Translation

老君曰：大道無形，生育天地。
Laojun said: The Great Dao or Way is formless, yet it generates heaven and earth.

大道無情，運行日月。
The Great Dao has no feelings, yet it regulates the operation of the sun and the moon.

大道無名，長養萬物。
The Great Dao is nameless, yet it raises and nourishes all things.

吾不知其名，強名曰：「 道。」
I do not know its name, so I grudgingly name it as the Dao.

夫道者，有清有濁，有動有靜。
The Dao harbors within itself the attributes of purity, turbidity, movement and tranquility.

天清地濁，天動地靜，男清女濁，男 女靜。
Heaven is pure and the earth is turbid. Heaven is moving and the earth is tranquil. The male is pure and the female is turbid. The male is moving and the female is tranquil.

降本流末，而生萬物。
The Dao descends and transforms itself from the origin toward the end in order to generate the myriad things.

清者濁之源。動者靜之基。(此句應改 「靜者動之基」。)
Purity is the original source of turbidity. Movement is the substratum of tranquility. (This should be read as “Tranquility is the substratum of movement.”)

人能常清靜，天地悉皆歸。
If people can be tranquil constantly, they can achieve union with heaven and earth and then return to the Dao.

夫人神好清而心擾之，人心好靜而慾 之。
The human spirit likes purity, but it is disturbed by the uncontrolled heart-mind.
The human mind loves tranquility, but it is led astray by desires.

常能遣其慾而心自靜，澄其心而神自 。
Constant elimination of desires will lead to the tranquility of mind, and the constant cleaning of the heart-mind will lead to the purity of spirit.

自然六欲不生，三毒消滅。
As a result, the six desires will not arise naturally, and the three poisons (the three unwholesome mental states of greed, hatred, and delusion) will also be destroyed.

所以不能者，惟心未澄，欲未遣也。
Whoever fails to do this is because he is unable to clean his mind and eliminate his desires.

能遣之者，內觀於心 (李道純注本作「內觀其心」)，心無其 心。
Those who have successfully eliminated their desires can proceed to observe their minds through introspection and realize that there is actually no mind.

外觀於形 (李道純注本作「外觀其形」)，形無其 形。
Then they observe their bodies from without and realize that there is actually no body.

遠觀於物 (李道純注本作「遠觀其物」)，物無其 物。
Then they observe the external phenomena by glancing out afar and realize that all external things do not exist.

三者既悟，惟見於空。
Once they have understood these three truths, they can observe emptiness.

觀空以空 (李道純注本作「觀空亦空」)，空無所 空。
They observe emptiness from the standpoint of emptiness and realize that emptiness is also empty, and then they realize that there is no emptiness that can be emptied anymore.

所空既無，無無亦無。
When emptiness becomes nothing, the nothingness of nothingness should also be reduced to nothing..

無無既無，湛然常寂。
Without the attachment to the existence of the nothingness of nothingness, they can achieve a profound state of constant tranquility.

寂無所寂，欲豈能生？
Once the state of tranquility reaches its limit, how can desires arise?

欲既不生，即是真靜。
Without the rising of desires, you can achieve true tranquility.

真靜應物 (李道純注本作「真常應物」)，真常得 性。
With true tranquility you can go along with all things. With true permanence you can realize your inner Daoist nature.

常應常靜，常清靜矣。
You can go along with all things constantly, and you can be tranquil forever. In this way, purity and tranquility will be permanent.

如此清靜，漸入真道。
Within such a pure and tranquil state, you will gradually enter the true Dao.

既入真道，名為得道。
Since you have entered into the true Dao, you can be regarded as having acquired the Dao.

雖名得道，實無所得。
Although we name this stage as the attainment of the Dao, we actually acquire nothing.

為化眾生，名為得道。
In order to teach and transform the sentimental beings easily, we name this stage as the attainment of the Dao.

能悟之者，可傳聖道。
Those who can realize this teaching are worthy to transmit the holy path.

老君曰：上士無爭，下士好爭。
Laojun said: The highest gentleman does not compete with others, yet the lesser gentleman loves to compete with others.

上德不德，下德執德。
Those who possess the highest virtue do not flaunt their virtue, whereas those who possess the lesser virtue cling to their virtue.

執著之者，不明道德。
Those who cling and attach to virtue do not understand the true meaning and nature of virtue.

眾生所以不得真道者，惟有妄心。
Living beings fail to acquire the true Dao because they are affected by their deviant and uncontrolled minds.

既有妄心，即驚其神。
Since they possess the deviant and uncontrolled minds, their spirit is startled.

既驚其神，即著萬物。
Since their spirit is startled, they start to cling to the myriad things.

既著萬物， 即生貪求。
Since they cling to the myriad things, they desire to own them.

既生貪求，即是煩惱。
Since covetousness generates within them, they are troubled by vexation.

煩惱妄想，憂苦身心，便遭濁辱，流 生死。
Vexation and deviant thought will trouble and pester our bodies and minds. They will cause us to fall into turbidity and shame, and then we will be trapped in the cycle of birth and death.

常沉苦海，永失真道。
Drowning in the sea of suffering eternally, we will lose the true Dao forever.

真常之道，悟者自得。
The true and permanent Dao can only be acquired by those who have reached enlightenment.

得悟道者，常清靜矣。
Those who have acquired the Dao and attained enlightenment will rest forever in a state of purity and tranquility.

Bibliography

Chinese sources:

《道藏》上海書店 天津古籍出版社 文物出版社 1988年。

陳鼓應《老子注譯及評介》中華書局 1996年。

陳鼓應《莊子今注今譯》中華書局 1983年。

張松輝注譯《坐忘論新譯》三民書局 2005年。

王卡注譯 《新譯道門觀心經》 台北：三民書局，1998年。

任繼愈主編《中國道教史》上卷 北京：中國社會科學出版社，2001年。

吳光主編 《中華道學與道教》上海古籍出版社 2004 年

呂志鵬《道教哲學》台北：文津出版 ，2000年。

李大華，李剛，何建明《隋唐道家， 教》上，下册 廣東人民出版社，2003年。

李剛《重玄之道開啟眾妙之門、道教 學論稿》成都：巴蜀書社，2005年。

李裴《隋唐五代道教美學思想研究》 都：巴蜀書社，2005年。

盧國龍《道教哲學》北京：華夏出版 ，2007年。

English Sources:

Ching, Julia. Mysticism and Kingship in China Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997.

Kohn, Livia. Early Chinese Mysticism Princeton: Princeton UP, 1992.



---. The Taoist Experience: An Anthology. Albany: State U of New York P, 1993.

Kohn, Livia, ed. Daoism Handbook Leiden: Brill, 2000.

Underhill, Evelyn. Mysticism: A Study in the Nature and Development of Spiritual

Consciousness New York: Dover, 2002.