August 21, 2004

08 上善若水

老子道德經第八章

上善若水
水善利萬物而不爭
處眾人之所惡 故幾於道
居善地 心善淵 與善仁
言善信 政善治
事善能 動善時
夫唯不爭 故無尤

======
EIGHT

The highest good is like water.
Water gives life to the then thousand things and does not strive.
It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.

In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just.
In business, be competent.
In action, watch the timing.

No fight: No blame.

======
8.

Sometimes I think about water.
Silently, it is the source for all lives,
Humbly, it flows to the lowland.
It reminds me of Tao.

So I must learn from water:
Live close to the land.
Search inwardly, deeply.
Be gentle with others.
Be trustworthy in speech.
Judge with common sense.
Work with competence.
Act effectively and efficiently.

Stay low,
And no harm shall come.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

By: WOA
09/25/06
11:26

This is superb work...... really enjoy reading the translation far more than the original “antique” phrases.

Should there be a single word to best portray Christianity, I'd personally vote for FIRE -- to go hand in hand with devotion, aggression and passion etc, whereas WATER fits right into the heart of oriental culture and beliefs like Buddism and Taoism. Here is a quote from Dec 2005 edition, National Geographic, that I often make reference to when offering 101 class to curious Americans on what Buddism is all about:

“Like water, Buddism is still, clear, transparent, and takes the shape and color of the vase into which it's poured.”

September 29, 2006 1:21 AM  

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