64 其安易持 其未兆易謀

老子道德經第六十四章

其安易持 其未兆易謀
其脆易泮 其微易散
為之於未有 治之於未亂
合抱之木 生於毫末
九層之台 起於累土
千里之行 始於足下
為者敗之 執者失之
是以聖人無為故無敗 無執故無失
民之從事 常於幾成而敗之
慎終如始 則無敗事
是以聖人欲不欲 不貴難得之貨
學不學 復眾人之所過
以輔萬物之自然 而不敢為

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SIXTY-FOUR (Feng)

Peace is easily maintained;
Trouble is easily overcome before it starts.
The brittle is easily shattered;
The small is easily scattered.

Deal with it before it happens.
Set things in order before there is confusion.

A tree as great as a man's embrace springs from a small shoot;
A terrace nine stories high begins with a pile of earth;
A journey of a thousand miles starts under one's feet.

He who acts defeats his own purpose;
He who grasps loses.
The sage does not act, and so is not defeated.
He does not grasp and therefore does not lose.

People usually fail when they are on the verge of success.
So give as much care to the end as to the beginning;
Then there will be no failure.

Therefore the sage seeks freedom from desire.
He does not collect precious things.
HE learns not to hold on to ideas.
He brings men back to what they have lost.
He helps the ten thousand things find their own nature.
But refrains from action.

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(not mine, but i like this translation/version)

“What stays still is easy to hold;
Before there has been an omen it is easy to lay plans.
What is tender is easily torn,
What is minute is easy to scatter.”

Deal with things in their state of not-yet-being,
Put them in order before they have got into confusion.
For “the tree big as a man's embrace began as a tiny sprout,
The tower nine storeys high began with a heap of earth,
The journey of a thousand leagues began with what was under the feet”.

He who acts, harms; he who grabs, lets slip.
Therefore the Sage does not act, and so does not harm;
Does not grab, and so does not let slip.
Whereas the people of the world, at their tasks,
Constantly spoil things when within an ace of completing them.
“Heed the end no less than the beginning,”
And your work will not be spoiled.

Therefore the Sage wants only things that are unwanted,
Sets no store by products difficult to get,
And so teaches things untaught,
Turning all men back to the things they have left behind,
That the ten thousand creatures may be restored to their Self-so.
This he does; but dare not act.

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64. (ST)

It's easy to maintain balance.
Trouble can be nipped in the bud.
Fragile things break easily,
and small things are easy to lose.

Deal with the situation
before it becomes a problem.
Keep everything straight
so it can't get messed up.

Every tree was once a seed.
Every skyscraper started out
with a shovelful of dirt.
And--stop me if you've heard this one before--
a journey of a thousand miles
begins with a single step.

When you try too hard,
you defeat your own purpose.
Cling to stuff,
and you will suffer loss.
The Masters make no effort,
so they never fail.
They aren't attached to things,
so they never feel loss.

People often screw up
when the job's nearly done.
Pay as much attention
to the finishing touches
as you do to the initial steps,
and you won't screw up like that.

The Masters try to be free from desire.
They don't collect precious things.
They don't cling to any beliefs.
They pay attention
to what everybody else ignores.
They help the world get right with Tao,
but don't try to change a thing.