| Chinese Text Project | |
| Simplified Chinese version |
《在宥 - Letting Be, and Exercising Forbearance》 | English translation: James Legge [?] | Books referencing 《在宥》 Library Resources |
| 1 | 在宥: | 闻在宥天下，不闻治天下也。在之也者，恐天下之淫其性也；宥之也者，恐天下之迁其德也。天下不淫其性，不迁其德，有治天下者哉！昔尧之治天下也，使天下欣欣焉人乐其性，是不恬也；桀之治天下也，使天下瘁瘁焉人苦其性，是不愉也。夫不恬不愉，非德也。非德也而可长久者，天下无之。人大喜邪，毗于阳。大怒邪，毗于阴。阴阳并毗，四时不至，寒暑之和不成，其反伤人之形乎！使人喜怒失位，居处无常，思虑不自得，中道不成章，于是乎天下始乔诘、卓鸷，而后有盗跖、曾、史之行。故举天下以赏其善者不足，举天下以罚其恶者不给，故天下之大不足以赏罚。自三代以下者，匈匈焉终以赏罚为事，彼何暇安其性命之情哉！而且说明邪，是淫于色也；说聪邪，是淫于声也；说仁邪，是乱于德也；说义邪，是悖于理也；说礼邪，是相于技也；说乐邪，是相于淫也；说圣邪，是相于艺也；说知邪，是相于疵也。天下将安其性命之情，之八者，存可也；亡可也；天下将不安其性命之情，之八者，乃始脔卷、獊囊而乱天下也。而天下乃始尊之惜之，甚矣天下之惑也！岂直过也而去之邪！乃齐戒以言之，跪坐以进之，鼓歌以儛之，吾若是何哉！故君子不得已而临邪天下，莫若无为。无为也，而后安其性命之情。故贵以身于为天下，则可以托天下；爱以身于为天下，则可以寄天下。故君子苟能无解其五藏，无擢其聪明，尸居而龙见，渊默而雷声，神动而天随，从容无为而万物炊累焉。吾又何暇治天下哉！ |
| Letting Be, and Exercising...: | I have heard of letting the world be, and exercising forbearance; I have not heard of governing the world. Letting be is from the fear that men, (when interfered with), will carry their nature beyond its normal condition; exercising forbearance is from the fear that men, (when not so dealt with), will alter the characteristics of their nature. When all men do not carry their nature beyond its normal condition, nor alter its characteristics, the good government of the world is secured. Formerly, Yao's government of the world made men look joyful; but when they have this joy in their nature, there is a want of its (proper) placidity. The government of the world by Jie, (on the contrary), made men look distressed; but when their nature shows the symptoms of distress, there is a want of its (proper) contentment. The want of placidity and the want of contentment are contrary to the character (of the nature); and where this obtains, it is impossible that any man or state should anywhere abide long. Are men exceedingly joyful? The Yang or element of expansion in them is too much developed. Are they exceedingly irritated? The Yin or opposite element is too much developed. When those elements thus predominate in men, (it is as if) the four seasons were not to come (at their proper times), and the harmony of cold and heat were not to be maintained - would there not result injury to the bodies of men? Men's joy and dissatisfaction are made to arise where they ought not to do so; their movements are all uncertain; they lose the mastery of their thoughts; they stop short midway, and do not finish what they have begun. In this state of things the world begins to have lofty aims, and jealous dislikes, ambitious courses, and fierce animosities, and then we have actions like those of the robber Zhi, or of Zeng (Shen) and Shi (Qiu). If now the whole world were taken to reward the good it would not suffice, nor would it be possible with it to punish the bad. Thus the world, great as it is, not sufficing for rewards and punishments, from the time of the three dynasties downwards, there has been nothing but bustle and excitement. Always occupied with rewards and punishments, what leisure have men had to rest in the instincts of the nature with which they are endowed? Moreover, delight in the power of vision leads to excess in the pursuit of (ornamental) colours; delight in the power of hearing, to excess in seeking (the pleasures of) sound; delight in benevolence tends to disorder that virtue (as proper to the nature); delight in righteousness sets the man in opposition to what is right in reason; delight in (the practice of) ceremonies is helpful to artful forms; delight in music leads to voluptuous airs; delight in sageness is helpful to ingenious contrivances; delight in knowledge contributes to fault-finding. If all men were to rest in the instincts of their nature, to keep or to extinguish these eight delights might be a matter of indifference; but if they will not rest in those instincts, then those eight delights begin to be imperfectly and unevenly developed or violently suppressed, and the world is thrown into disorder. But when men begin to honour them, and to long for them, how great is the deception practised on the world! And not only, when (a performance of them) is once over, do they not have done with them, but they prepare themselves (as) with fasting to describe them, they seem to kneel reverentially when they bring them forward, and they go through them with the excitements of music and singing; and then what can be done (to remedy the evil of them)? Therefore the superior man, who feels himself constrained to engage in the administration of the world will find it his best way to do nothing. In (that policy of) doing nothing, he can rest in the instincts of the nature with which he is endowed. Hence he who will administer (the government of) the world honouring it as he honours his own person, may have that government committed to him, and he who will administer it loving it as he loves his own person, may have it entrusted to him. Therefore, if the superior man will keep (the faculties lodged in) his five viscera unemployed, and not display his powers of seeing and hearing, while he is motionless as a representative of the dead, his dragon-like presence will be seen; while he is profoundly silent, the thunder (of his words) will resound; while his movements are (unseen) like those of a spirit, all heavenly influences will follow them; while he is (thus) unconcerned and does nothing, his genial influence will attract and gather all things round him: what leisure has he to do anything more for the government of the world? | |
| 2 | 在宥: | 崔瞿问于老聃曰：“不治天下，安藏人心？”老聃曰：“汝慎无撄人心。人心排下而进上，上下囚杀，淖约柔乎刚强。廉刿雕琢，其热焦火，其寒凝冰。其疾俛仰之间，而再抚四海之外，其居也渊而静，其动也县而天。偾骄而不可系者，其唯人心乎！昔者黄帝始以仁义撄人之心，尧、舜于是乎股无胈，胫无毛，以养天下之形，愁其五藏以为仁义，矜其血气以规法度。然犹有不胜也。尧于是放欢兜于崇山，投三苗于三峗，流共工于幽都，此不胜天下也夫！施及三王而天下大骇矣。下有桀、跖，上有曾、史，而儒、墨毕起。于是乎喜怒相疑，愚知相欺，善否相非，诞信相讥，而天下衰矣；大德不同，而性命烂漫矣；天下好知，而百姓求竭矣。于是乎釿锯制焉，绳墨杀焉，椎凿决焉。天下脊脊大乱，罪在撄人心。故贤者伏处大山嵁岩之下，而万乘之君忧栗乎庙堂之上。今世殊死者相枕也，桁杨者相推也，刑戮者相望也，而儒、墨乃始离跂攘臂乎桎梏之间。意！甚矣哉！其无愧而不知耻也甚矣！吾未知圣知之不为桁杨椄槢也，仁义之不为桎梏、凿枘也，焉知曾、史之不为桀、跖嚆矢也！故曰：‘绝圣弃知而天下大治。’” |
| Letting Be, and Exercising...: |
Cui Ji asked Lao Dan, saying, 'If you do not govern the world, how can you make men's minds good?' The reply was, 'Take care how you meddle with and disturb men's minds. The mind, if pushed about, gets depressed; if helped forward, it gets exalted. Now exalted, now depressed, here it appears as a prisoner, and there as a wrathful fury. (At one time) it becomes pliable and soft, yielding to what is hard and strong; (at another), it is sharp as the sharpest corner, fit to carve or chisel (stone or jade). Now it is hot as a scorching fire, and anon it is cold as ice. It is so swift that while one is bending down and lifting up his head, it shall twice have put forth a soothing hand beyond the four seas. Resting, it is still as a deep abyss; moving, it is like one of the bodies in the sky; in its resolute haughtiness, it refuses to be bound - such is the mind of man!' Anciently, Huang-Di was the first to meddle with and disturb the mind of man with his benevolence and righteousness. After him, Yao and Shun wore their thighs bare and the hair off the calves of their legs, in their labours to nourish the bodies of the people. They toiled painfully with all the powers in their five viscera at the practice of their benevolence and righteousness; they tasked their blood and breath to make out a code of laws - and after all they were unsuccessful. On this Yao sent away Huan Dou to Chong hill, and (the Chiefs of) the Three Miao to San-wei, and banished the Minister of Works to the Dark Capital; so unequal had they been to cope with the world. Then we are carried on to the kings of the Three (dynasties), when the world was in a state of great distraction. Of the lowest type of character there were Jie and Zhi; of a higher type there were Zeng (Shen) and Shi (Qiu). At the same time there arose the classes of the Literati and the Mohists. Hereupon, complacency in, and hatred of, one another produced mutual suspicions; the stupid and the wise imposed on one another; the good and the bad condemned one another; the boastful and the sincere interchanged their recriminations - and the world fell into decay. Views as to what was greatly virtuous did not agree, and the nature with its endowments became as if shrivelled by fire or carried away by a flood. All were eager for knowledge, and the people were exhausted with their searchings (after what was good). On this the axe and the saw were brought into play; guilt was determined as by the plumb-line and death inflicted; the hammer and gouge did their work. The world fell into great disorder, and presented the appearance of a jagged mountain ridge. The crime to which all was due was the meddling with and disturbing men's minds. The effect was that men of ability and worth lay concealed at the foot of the crags of mount Tai, and princes of ten thousand chariots were anxious and terrified in their ancestral temples. In the present age those who have been put to death in various ways lie thick as if pillowed on each other; those who are wearing the cangue press on each other (on the roads); those who are suffering the bastinado can see each other (all over the land). And now the Literati and the Mohists begin to stand, on tiptoe and with bare arms, among the fettered and manacled crowd! Ah! extreme is their shamelessness, and their failure to see the disgrace! Strange that we should be slow to recognise their sageness and wisdom in the bars of the cangue, and their benevolence and righteousness in the rivets of the fetters and handcuffs! How do we know that Zeng and Shi are not the whizzing arrows of Jie and Zhi? Therefore it is said, 'Abolish sageness and cast away knowledge, and the world will be brought to a state of great order.' | |
| 3 | 在宥: | 黄帝立为天子十九年，令行天下，闻广成子在于空同之上，故往见之，曰：“我闻吾子达于至道，敢问至道之精。吾欲取天地之精，以佐五谷，以养民人；吾又欲官阴阳，以遂群生。为之奈何？”广成子曰：“而所欲问者，物之质也；而所欲官者，物之残也。自而治天下，云气不待族而雨，草木不待黄而落，日月之光益以荒矣。而佞人之心翦翦者，又奚足以语至道！”黄帝退，捐天下，筑特室，席白茅，闲居三月，复往邀之。广成子南首而卧，黄帝顺下风膝行而进，再拜稽首而问曰：“闻吾子达于至道，敢问治身奈何而可以长久？”广成子蹶然而起，曰：“善哉问乎！来！吾语女至道。至道之精，窈窈冥冥；至道之极，昏昏默默。无视无听，抱神以静，形将自正。必静必清，无劳女形，无摇女精，乃可以长生。目无所见，耳无所闻，心无所知，女神将守形，形乃长生。慎女内，闭女外，多知为败。我为女遂于大明之上矣，至彼至阳之原也；为女入于窈冥之门矣，至彼至阴之原也。天地有官，阴阳有藏，慎守女身，物将自壮。我守其一，以处其和，故我修身千二百岁矣，吾形未尝衰。”黄帝再拜稽首曰：“广成子之谓天矣！”广成子曰：“来！吾语女。彼其物无穷，而人皆以为有终；彼其物无测，而人皆以为有极。得吾道者，上为皇而下为王；失吾道者，上见光而下为土。今夫百昌，皆生于土而反于土，故余将去女，入无穷之门，以游无极之野。吾与日月参光，吾与天地为常。当我，缗乎！远我，昏乎！人其尽死，而我独存乎！” |
| Letting Be, and Exercising...: |
Huang-Di had been on the throne for nineteen years, and his ordinances were in operation all through the kingdom, when he heard that Guang Cheng-zi was living on the summit of Kong-tong, and went to see him. 'I have heard,' he said, 'that you, Sir, are well acquainted with the perfect Dao. I venture to ask you what is the essential thing in it. I wish to take the subtlest influences of heaven and earth, and assist with them the (growth of the) five cereals for the (better) nourishment of the people. I also wish to direct the (operation of the) Yin and Yang, so as to secure the comfort of all living beings. How shall I proceed to accomplish those objects?' Kong Tong-zi replied, 'What you wish to ask about is the original substance of all things; what you wish to have the direction of is that substance as it was shattered and divided. According to your government of the world, the vapours of the clouds, before they were collected, would descend in rain; the herbs and trees would shed their leaves before they became yellow; and the light of the sun and moon would hasten to extinction. Your mind is that of a flatterer with his plausible words - it is not fit that I should tell you the perfect Dao.' Huang-Di withdrew, gave up (his government of) the kingdom, built himself a solitary apartment, spread in it a mat of the white m?o grass, dwelt in it unoccupied for three months, and then went again to seek an interview with (the recluse). Kong Tong-zi was then lying down with his head to the south. Huang-Di, with an air of deferential submission, went forward on his knees, twice bowed low with his face to the ground, and asked him, saying, 'I have heard that you, Sir, are well acquainted with the perfect Dao - I venture to ask how I should rule my body, in order that it may continue for a long time.' Kong Tong-zi hastily rose, and said, 'A good question! Come and I will tell you the perfect Dao. Its essence is (surrounded with) the deepest obscurity; its highest reach is in darkness and silence. There is nothing to be seen; nothing to be heard. When it holds the spirit in its arms in stillness, then the bodily form of itself will become correct. You must be still; you must be pure; not subjecting your body to toil, not agitating your vital force - then you may live for long. When your eyes see nothing, your ears hear nothing, and your mind knows nothing, your spirit will keep your body, and the body will live long. Watch over what is within you, shut up the avenues that connect you with what is external - much knowledge is pernicious. I (will) proceed with you to the summit of the Grand Brilliance, where we come to the source of the bright and expanding (element); I will enter with you the gate of the Deepest Obscurity, where we come to the source of the dark and repressing (element). There heaven and earth have their controllers; there the Yin and Yang have their Repositories. Watch over and keep your body, and all things will of themselves give it vigour. I maintain the (original) unity (of these elements), and dwell in the harmony of them. In this way I have cultivated myself for one thousand and two hundred years, and my bodily form has undergone no decay.' Huang-Di twice bowed low with his head to the ground, and said, 'In Kong Tong-zi we have an example of what is called Heaven.' The other said, 'Come, and I will tell you: (The perfect Dao) is something inexhaustible, and yet men all think it has an end; it is something unfathomable, and yet men all think its extreme limit can be reached. He who attains to my Dao, if he be in a high position, will be one of the August ones, and in a low position, will be a king. He who fails in attaining it, in his highest attainment will see the light, but will descend and be of the Earth. At present all things are produced from the Earth and return to the Earth. Therefore I will leave you, and enter the gate of the Unending, to enjoy myself in the fields of the Illimitable. I will blend my light with that of the sun and moon, and will endure while heaven and earth endure. If men agree with my views, I will be unconscious of it; if they keep far apart from them, I will be unconscious of it; they may all die, and I will abide alone!' | |
| 4 | 在宥: | 云将东游，过扶摇之枝，而适遭鸿蒙。鸿蒙方将拊髀雀跃而游。云将见之，倘然止，贽然立，曰：“叟何人邪？叟何为此？”鸿蒙拊髀雀跃不辍，对云将曰：“游。”云将曰：“朕愿有问也。”鸿蒙仰而视云将曰：“吁！”云将曰：“天气不合，地气郁结，六气不调，四时不节。今我愿合六气之精，以育群生，为之奈何？”鸿蒙拊髀雀跃掉头曰：“吾弗知，吾弗知。”云将不得问。又三年，东游，过有宋之野，而适遭鸿蒙。云将大喜，行趋而进曰：“天忘朕邪？天忘朕邪？”再拜稽首，愿闻于鸿蒙。鸿蒙曰：“浮游不知所求，猖狂不知所往，游者鞅掌，以观无妄，朕又何知！”云将曰：“朕也自以为猖狂，而百姓随予所往；朕也不得已于民，今则民之放也。愿闻一言。”鸿蒙曰：“乱天之经，逆物之情，玄天弗成；解兽之群，而鸟皆夜鸣；灾及草木，祸及止虫。意！治人之过也！”云将曰：“然则吾奈何？”鸿蒙曰：“意！毒哉！仙仙乎归矣！”云将曰：“吾遇天难，愿闻一言。”鸿蒙曰：“意！心养。汝徒处无为，而物自化。堕尔形体，吐尔聪明；伦与物忘，大同乎涬溟；解心释神，莫然无魂。万物云云，各复其根，各复其根而不知。浑浑沌沌，终身不离；若彼知之，乃是离之。无问其名，无闚其情，物故自生。”云将曰：“天降朕以德，示朕以默，躬身求之，乃今也得。”再拜稽首，起辞而行。 |
| Letting Be, and Exercising...: |
Yun Jiang, rambling to the east, having been borne along on a gentle breeze, suddenly encountered Hong Mang, who was rambling about, slapping his buttocks and hopping like a bird. Amazed at the sight, Yun Jiang stood reverentially, and said to the other, 'Venerable Sir, who are you? and why are you doing this ?' Hong Mang went on slapping his buttocks and hopping like a bird, but replied, 'I am enjoying myself.' Yun Jiang said, 'I wish to ask you a question.' Hong Mang lifted up his head, looked at the stranger, and said, 'Pooh!' Yun Jiang, however, continued, 'The breath of heaven is out of harmony; the breath of earth is bound up; the six elemental influences do not act in concord; the four seasons do not observe their proper times. Now I wish to blend together the essential qualities of those six influences in order to nourish all living things - how shall I go about it?' Hong Mang slapped his buttocks, hopped about, and shook his head, saying, 'I do not know; I do not know!' Yun Jiang could not pursue his question; but three years afterwards, when (again) rambling in the east, as he was passing by the wild of Sung, he happened to meet Hong Mang. Delighted with the rencontre, he hastened to him, and said, 'Have you forgotten me, 0 Heaven? Have you forgotten me, 0 Heaven?' At the same time, he bowed twice with his head to the ground, wishing to receive his instructions. Hong Mang said, 'Wandering listlessly about, I know not what I seek; carried on by a wild impulse, I know not where I am going. I wander about in the strange manner (which you have seen), and see that nothing proceeds without method and order - what more should I know?' Yun Jiang replied, 'I also seem carried on by an aimless influence, and yet the people follow me wherever I go. I cannot help their doing so. But now as they thus imitate me, I wish to hear a word from you (in the case).' The other said, 'What disturbs the regular method of Heaven, comes into collision with the nature of things, prevents the accomplishment of the mysterious (operation of) Heaven, scatters the herds of animals, makes the birds all sing at night, is calamitous to vegetation, and disastrous to all insects - all this is owing, I conceive, to the error of governing men.' 'What then,' said Yun Jiang, 'shall I do?' 'Ah,' said the other, 'you will only injure them! I will leave you in my dancing way, and return to my place.' Yun Jiang rejoined, 'It has been a difficult thing to get this meeting with you, 0 Heaven! I should like to hear from you a word (more).' Hong Mang said, 'Ah! your mind (needs to be) nourished. Do you only take the position of doing nothing, and things will of themselves become transformed. Neglect your body; cast out from you your power of hearing and sight; forget what you have in common with things; cultivate a grand similarity with the chaos of the plastic ether; unloose your mind; set your spirit free; be still as if you had no soul. Of all the multitude of things every one returns to its root. Every one returns to its root, and does not know (that it is doing so). They all are as in the state of chaos, and during all their existence they do not leave it. If they knew (that they were returning to their root), they would be (consciously) leaving it. They do not ask its name; they do not seek to spy out their nature; and thus it is that things come to life of themselves.' Yun Jiang said, 'Heaven, you have conferred on me (the knowledge of) your operation, and revealed to me the mystery of it. All my life I had been seeking for it, and now I have obtained it.' He then bowed twice, with his head to the ground, arose, took his leave, and walked away. | |
| 5 | 在宥: | 世俗之人，皆喜人之同乎己，而恶人之异于己也。同于己而欲之、异于己而不欲者，以出乎众为心也。夫以出于众为心者，曷尝出乎众哉！因众以宁所闻，不如众技众矣。而欲为人之国者，此揽乎三王之利，而不见其患者也。此以人之国侥幸也，几何侥幸而不丧人之国乎！其存人之国也，无万分之一；而丧人之国也，一不成而万有馀丧矣。悲夫！有土者之不知也！ |
| Letting Be, and Exercising...: | The ordinary men of the world all rejoice in men's agreeing with themselves, and dislike men's being different from themselves. This rejoicing and this dislike arise from their being bent on making themselves distinguished above all others. But have they who have this object at heart so risen out above all others? They depend on them to rest quietly (in the position which they desire), and their knowledge is not equal to the multitude of the arts of all those others! When they wish again to administer a state for its ruler, they proceed to employ all the methods which the kings of the three dynasties considered profitable without seeing the evils of such a course. This is to make the state depend on the peradventure of their luck. But how seldom it is that that peradventure does not issue in the ruin of the state! Not once in ten thousand instances will such men preserve a state. Not once will they succeed, and in more than ten thousand cases will they ruin it. Alas that the possessors of territory (the rulers of states) should not know the danger (of employing such men)! | |
| 夫有土者，有大物也。有大物者，不可以物物；而不物，故能物物。明乎物物者之非物也，岂独治天下百姓而已哉！出入六合，游乎九州，独往独来，是谓独有。独有之人，是谓至贵。 | ||
| Now the possessors of territory possess the greatest of (all) things. Possessing the greatest of all things (possessing, that is, men) they should not try to deal with them as (simply) things. And it is he who is not a thing (himself) that is therefore able to deal with (all) things as they severally require. When (a ruler) clearly understands that he who should so deal with all things is not a thing himself, will he only rule the kingdom? He will go out and in throughout the universe (at his pleasure); he will roam over the nine regions, alone in going, alone in coming. Him we call the sole possessor (of this ability); and the sole possessor (of this ability) is what is called the noblest of all. | ||
| 大人之教，若形之于影，声之于响。有问而应之，尽其所怀，为天下配。处乎无响，行乎无方。挈汝适复之挠挠，以游无端，出入无旁，与日无始，颂论形躯，合乎大同，大同而无己。无己，恶乎得有有！睹有者，昔之君子；睹无者，天地之友。 | ||
| The teaching of (this) great man goes forth as the shadow from the substance, as the echo responds to the sound. When questioned, he responds, exhausting (from his own stores) all that is in the (enquirer's) mind, as if front to front with all under heaven. His resting-place gives forth no sound; his sphere of activity has no restriction of place, He conducts every one to his proper goal, proceeding to it and bringing him back to it as by his own movement. His movements have no trace; his going forth and his re-enterings have no deviation; his course is like that of the sun without beginning (or ending). If you would praise or discourse about his personality, he is united with the great community of existences. He belongs to that great community, and has no individual self. Having no individual self, how should he have anything that can be called his? If you look at those who have what they call their own, they are the superior men of former times; if you look at him who has nothing of the kind, he is the friend of heaven and earth. | ||
| 6 | 在宥: | 贱而不可不任者，物也；卑而不可不因者，民也；匿而不可不为者，事也；粗而不可不陈者，法也；远而不可不居者，义也；亲而不可不广者，仁也；节而不可不积者，礼也；中而不可不高者，德也；一而不可不易者，道也；神而不可不为者，天也。故圣人观于天而不助，成于德而不累，出于道而不谋，会于仁而不恃，薄于义而不积，应于礼而不讳，接于事而不辞，齐于法而不乱，恃于民而不轻，因于物而不去。物者莫足为也，而不可不为。不明于天者，不纯于德；不通于道者，无自而可。不明于道者，悲夫！ |
| Letting Be, and Exercising...: |
Mean, and yet demanding to be allowed their free course - such are Things. Low, and yet requiring to be relied on - such are the People. Hidden (as to their issues), and yet requiring to be done - such are Affairs. Coarse, and yet necessary to be set forth - such are Laws. Remote, and yet necessary to have dwelling (in one's self) - such is Righteousness. Near, and yet necessary to be widely extended - such is Benevolence. Restrictive, and yet necessary to be multiplied - such are Ceremonies. Lodged in the centre, and yet requiring to be exalted - such is Virtue. Always One, and yet requiring to be modified - such is the Dao. Spiritlike, and yet requiring to be exercised - such is Heaven. Therefore the sages contemplated Heaven, but did not assist It. They tried to perfect their virtue, but did not allow it to embarrass them. They proceeded according to the Dao, but did not lay any plans. They associated benevolence (with all their doings), but did not rely on it. They pursued righteousness extensively, but did not try to accumulate it. They responded to ceremonies, but did not conceal (their opinion as to the troublesomeness of them). They engaged in affairs as they occurred, and did not decline them. They strove to render their laws uniform, but (feared that confusion) might arise from them. They relied upon the people, and did not set light by them. They depended on things as their instruments, and did not discard them. They did not think things equal to what they employed them for, but yet they did not see that they could do without employing them. Those who do not understand Heaven are not pure in their virtue. Those who do not comprehend the Dao have no course which they can pursue successfully. Alas for them who do not clearly understand the Dao! | |
| 何谓道？有天道，有人道。无为而尊者，天道也；有为而累者，人道也。主者，天道也；臣者，人道也。天道之与人道也，相去远矣，不可不察也。 | ||
| What is it that we call the Dao? There is the Dao, or Way of Heaven; and there is the Dao, or Way of Man. Doing nothing and yet attracting all honour is the Way of Heaven; Doing and being embarrassed thereby is the Way of Man. It is the Way of Heaven that plays the part of the Lord; it is the Way of Man that plays the part of the Servant. The Way of Heaven and the Way of Man are far apart. They should be clearly distinguished from each other. |
URN: ctp:zhuangzi/letting-be-and-exercising-forbearance