ch1

第一章

道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。
無名，天地之始；有名，萬物之母。
故常無欲以觀其妙，常有欲以觀其徼。
此兩者同出而異名，同謂之玄，玄之又玄，眾妙之門。

字解：

道：是道理。
可道：是可能言說出來的。
常：是常住不壞。
名：是名象。
妙：是神妙。
徼：是徼要（邊際、徵兆）。
玄：是深遠。

釋義：

道如果能言說出來，就不是常住不壞的道；
凡是能標記出來的名，就不是常住不壞的名。

「無名」是天地所從生的起頭；
「有名」是萬物所從生的母親。

所以合道為一體，常常真空，無意念以觀那道的妙；
常常妙有，有意念以觀那道的徼。

這真空與妙有兩樣，皆出於不可言說的道，卻有兩個不同的名稱，皆可謂之深遠，又極深遠。
這就是一切神妙所從出的門戶。

人處世為人，第一要知道微妙；
修身不知微妙，就戕賊性命；
行政不知微妙，就壞亂國家。

科學家製造飛艇、輪船，能在天空、海底飛行航行，無非是知道物質的微妙；
帝舜「無為而治」，孔子相魯三月而國治，無非是知道為政的微妙。

事事物物，各有微妙；若從枝葉上求，就勞而無功；
要從根本入手，知其微妙，一切微妙不求知而自知。

現在全球糜爛不堪，爭權奪利，殘無人道；
救天下的微妙何在？
老子救戰殺的秘訣，就是虛無的道與好生的德。

不然，私欲塞滿胸腔，殘忍成了習性，怎麼能不戰？
戰爭殺戮，死傷的生命也不算少了，損失的財產也不算少了。

若大家實行老子的道德，挽回運勢，
使萬國共享和親、康寧的幸福，豈不美哉？

Chapter 1

The Dao that can be spoken of is not the constant Dao.
The name that can be named is not the constant name.
The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth;
the named is the mother of the ten thousand things.

Thus, always without desire, one can observe its subtlety;
always with desire, one can observe its manifestations.

These two emerge from the same source but have different names.
Both may be called “mysterious,”
and the mystery of mysteries is the gateway to all wonders.

Explanation of terms:

Dao (道): principle or the Way.
Ke dao (可道): able to be spoken.
Chang (常): constant, unchanging.
Ming (名): name, designation.
Miao (妙): wondrous, subtle.
Jiao (徼): limit, boundary, or sign.
Xuan (玄): deep, profound.

Interpretation:

If the Dao can be spoken of, it is not the unchanging Dao.
If a name can be designated, it is not the unchanging name.

“The nameless” refers to the origin from which Heaven and Earth arise.
“The named” refers to the mother from which all things arise.

Thus, uniting with the Dao as one body,
one is constantly in true emptiness, without thought, to observe the Dao’s subtlety;
constantly in wondrous being, with intention, to observe the Dao’s manifestations.

These two states — true emptiness and wondrous being —
both arise from the ineffable Dao, though they have different names.
Both may be called profound, indeed profoundly profound,
the gateway through which all marvels emerge.

In human conduct, the first priority is to understand subtlety.
If one cultivates oneself without knowing subtlety, one harms one’s own life;
if one governs without knowing subtlety, one brings disorder to the state.

Scientists who build airships and ships, who can travel in the sky and under the sea,
are simply those who understand the subtlety of material things.
The Emperor Shun “ruled without action,”
and when Confucius assisted the state of Lu for three months, it was well-governed —
both were cases of knowing the subtlety of governance.

Everything has its subtlety.
If you seek it from the branches and leaves, you labor without result;
seek it from the root, know its subtlety, and all subtleties will be known without seeking.

What is the subtlety of the Dao?
The world today is rotten, fighting for power and profit, devoid of humanity.
Where is the subtlety that can save the world?
It is Laozi’s secret of stopping war and killing —
the emptiness of the Dao and the life-preserving virtue.

Otherwise, selfish desires fill the chest, cruelty becomes habit — how can there not be war?
The lives lost are countless; the property destroyed is beyond reckoning.

If everyone practiced Laozi’s Dao and virtue,
turning back the tide of destruction,
all nations could share in harmony, peace, and happiness.