耀，信矣而不期；其寝不梦，其觉无忧；其神纯粹，其魂不罢。虚无恬惔，乃合天德。 |
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Therefore it is (also) said, 'The life of the sage is (like) the action of Heaven; and his death is the transformation common to (all) things. In his stillness his virtue is the same as that of the Yin, and in movement his diffusiveness is like that of the Yang. He does not take the initiative in producing either happiness or calamity. He responds to the influence acting on him, and moves as he feels the pressure. He rises to act only when he is obliged to do so. He discards wisdom and the memories of the past; he follows the lines of his Heaven (-given nature); and therefore he suffers no calamity from Heaven, no involvement from things, no blame from men, and no reproof from the spirits of the dead. His life seems to float along; his death seems to be a resting. He does not indulge any anxious doubts; he does not lay plans beforehand. His light is without display; his good faith is without previous arrangement. His sleep is untroubled by dreams; his waking is followed by no sorrows. His spirit is guileless and pure; his soul is not subject to weariness. Vacant and without self-assertion, placid and indifferent, he agrees with the virtue of Heaven.' |
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故曰：悲乐者，德之邪；喜怒者，道之过；好恶者，德之失。故心不忧乐，德之至也；一而不变，静之至也；无所于忤，虚之至也；不与物交，惔之至也；无所于逆，粹之至也。 |
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Therefore it is said (further), 'Sadness and pleasure show a depraving element in the virtue (of those who feel them); joy and anger show some error in their course; love and hatred show a failure of their virtue. Hence for the mind to be free from sorrow and pleasure is the perfection of virtue; to be of one mind that does not change is the perfection of quietude; to be conscious of no opposition is the perfection of vacancy; to have no intercourse with (external) things is the perfection of indifference; and to have no rebellious dissatisfactions is the perfection of purity.' |
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故曰：形劳而不休则弊，精用而不已则劳，劳则竭。水之性，不杂则清，莫动则平，郁闭而不流，亦不能清，天德之象也。 |
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Therefore it is said (still further), 'If the body be toiled, and does not rest, it becomes worn out; if the spirit be used without cessation, it becomes toiled; and when toiled, it becomes exhausted. It is the nature of water, when free from admixture, to be clear, and, when not agitated, to be level; while if obstructed and not allowed to flow, it cannot preserve its clearness - being an image of the virtue of Heaven.' |
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故曰：纯粹而不杂，静一而不变，惔而无为，动而以天行，此养神之道也。 |
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Hence it is said (once again), 'To be guileless and pure, and free from all admixture; to be still and uniform, without undergoing any change; to be indifferent and do nothing; to move and yet to act like Heaven: this is the way to nourish the spirit. |
