Guan Yin Zi (關尹子) · Volume 3
曰：一蜂至微。亦能遊觀乎天地。一蝦至微。亦能放肆乎大海。
It is said: a single bee is extremely small, yet can roam and view heaven and earth; a single shrimp is extremely small, yet can be at ease in the great sea.
曰：土偶之成也。有貴有賤。有士有女。其質土。其壞土人哉。
It is said: when clay figures have been made, some are noble and some lowly, some are scholars and some are women. The material is earth and the unfired form is earth too: are they still people?
曰：目自觀目。無色。耳自聽耳。無聲。舌自嘗舌。無味。心自揆心。無物。眾人逐於外。賢人執於內。聖人皆偽之。
It is said: the eye looking at itself has no color; the ear listening to itself has no sound; the tongue tasting itself has no flavor; the mind measuring itself has no thing. Ordinary people chase outward, the worthy cling inward, and the sage sees both sides as false.
曰：我身五行之碗。而五行之碗。其性一物。借如一所。可以取水。可以取火。可以生木。可以凝金。可以變土。其性含攝。元無差殊。故羽蟲盛者。毛蟲不育。毛蟲盛者。鱗蟲不育。知五行互用者。可以忘我。
It is said: my body is a bowl of the five phases, and the nature of the bowl of the five phases is only one thing. It is like the same place from which one can draw water, draw fire, grow wood, condense metal and change earth, its nature holding them all in, with originally no difference. So when the feathered kind flourish the furred kind do not breed, and when the furred kind flourish the scaled kind do not breed. One who knows that the five phases serve one another can forget the self.
曰：枯龜無我。能見大知。磁石無我。能見大力。鐘鼓無我。能見大音。舟車無我。能見遠行。故我一身。雖有智有力。有行有音。未嘗有我。
It is said: a withered tortoise has no self and can show great knowledge; a magnet has no self and can show great force; bells and drums have no self and can show great sound; boats and carts have no self and can show far travel. So though this one body of mine has wisdom and strength, action and voice, it has never had a self.
曰：蜮射影能斃我。知夫無知者亦我。則溥天之下。我無不在。
It is said: the water-sprite can shoot a shadow and thereby shoot the person dead. Know that what is without knowledge is also me, and then in the whole world there is nowhere I am not.
曰：心憶者猶忘飢。心忿者猶忘寒。心養者猶忘病。心激者猶忘痛。苟吸碗以養其和。孰能飢之。存神以滋其暖。孰能寒之。養五藏以五行。則無傷也。孰能病之。歸五藏於五行。則無知也。孰則痛之。
It is said: one who is thinking intently can forget hunger, one who is furious can forget cold, one who is caring for himself can forget illness, and one who is excited can forget pain. If one draws in the bowl to nourish that harmony, who can make him hungry? If one preserves spirit to feed that warmth, who can make him cold? If one nourishes the five organs with the five phases, there is no injury, who can make him ill? If one returns the five organs to the five phases, there is no feeling, who can make him feel pain?
曰：人無以無知無為者為無我。雖有知有為。不害其為無我。譬如火也。躁動不停。未嘗有我。
It is said: people should not suppose that only having no knowledge and no action is having no self. Even having knowledge and action does not prevent one from having no self. It is like fire, restless without rest, which has never had a self.
七釜釜者化也
The Seven Cauldrons: the cauldron is transformation.
關尹子曰：道本至無。以事歸道者。得之一息。事本至有。以道運事者。周之百為。得道之尊者。可以輔世。得道之獨者。可以立我。知道非時之所能拘者。能以一日為百年。能以百年為一日。知道非方之所能礙者。能以一里為百里。能以百里為一里。知道無氣能運有氣者。可以召風雨。知道無形能變有形者。可以易鳥獸。得道之清者。物莫能累。身輕矣。可以騎鳳鶴。得道之渾者。物莫能溺。身冥矣。可以席蛟鯨。有即無。無即有。知此道者。可以制鬼神。實即虛。虛即實。知此道者。可以入金石。上即下。下即上。知此道者。可以侍星辰。古即今。今即古。知此道者。可以卜龜筮。人即我。我即人。知此道者。可以窺他人之肺肝。物即我。我即物。知此道者。可以成腹中之龍虎。知象由心變。以此觀心。可以成女嬰。知碗由心生。以此吸神。可以成爐冶。以此勝物。虎豹可伏。以此同物。水火可入。惟有道之士能為之。亦能能之而不為之。
Guan Yinzi said: the Way is originally utmost non-existence, and one who returns affairs to the Way can obtain it in a single breath; affairs are originally utmost existence, and one who moves affairs with the Way can complete them in a hundred kinds of action. One who obtains the honored side of the Way can assist the human world; one who obtains the solitary side of the Way can stand on his own. Knowing that the Way cannot be bound by time, one can treat one day as a hundred years and a hundred years as one day; knowing that the Way cannot be blocked by place, one can treat one li as a hundred li and a hundred li as one li. Knowing that the Way, without qi, can move what has qi, one can call up wind and rain; knowing that the Way, without form, can change what has form, one can alter birds and beasts. One who obtains the pure side of the Way is not burdened by things, his body becomes light, and he can ride phoenixes and cranes; one who obtains the turbid side of the Way is not drowned by things, his body merges in the dark, and he can take flood dragons and whales as his mat. Being is non-being, and non-being is being; one who knows this Way can subdue ghosts and spirits. The solid is the empty, and the empty is the solid; one who knows this Way can enter metal and stone. Above is below, and below is above; one who knows this Way can serve the stars. The ancient is the modern, and the modern is the ancient; one who knows this Way can consult the tortoise and milfoil. Others are I, and I am others; one who knows this Way can peer into the lungs and liver of others. Things are I, and I am things; one who knows this Way can form dragon and tiger within the belly (the terms in this passage, dragon and tiger, the infant and maiden, the furnace and smelter, are names borrowed by inner alchemists from the drugs and vessels of outer alchemy to refer to the essence, qi and spirit within the body and the places where they are cultivated; they do not mean actual minerals or metals). Know that images change by the mind, and by using this to observe the mind one can form the infant and maiden; know that bowls are born of the mind, and by using this to draw in spirit one can form the furnace and smelter. Use this to overcome things, and tigers and leopards can be subdued; use this to be the same as things, and water and fire can be entered. Only a person of the Way can do these things, and can also be able to do them and not do them.
曰：人之力。有可以奪天地造化者。如冬起雷。夏造。死屍能行。枯木能華。豆中攝鬼。杯中釣魚。畫門可開。土鬼可語。皆純碗所為。故能化萬物。今之情情不停。亦碗所為。而碗之為物。有合有散。我之所以行碗者。本未嘗合。亦未嘗散。有合者生。有散者死。彼未嘗合未嘗散者。無生無死。客有去來。郵常自若。
It is said: human strength can sometimes seize the transformations of heaven and earth. For example, thunder sounding in winter, ice made in summer (the base text seems to have lost "ice" after "made in summer"), a corpse that walks, a withered tree that blooms, ghosts summoned out of beans, fish angled out of a cup, a painted door that opens, a clay ghost that speaks: all are made by the pure bowl, and so can transform the ten thousand things. Now feeling following feeling without pause is also made by the bowl. And the bowl as a thing has joining and scattering. What I use to move the bowl was never joined and never scattered. What joins is born, and what scatters dies. What was never joined and never scattered has no birth and no death. Guests have coming and going, but the inn always remains as it was.
曰：有誦祝者。有事神者。有墨字者。有變指者。皆可以役神御碗。變化萬物。惟不誠之人。難於自信。而易於信物。故假此為之。苟知惟誠。有不待彼而然者。
It is said: there are those who recite spells and prayers, those who serve spirits, those who write with ink, those who form hand signs, all of whom can command spirits and ride the bowl to transform the ten thousand things. Only the insincere find it hard to trust themselves but easy to trust things, and so they borrow from these means. If one knows that it is only sincerity, there are those who can do this without waiting on those means.
曰：人之一呼一吸。日行四十萬裡。化可謂速矣。惟聖人不存不變。
It is said: with each breath out and in, a person travels four hundred thousand li in a day; transformation can be called very swift. Only the sage neither stays nor transforms.
曰：青鸞子千歲而千歲化。桃子五仕而心五化。聖人賓事去物。豈不欲建立於世哉。有形數者懼化之不可知也。
It is said: the blue phoenix lived a thousand years, and for a thousand years it was transforming; the peach made five official careers, and its heart transformed five times. The sage treats affairs as guests and sets things aside; could he not want to establish something in the world? What has form and number fears transformation that cannot be known.
曰：萬物變遷。雖互隱見。氣一而已。惟聖人知一而不化。
It is said: when the ten thousand things shift and change, though they hide and show each other, qi is only one. Only the sage knows the one that does not transform.
曰：爪之生。發之長。榮衛之行。無頃刻止。眾人皆見之於著。不能見之於微。賢人見之於微。而不能任化。聖人任化。所以無化。
It is said: nails are growing, hair is growing, the nutritive and defensive qi are circulating, with no pause even for a moment. Ordinary people can all see what is obvious and cannot see what is subtle; the worthy can see what is subtle but cannot let transformation take its course; the sage lets transformation take its course, and so there is no transformation.
曰：室中有常見聞矣。既而之門之鄰之裡之黨。既而之郊之山之川。見聞各異。好惡隨之。和競從之。得失成之。是以聖人動止有戒。
It is said: in the house there is what one constantly sees and hears. Later one goes to the door, to the neighbor's, to the lane, to the village, later to the outskirts, to the mountains, to the rivers; what one sees and hears is different in each, likes and dislikes change with them, harmony and strife follow, and gain and loss are made. So the sage is cautious in every movement and rest.
曰：譬如大海。變化億萬蛟魚。水一而已。我之與物。蓊然蔚然。在大化中。性一而已。知夫性一者。無人無我無死無生。
It is said: it is like the great sea, which transforms into hundreds of millions of flood dragons and fish, while the water is only one. I and things, thick and luxuriant in the midst of the great transformation, have a nature that is only one. One who knows that nature is one has no other and no self, no death and no life.
曰：天下之理。是或化為非。非或化為是。恩或化為仇。仇或化為恩。是以聖人居常慮變。
It is said: the principle of the world is that right may transform into wrong and wrong may transform into right; kindness may transform into enmity and enmity may transform into kindness. So the sage dwells in the constant and keeps change in mind.
曰：人之少也。當佩乎父兄之教。人之壯也。當達乎朋友之箴。人之老也。當警乎少壯之說。萬化雖移。不能厄我。
It is said: when a person is young, he should wear the teachings of his father and elder brother; when a person is in his prime, he should take in the admonitions of his friends; when a person is old, he should be wary of what he said in his youth and prime. Though the ten thousand transformations shift, they cannot corner me.
曰：天下之理輕者易化。重者難化。譬如風雲須臾變滅。金玉之性歷久不渝。人之輕明者。能與造化俱化而不留。殆有未嘗化者存。
It is said: the principle of the world is that the light transforms easily and the heavy transforms with difficulty. Wind and clouds change and vanish in a moment, while the nature of gold and jade does not change over a long time. Among people, the one who is light and bright can transform together with creation without lingering, and probably there remains in him what has never transformed.
曰：二幼相好。及其壯也。相遇則不相識。二壯相好。及其老也。相遇則不相識。如雀鴿鷹鳩之化。無昔無今。
It is said: two friends in childhood, when they meet in their prime do not recognize each other; two friends in their prime, when they meet in old age do not recognize each other. Like the transformations of sparrow, pigeon, hawk and dove, there is no past and no present.
八籌籌者物也
The Eight Counting Rods: the rods are things.
關尹子曰：古之善揲蓍灼龜者。能於今中示古。古中示今。高中示下。下中示高。小中示大。大中示小。一中示多。多中示一。人中示物。物中示人。我中示彼。彼中示我。是道也。其來無今。其往無古。其高無蓋。其低無載。其大無外。其小無內。其外無物。其內無人。其近無我。其遠無彼。不可析。不可合。不可喻。不可思。惟其渾淪。所以為道。曰：水潛。故蘊為五精。火飛。故達為五臭。木茂。故華為五色。金堅。故實為五聲。土和。故滋為五味。其常五。其變不可計。其物五。其雜不可計。然則萬物在天地間。不可執謂之萬。不可執謂之五。不可執謂之一。不可執謂之非萬。不可執謂之非五。不可執謂之非一。或合之。或離之。以此必形。以此必數。以此必氣。徒自勞爾。物不知我。我不知物。
Guan Yinzi said: in ancient times those who were good at casting milfoil and burning tortoise shell could show the ancient within the present and the present within the ancient; show the low within the high and the high within the low; show the great within the small and the small within the great; show the many within the one and the one within the many; show things within people and people within things; show the other within the self and the self within the other. This Way, in coming has no present, in going has no past; as for its height, it has no cover, as for its depth, it has no support; as for its greatness, it has no outside, as for its smallness, it has no inside; outside it there is no thing, inside it there is no person; near it there is no self, far from it there is no other. It cannot be divided, cannot be joined, cannot be compared, cannot be thought. Only because it is undivided and whole is it the Way. It is also said: water is hidden, so it gathers and forms the five essences; fire flies upward, so it penetrates and forms the five smells; wood flourishes, so it blooms and forms the five colors; metal is hard, so it fills out and forms the five sounds; earth is mild and soft, so it nourishes and forms the five flavors. The constant is five, but the changes cannot be counted; things are five, but the mixtures cannot be counted. Then the ten thousand things between heaven and earth cannot be clung to and called ten thousand, cannot be clung to and called five, cannot be clung to and called one, and cannot be clung to and called not ten thousand, not five, not one. Whether one joins them or separates them, to use this to fix form, to fix number, to fix qi is only to tire oneself. Things do not know me, and I do not know things.
曰：即吾心中可作萬物。蓋心有所之。則愛從之。愛從之。則精從之。蓋心有所結。先凝為水。心慕物涎出。心悲物淚出。心愧物汗出。無暫而不久。無久而不變。水生木。木生火。火生土。土生金。金生水。相攻相剋。不可勝數。嬰兒奼女。金樓絳宮。青蛟白虎。寶鼎紅爐。皆此物。有非此物存者。
It is said: within my own mind I can make the ten thousand things. For when the mind goes toward something, love follows; when love follows, essence follows. Because the mind forms a knot, it first condenses into water: when the mind yearns for a thing it lets out saliva, when the mind grieves for a thing it lets out tears, when the mind is ashamed of a thing it lets out sweat. There is nothing brief that is not lasting, and nothing lasting that does not change. Water gives birth to wood, wood to fire, fire to earth, earth to metal, metal to water; they attack and overcome one another without end. The infant and the maiden, the golden tower and the crimson palace, the green dragon and the white tiger, the precious cauldron and the red furnace are all this thing; and there are also some that remain that are not this thing.
曰：鳥獸俄呦呦。俄旬旬。俄逃逃。草木俄茁茁。俄停停。俄蕭蕭。天地不能留。聖人不能系。有運者存焉爾。有之在彼。無之在此。鼓不桴則不鳴。偶之在彼。奇之在此。桴不手則不擊。
It is said: birds and beasts for a moment cry out, for a moment grow tame, for a moment scatter; grass and trees for a moment grow lush, for a moment stop, for a moment wither. Heaven and earth cannot hold it, the sage cannot bind it; there is only that which turns that remains. Being is over there and non-being is here: a drum without a stick does not sound; the even is over there and the odd is here: a stick without a hand does not strike.
曰：均一物也。眾人惑其名。見物不見道。賢人析其理。見道不見物。聖人合其天。不見道不見物。一道皆道。不執之即道。執之即物。
He said: It is one and the same thing, yet the multitude are deluded by its name and see the thing but not the Dao; the worthy analyze its principle and see the Dao but not the thing; the sage is in accord with Heaven and sees neither Dao nor thing. The Dao is wholly Dao; not clinging to it is the Dao, and clinging to it makes it a mere thing.
曰：知物之偽者。不必去物。譬如見土牛木馬。雖情存牛馬之名。而心忘牛馬之實。
He said: To know that things are false, you need not get rid of things. It is like seeing an earthen ox or a wooden horse: although in feeling you still keep the names of ox and horse, in your heart you have already forgotten the reality of ox and horse.
九藥藥者雜治也
Nine Medicines: a medicine is a mixed remedy.
關尹子曰：勿輕小事。小隙沉舟。勿輕小物。小蟲毒身。勿輕小人。小人賊國。能周小事。然後能成大事。能積小物。然後能成大物。能善小人。然後能契大人。天既無可必者人。人無能必者事。惟去事離人。則我在我。惟可即可。未有當繁簡可。當戒忍可。當勤惰可。曰：智之極者。知智果不足以周物。故愚。辨之極者。知辨果不足以喻物。故訥。勇之極者。知勇果不足以勝物。故怯。曰：天地萬物。無一物是吾之物。物非我。物不得不應。我非我。我不得不養。雖應物。未嘗有物。雖養我。未嘗有我。勿曰外物。然後外我。勿曰外形。然後外心。道一而已。不可序進。
Guan Yinzi said: Do not despise small matters, for a small crack can sink a ship; do not despise small things, for a small insect can poison the body; do not despise small people, for small people can ruin a state. One who can attend to small matters on all sides can then accomplish great ones; one who can accumulate small things can then make a great thing; one who can treat small people well can then be in accord with great people. Heaven has no one that it fixes on for certain, and people cannot fix on any matter for certain. Only by dropping affairs and leaving people do I come to be myself. Only what is fitting is fitting; there is no such thing as being fine either way whether to be elaborate or simple, to hold back or to bear, to be diligent or to be idle. He also said: when wisdom reaches its limit, you know that wisdom truly cannot cover all things, and so you hold to foolishness; when argument reaches its limit, you know that argument truly cannot make things clear, and so you hold to slowness of speech; when courage reaches its limit, you know that courage truly cannot overcome things, and so you hold to timidity. He also said: Of all the ten thousand things between heaven and earth, not one is my thing. Things are not me, yet things cannot but be answered; I am not me, yet I cannot but be nourished. Though I answer things, I have never had a thing; though I nourish myself, I have never had a self. Do not say that one is first outside things and only then outside oneself; do not say that one is first outside the body and only then outside the mind. The Dao is just one, and cannot be advanced in stages.
曰：諦毫末者。不見天地之大。審小音者。不聞雷霆之聲。見大者亦不見小。見邇者亦不見遠。聞大者亦不聞小。聞邇者亦不聞遠。聖人無所見。故能無不見。無所聞。故能無不聞。
He said: One who examines a hair's tip cannot see the vastness of heaven and earth; one who listens closely to a tiny sound cannot hear the roar of thunder. Seeing the large, one does not see the small; seeing the near, one does not see the far; hearing the large, one does not hear the small; hearing the near, one does not hear the far. The sage has nothing he sees, and so can see everything; has nothing he hears, and so can hear everything.
曰：目之所見。不知其幾何。或愛金。或愛玉。是執一色為目也。耳之所聞。不知其幾何。或愛鍾。或愛鼓。是執一聲為耳也。惟聖人不慕之。不拒之。不處之。
He said: There is no knowing how many things the eyes see; some love gold, some love jade, which is clinging to one color and taking it for the eye. There is no knowing how many things the ears hear; some love bells, some love drums, which is clinging to one sound and taking it for the ear. Only the sage neither covets nor rejects, nor dwells upon them.
曰：善今者可以行古。善末者可以立本。
He said: One who is good at the present can practice the ancient; one who is good at the branch can establish the root.
曰：狡勝賊。能捕賊。勇勝虎。能捕虎。能克己。乃能成己。能勝物。乃能利物。能忘道。乃能有道。
He said: Only one who is craftier than a thief can catch a thief; only one who is fiercer than a tiger can catch a tiger. Only one who can overcome himself can fulfil himself; only one who can surpass things can be of benefit to things; only one who can forget the Dao can possess the Dao.
曰：○堅。則物必毀之。剛斯折矣。刀利。則物必摧之。銳斯挫矣。威鳳以難見為神。是聖人以深為根。走麝以遺香不捕。是以聖人以約為紀。
He said: If (a character here is damaged in the received text) is hard, things will surely break it, for what is rigid snaps; if a blade is sharp, things will surely snap it, for what is keen is blunted. The mighty phoenix is taken for a spirit because it is hard to see, so the sage takes depth for his root; the running musk deer is not caught for the scent it leaves, so the sage takes simplicity for his guide.
曰：瓶存二竅。以水實之。倒瀉閉一。則水不下。蓋不升則不降。井雖千仞。汲之水上。蓋不降則不升。是以聖人不先物。
He said: A bottle with two holes, filled with water and turned upside down to pour: if you close one hole, the water will not come down, because what does not rise cannot descend. A well may be a thousand fathoms deep, yet when you draw from it the water comes up, because what does not descend cannot rise. Hence the sage does not rush ahead of things.
曰：人之有失。雖己受害於已失之後。久之。竊議於未失之前。惟其不恃己聰明而兼人之聰明。惟其無我而兼天下之我。終身行之。可以不失。
He said: When a person makes a mistake, even after he has already been harmed by the loss, long afterward he will still privately discuss the time before the loss. It is only because he does not rely on his own cleverness but also uses that of others, only because he has no self and so also has the selves of all under heaven, that by doing this his whole life long he can avoid loss.
曰：古今之俗不同。東西南北之俗又不同。至於一家一身之善又不同。吾豈執一豫格後世哉。
He said: The customs of ancient and modern times differ, the customs of east, west, south and north differ again, and as to what is good for a single family or a single person, they differ still more. How could I cling to a preset mold to regulate later ages?
惟隨時同俗。先機後事。捐忿塞欲。簡物恕人。權其輕重。而為之自然。合神不測。契道無方。
(Guan Yinzi continued:) Simply follow the times and share the customs, first look at the mechanism and then act, drop anger and rage and block cravings and desires, economize on things and forgive people, weigh the light and the heavy before acting; then you will naturally accord with the unfathomable nature of spirit and fit the Dao that has no fixed place.
曰：有道交者。有德交者。有事交者。道交者。父子也。出於是非賢愚之外。故久。德交者。則有是非賢愚矣。故或合或離。事交者。合則離。
He said: There are those who associate by the Dao, those by virtue, and those by affairs. Those who associate by the Dao are like father and son, beyond right and wrong and worthy and foolish, and so it lasts. Those who associate by virtue come to have right and wrong and worthy and foolish, and so they may join or part. Those who associate by affairs will part once they have joined.
曰：勿以拙陋。曰道之質當樂敏捷。勿以愚闇。曰道之晦當樂輕明。勿以傲易。曰道之高當樂和同。勿以汗漫。曰道之廣當樂要急。勿以幽憂。曰道之寂當樂悅豫。古人之言。學之多弊。不可不救。
He said: Do not call clumsiness the plainness of the Dao; you should delight in quickness. Do not call dullness the obscurity of the Dao; you should delight in lightness and clarity. Do not call arrogance and contempt the loftiness of the Dao; you should delight in harmony and sameness. Do not call vagueness the breadth of the Dao; you should delight in what is essential and pressing. Do not call gloom and worry the stillness of the Dao; you should delight in joy and ease. Much of what the ancients said does harm when it is studied, and one must not fail to remedy it.
曰：不可非世是己。不可卑人尊己。不可以輕忽道己。不可以訕謗德己。不可以鄙猥才己。
He said: One must not condemn the world in order to affirm oneself, must not look down on others in order to exalt oneself, must not take carelessness as one's Dao, must not take slander as one's virtue, and must not take vulgarity as one's talent.
曰：困天下之智者不在智而在愚。窮天下之辯者不在辯而在訥。伏天下之勇者不在勇而在怯。
He said: What traps the wisdom of the world is not wisdom but foolishness; what exhausts the debating of the world is not debate but slowness of speech; what subdues the courage of the world is not courage but timidity.
曰：天不能冬蓮春菊。是以聖人不違時。地不能洛橘汶貉。是以聖人不違俗。聖人不能使手步足握。是以聖人不違我所長。聖人不能使魚飛鳥馳。是以聖人不違人所長。夫如是者。可動可止。可晦可明。惟不可拘。所以為道。
He said: Heaven cannot make the lotus bloom in winter or the chrysanthemum bloom in spring, so the sage does not go against the seasons. Earth cannot make the tangerine grow in Luo or the badger live by the Wen, so the sage does not go against local customs. The sage cannot make the hands walk or the feet grasp, so the sage does not go against his own strengths. The sage cannot make fish fly or birds run, so the sage does not go against the strengths of others. In this way one can move or stop, be obscure or bright. Only because one cannot be tied down is it the Dao.
曰：少言者。不為人所忌。少行者。不為人短。少智者。不為人所勞。少能者。不為人所役。曰：操之以誠。行之以簡。待之以恕。應之以默。吾道不窮。
He said: One who speaks little is not resented by others; one who does little is not exposed in his faults by others; one who uses little cleverness is not worn out by others; one who shows off little is not put to use by others. He also said: Hold to it with sincerity, carry it out with simplicity, treat others with forbearance, respond with silence, and my Dao will not run dry.
曰：謀之於事。斷之於理。作之於人。成之於天。事師於今。理師於古。事同於人。道獨於己。
He said: Planning lies in the matter, decision lies in the principle, action lies in people, and accomplishment lies in Heaven. In matters, take the present as the model; in principle, take the ancient as the model. Matters are the same as people, but the Dao is alone with oneself.
曰：金玉難捐。土石易舍。學道之士。遇微言妙行。慎勿執之。是可為而不可執。若執之者。則腹心之疾。無藥可療。
He said: Gold and jade are hard to give up, while earth and stone are easily given up. A student of the Dao who meets subtle words and marvelous conduct must on no account cling to them. These may be done but must not be clung to; if you cling, it becomes an illness of the heart and belly, for which there is no medicine.
曰：人不明於急務。而從事於多務他務奇務者。困災厄及之。殊不知道無不在。不可舍此就彼。
He said: When people do not understand the pressing task but go and engage in many tasks, other tasks and strange tasks, trouble and disaster will arrive. They do not know that the Dao is everywhere, and one cannot give up this to take up that.
曰：天下之理。舍親就疏。捨本就末。舍賢就愚。舍近就遠。可暫而已。久則害生。
He said: The principle of the world: to give up the near for the distant, the root for the branch, the worthy for the foolish, the close for the far, may be done only for a time; done for long, it brings harm.
曰：昔之論道者。或曰凝寂。或曰邃深。或曰澄澈。或曰空洞。或曰晦冥。慎勿遇此而生怖退。天下至理。竟非言意。苟知非言非意在彼微言妙意之上。乃契吾說。
He said: Those who discussed the Dao in the past spoke of congealed stillness, or of profound depth, or of clarity, or of hollow openness, or of dim darkness. On no account should you meet these and be seized with fear and retreat. The ultimate principle of the world is, after all, neither words nor ideas. If you know that what is neither word nor idea lies above those subtle words and wonderful ideas, only then do you accord with my saying.
曰：聖人大言金玉。小言桔梗芣衛。用之當。桔梗芣衛生之。不當。金玉斃之。
He said: The sage's great words are like gold and jade, and his small words are like balloon flower root and plantain (the received text has a variant form for the plantain). Used properly, balloon flower root and plantain can save a life; used improperly, even gold and jade can kill a person.
曰：言某事者。甲言利。乙言害。丙言或利或害。丁言俱利俱害。必居一於此矣。喻道者不言。
He said: Of one who speaks about some matter, A says it is beneficial, B says it is harmful, C says it is either beneficial or harmful, and D says it is both beneficial and harmful; it must be one of these. One who understands the Dao does not speak.
曰：事有在。事言有理。道無在。道言無理。知言無理。則言言皆道。不知言無理。雖執至言。為梗為翳。
He said: Affairs have a location, and the words about affairs have reason; the Dao has no location, and the words about the Dao have no reason. Once you know that words have no reason, then every word is the Dao; if you do not know that words have no reason, then even if you cling to the most ultimate words, they become blockages and veils.
曰：不信愚人易。不信賢人難。不信賢人易。不信聖人難。不信一聖人易。不信千聖人難。夫不信千聖人者。外不見人。內不見我。上不見道。下不見事。
He said: Not believing a fool is easy, not believing a worthy is hard; not believing a worthy is easy, not believing a sage is hard; not believing one sage is easy, not believing a thousand sages is hard. One who does not believe a thousand sages cannot see others outside, cannot see himself within, cannot see the Dao above, and cannot see affairs below.
曰：聖人言濛濛。所以使人聾。聖人言冥冥。所以使人盲。聖人言沉沉。所以使人喑。惟聾則不聞聲。惟盲則不見色。惟喑則不音言。不聞聲者不聞道。不聞事。不聞我。不見色者不見道。不見事。不見我。不音言者不言道。不言事。不言我。
He said: The words of the sage are murky, and so make people deaf; the words of the sage are dim, and so make people blind; the words of the sage are heavy, and so make people mute. Only the deaf do not hear sound, only the blind do not see color, and only the mute do not utter speech. One who does not hear sound does not hear the Dao, does not hear affairs, does not hear himself; one who does not see color does not see the Dao, does not see affairs, does not see himself; one who does not utter speech does not speak of the Dao, does not speak of affairs, does not speak of himself.
曰：人徒知偽得之中有真失。殊不知真得之中有真失。徒知偽是之中有真非。殊不知真是之中有真非。
He said: People only know that within a false gain there is a true loss, and do not know that within a true gain there is also a true loss; they only know that within a false right there is a true wrong, and do not know that within a true right there is also a true wrong.
曰：言道者如言夢。夫言夢者曰如此金玉。如此器皿。如此禽獸。言者能言之。不能取而與之。聽者能聞之。不能受而得之。惟善聽者。不泥不辨。
He said: Speaking of the Dao is like speaking of a dream. The one who tells a dream says: such gold and jade, such vessels, such birds and beasts. The speaker can tell of them but cannot bring them out and give them to others; the listener can hear them but cannot take them and possess them. Only one who is good at listening neither clings nor argues.
曰：圓爾道。方爾德。平爾行。銳爾事。
He said: Make your Dao round, make your virtue square, make your conduct level, and make your work keen.