老子 為每個人
學生，學者
和尋求者
彼得·吉爾博伊（Peter Gilboy）博士
Tao
the Way
5號線天門啟闔能為雌乎
第6行明白四達能毋以以乎乎
7號線生之畜之生而弗有
8號線長而弗宰也是胃玄德
第10課
老子
問我們
6個問題
Lao Tzu’s lessons are not cumulative. Each lesson may be considered to containing the whole of his teaching, though presented it in a number of different ways.
We won't find he character 道, or Way, in this lesson. Instead Lao Tzu uses the character 一, or "One," as a stand-in for the Way. The Way is “One.”
But if the way is One, what's with all the multiplicity we see around us? And, doesn't Lao Tzu characterize our world as made up of the 10,000 things? Can there be One and at the same time many individual things? Wouldn't that be a contradiction?
Put differently, which is real? The One? Or the many things around us?
The answer to these questions is at the very core of Lao Tzu's teaching: The Way comes forth as the manifested world that we witness around us, but without becoming estranged from the many things. In other words, the Way is at once One and many. This is the 玄 之 有 玄 "mystery upon mystery" of which Lao Tzu speaks at the end of Lesson 1.
Don't try to figure this out. It's not a puzzle to be worked on. Nor is it some sort of brain teaser that only smart people can get. Instead, Lao Tzu invites us to consider that, if the Way--the One, comes forth as the many things in our world, then have I been confused as to my identity? Am I the food-body that goes with me wherever I go? Or might I be something else?
Click on each line number
for Chinese-English interlinear
& commentary
From the beginning
these have
been One.
Heaven has
been One,
and as a result,
clear.
Earth has
been One,
and as a result,
stable.
Spirits have
been One,
and as a result,
efficacious.
Valleys have
been One,
and as a results,
replenished.
The standard editions include an
additional line here:
[ The 10,000 things
have been one,
and as a result
fruitful. ]
Nobles and kings
have been one,
and as a result,
upright and true.
Base on this
we can conclude:
That if heaven
were not
wholly clear,
it would be in danger of
falling to pieces.
That if earth
were not
wholly stable,
it would be in danger of
being dislodged
That if the spirits
were not
wholly efficacious,
they would be in danger of
dying out.
That if the valleys
were not
wholly replenished,
they would be in danger of
running dry.
The standard editions include an
additional line here:
[That if the 10,000 things
where not wholly fruitful
they would be in danger of
perishing. ]
And, if the nobles and kings
were not perfectly virtuous
in their high offices,
they would be in danger of
collapse.
Therefore, it must be the
case that what is worthy
has humility as its root,
just as what is high
has the low
for its foundation.
Now, this is why
nobles and kings
refer to themselves
as "orphans, lonely,
and unfortunate."
This being so,
humility is the root,
is it not?
Therefore, regard
your benevolence
as not yours at all.
Wherefore,
desire not
rewards such as jade,
for it is no more
than rough stone.
. . . . . .
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