ch3

第三章

不尚賢，使民不爭；
不貴難得之貨，使民不為盜；
不見可欲，使心不亂。

是以聖人之治，虛其心，實其腹，弱其志，強其骨。
常使民無知無欲，使夫智者不敢為也。
為無為，則無不治。

釋義與解說：

不崇尚賢能，就使百姓不爭奪名位。
若過於推崇賢能，則人人爭做賢能之人，爭奪之心起，社會便亂。

不珍視世上難得之貨，則百姓不會為此鋌而走險去做盜賊。
倘若珍視奇貨，則貪心起而盜賊生。

不展示可欲之物，則人心不被誘惑擾亂。
若可欲之物充斥眼前，人心必亂，邪思叢生。

所以，聖人治理國家，務使百姓心境空虛、寧靜，不起妄想，而腹中糧食充足；
志氣柔弱，不致於傲慢爭強，筋骨卻強健有力。

常使百姓無邪知、無妄欲，則所謂自以為聰明之人也不敢妄為。
以無為之治天下，天下便沒有不能治理的。

Chapter 3

Do not exalt the worthy, and the people will not contend for position.
If one overly exalts the worthy, then all will strive to become such, and contention will arise, bringing disorder.

Do not prize goods that are rare in the world, and the people will not risk themselves to become thieves.
If rare treasures are prized, greed will awaken and thieves will appear.

Do not display objects of desire, and people’s hearts will not be enticed into turmoil.
If desirable things fill the eyes, hearts will be disturbed and evil thoughts will grow.

Therefore, in governing the state, the sage strives to empty the hearts of the people, keeping them tranquil and free of idle schemes, yet to fill their bellies with food.
Their ambitions are kept gentle, so they are not arrogant or competitive, yet their bones are made strong.

By constantly causing the people to be without cunning knowledge and without vain desires, even those who deem themselves clever will not dare to act rashly.
When one governs through non-action, there is nothing that will not be well governed.