《道德經第三章》

Gary Walton, Low Tide

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¹知者不敢為也。

為無為，則無不治。

1. 夫 : Originally read: "天". 據 河上公本、《馬王堆老子乙》改。

Dao De jing Chapter Three ― Alan B. Taplow 3 ― 無為 WU-WEI

    When neither the meritorious, worthy, gifted nor wise are exalted or rewarded,

    Fighting, quarrelling and contention become unnecessary.

    When treasure, rare objects and belongings are not accumulated, valued and prized,

    The rewards of thievery cease to have meaning.

    When desirable things are not seen nor displayed,

    The hearts of people are not troubled, excited or confused.

    The Sage governs himself and leads others by:

    - Encouraging the heart to be open and free from desire.

    - Providing sustenance for the stomach.

    - Calming the will to strive for the sake of striving.

    - Strengthening the body.

    Thus, keeping all, innocent and free of knowledge and desire,

    The Sage discourages the cunning from harmful action.

    Wu-Wei ― 

    Action unforced ― 

    Permitting all to just happen,

    by itself,

    without effort.

© Copyright 1997 Alan B. Taplow