道德經第六十三章

The Laugh, Mark Bryan

為無為，事無事，味無味。

大小多少，報怨以德。

圖難於其易，為大於其細；

天下難事，必作於易，

天下大事，必作於細。

是以聖人終不為大，故能成其大。

夫輕諾必寡信，多易必多難。

是以聖人猶難之，故終無難矣。

Dào De Jing Chapter 63 ― A. Charles Muller, 63. Do without "doing" ...

Do without "doing."

Get involved without manipulating.

Taste without tasting.

Make the great small,

The many, few.

Respond to anger with virtue.

Deal with difficulties while they are still easy.

Handle the great while it is still small.

The difficult problems in life

Always start off being simple.

Great affairs always start off being small.

Therefore the sage never deals with the great

And is able to actualize his greatness.

Now light words generate little belief,

Much ease turns into much difficulty.

Therefore the sage treats things as though they were

difficult,

And hence, never has difficulty.

Dào De Jing Chapter 63 ― Arthur Waley

It acts without action, does without doing,

Finds flavour in what is flavourless,

Can make the small great and the few many,

“Requites injuries with good deeds,

Deals with the hard while it is still easy,

With the great while, it is still small.”

In the governance of an empire everything difficult

Must be dealt with while it is still easy,

Everything great must be dealt with while it is still small.

Therefore the Sage never has to deal with the great;

And so achieves greatness.

But again “Light assent inspires little confidence

And 'many easies' means many a hard.”

Therefore the Sage knows too how to make the easy difficult,

And by doing so avoid all difficulties!

Dào De Jing Chapter 63 ― James Legge (Thinking in the beginning)

(It is the way of the Dao) to act without (thinking of) acting; to conduct affairs without (feeling the) trouble of them; to taste without discerning any flavour; to consider what is small as great, and a few as many; and to recompense injury with kindness.

(The master of it) anticipates things that are difficult while they are easy, and does things that would become great while they are small. All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a previous state in which they were easy, and all great things from one in which they were small. Therefore the sage, while he never does what is great, is able on that account to accomplish the greatest things.

He who lightly promises is sure to keep but little faith; he who is continually thinking things easy is sure to find them difficult. Therefore the sage sees difficulty even in what seems easy, and so never has any difficulties.