77 天之道 其猶張弓歟

老子道德經第七十七章

天之道　其猶張弓歟
高者抑之　下者舉之
有餘者損之　不足者補之
天之道　損有餘而補不足
人之道　則不然
損不足以奉有餘
孰能有餘以奉天下
唯有道者
是以聖人為而不恃
功成而不處
其不欲見賢

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SEVENTY-SEVEN

The Tao of heaven is like the bending of a bow.
The high is lowered, and the low is raised.
If the string is too long, it is shortened;
If there is not enough, it is made longer.

The Tao of heaven is to take from those who have too much
and give to those who do not have enough.
Man's way is different.
He takes from those who do not have enough
to give to those who already have too much.
What man has more than enough and gives it to the world?
Only the man of Tao.

Therefore the sage works without recognition.
He achieves what has to be done without dwelling on it.
He does not try to show his knowledge.

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77

The way of nature is as simple as the operation of a bow:
When the aim is too high, lower it; when low, raise it.
When the string is too tight, loosen it; when loose, tighten it.

The way of nature is to smooth and even things out, i.e. negative feedback;
The way of man is to elaborate and exaggerate, i.e. positive feedback.
However, no one can create things from nothing continually.

Therefore the wise man follows the way of nature.
He acts and succeeds, but dwells not on his acts and success.

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77. (st)

Lao Tzu said using Tao
was like pulling on a bowstring:
The top bends down,
the bottom bends up,
and all the energy
is focused in the middle.

Tao takes energy from where it is,
and sends it where it needs to be.
But most people take from those
who don't have enough,
so those who have too much already
can have more.

So who in this world
is truly generous to others?
People who are in touch with Tao.
They do their work
without taking credit.
They get the job done and move on.
They aren't interested in showing off.