第 240 节
作者:九米      更新:2021-02-19 21:30      字数:8836
  No victory is free of grief;
  and so to celebrate one is to glory
  in the death of innocent people。
  No one who revels in death like this
  can be true to the Way
  or is fit to rule in our world。
  At glad times; the place of honouris on the left:
  after disaster; it is on the right。
  So in the army; the officers standto the left
  while the general stands to the right。
  So the whole things is staged likea funeral。
  When a war kills many; we must mournfor them …
  And if you win the war; you must grieveit。
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  The Tao has no name
  it is a cloud that has no shape。
  If a ruler
  follows it faithfully;
  then every living thing under heavenwill say yes to him。
  Heaven and earth make love;
  And a sweet dew…rain falls。
  The people do not know why;
  But they are gathered together likemusic。
  Things have been given names from thebeginning。
  We need to know when we have enoughnames: this is wisdom。
  At the beginning of time
  The sage gave names to everything… see; and unseen。
  A ruler who walks the Way
  Is like a river reaching the sea
  Gathering the waters of the streams
  into himself;
  as he goes。
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  When you know the true being of another;
  You can judge …
  And if you truly know the Tao
  you will be in the light。
  It takes force to control people:
  but if I am humble; I can never beovercome。
  If you know what you have is enough
  you will be satisfied。
  But if you think you don't have enough
  then you will never have enough!
  If you follow the Tao; what you arewill last。
  You will live; and live; and outliveyourself again。
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  The Great Tao goes everywhere
  past your left hand and your right…
  filling the whole of space。
  It is breath to every thing; and yetit asks for nothing back;
  It feeds and creates everything; butit will never tell you so。
  It nurtures all things
  without lording it over anything。
  It names itself in the lowest of thelow。
  It holds what it makes;
  Yet never fights to do so:
  that is why we call it Great。
  Why? Because it never tires to be so。
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  Everyone will gather to the man
  Who rules in the light of the One。
  To trust such a being is to live
  In true happiness and healing。
  Good food and sweet music
  May make you stop …
  You listen; in passing。
  But the Tao: how does it seem?
  Oh; tasteless and shapeless by comparison。
  You cannot even hear it。
  It is even worth trying to?
  Yes; my friend
  because it is unending。
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  What is going to be diminished
  Must first be allowed to inflate。
  Whatever you want to weaken
  Must first be convinced of its strength。
  What you want to overcome
  You must first of all submit to 。。 。
  What you want to take over
  You must first of all give to …
  This is called discerning。
  You see; what is yielding and weak
  Overcomes what is hard and strong:
  (And just as a fish can't be seen
  when he stays down in the deep
  don't show your power to anyone)。
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  The Tao goes on forever
  wu…wei … doing nothing
  And yet everything gets done。
  How? It does it by being;
  And by being everything it does。
  If people and rulers go by this
  then every living thing will be well。
  And if parts still want to separate
  the true leader will use
  the centrifugal weight
  of this original
  unnameable Oneness。
  It is simple:
  If no one wants anything for themselves
  then there can be peace
  and all things will know peace
  the way music
  ends in peace。
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  The highest kind of man
  Has innate goodness;
  And that is what he rules with。
  The lesser man brags about how goodhe is …
  And isn't much good; I can tell you。
  A man of Te rules by wu…wei
  Doing nothing for himself or of himself。
  The lesser man acts from his ego
  And what he wants is gratification。
  A man who rules with compassion
  Acts through it … and no one evenrealizes。
  A legal man acts judiciously
  But he is still serving his own ends。
  And the rigid man uses laws
  And if people don't like it; force。
  If the true Tao is lost
  then morality takes its place。
  If that fails; we have 'conscience'。
  When that fades; we get 'justice'。
  When that disappears; we have the statusquo。
  Confusion reigns。 No one knows
  what's going on。 Forecasts
  and prophecies abound …
  and they are merely a gloss on theTao;
  they are the root of all
  twisted guidance。
  So the sage only looks at what is reallyreal。
  He doesn't just look at the surface…
  He blows away the dust and drinksthe water 。 。 。
  He doesn't just go for the flower
  But also for the roots and the fruit。
  Blow away the dust; now:
  Come to the living water。
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  From its first days; the universe camefrom the One:
  The heavens are one; and clear; andround because of it
  The earth is one; and is its firminfused foundation 。 。 。
  The spirit force is one; with allit brings into being …
  The valley is a oneness; and so itflows and renews all things;
  Everything is one … every living thingis one; and alive!
  Kinds and lords are one in a kingdomthat is one:
  And they can only rule truly becauseof the One。
  If Heaven wasn't clear; then the skywould fall down。
  If the earth cannot be peaceful; itwill tear itself apart。
  If the Spirit cannot bless; then noone will believe in it …
  If the valley can't rebirth; thenthe valley will run dry。
  If life can't be itself; then lifewill be nothing:
  And if the king is nothing; then theworld will be at war。
  Everything has both yin and yang init …
  and from their rise…and…fall…couplingcomes new life。
  The highest authority needs the basementas its base;
  And the depths are the foundationof the heights。
  That is why rulers call themselveslonely;
  like souls in a wilderness who haveno home。
  And; in doing so; don't they see then
  that their roots lie with the people?
  To see yourself as extraordinary
  is to stand out like jade among ordinarystones;
  but what people ignore … the lonely;and the worthless
  is the rock a true leader finds himselfon。
  You see; you win by losing … and youlose by succeeding。
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  The Tao moves
  in every direction at once …
  its essence is fluid and yielding。
  It is the marker of everything underthe sun:
  And everything comes
  out of nothing。
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  When the wisest student hears about theTao;
  He follows it without ceasing
  When the average student hears aboutit
  He follows too; but not all the time。 。 。
  And when the poor student gets windof it
  he laughs at it like an idiot!
  And if he didn't; then it wouldn'tbe the Tao!
  That is why the ancient ones said:
  The path that is bright seems dull;
  And the one who is going towards theTao
  Seems; in fact; to be going backwards…
  And those who think that the Way iseasy
  Will find it extremely hard。
  The greatest virtue is to be emptylike a valley。
  Those who think they are perfect neverare …
  those who feel that they are feelinadequate to the task;
  and morals seem to be no more thana contrivance。
  A great square has no corners:
  A great work is never done with;
  A great shout comes from a whisper;
  And the greatest of forms
  is beyond shape。
  Tao without substance …
  Invisible …
  Ever…creating
  Forever creating
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  The Tao
  gives birth to the One:
  The One
  gives birth tot he two;
  The Two
  give birth to the three …
  The Three give birth to every livingthing。
  All things are held in yin; and carryyang:
  And they are held together in the ch'iof teeming energy。
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  The very softest thing of all
  can ride like a galloping horse
  through the hardest of things。
  Like water; like water penetratingrock。
  And so the invisible enters in。
  That is why I know it is wise
  to act by doing nothing。
  And how few; how very few understandthis!
  People teach in the world
  what I know to be true:
  if you live violently
  that is how you will die。
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  What really matters most;
  Your image or your soul?
  What do you care about
  You money; or your life?
  What's actually the best;
  Making it … or losing?
  If you pour all your energy into onething;
  You're sure to harm the rest of yourbeing
  And if you invest it all in profit…
  You'll end up losing the whole lot。
  If you're not always wanting; you canbe at peace。
  And if you're not always trying tobe someone
  You can be who you really are
  and go the whole way。
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  A great thing done is never perfect …
  But that doe