Whether foolish or wise, all humans make choices of acceptance or rejection. When tranquil and peaceful, everyone understands the origin of fortune and misfortune. Only when swayed by likes‑dislikes and tempted by indulgent things do people become confused. This happens because external things draw them and amusements disturb their minds.
Tranquility brings righteous choices; peace brings clear judgment of fortune and harm. Yet today amusements alter one’s mind and external things lure one away, hence the saying “being uprooted.”
Sages are different. Once they fix their principles of choice, even beloved things cannot tempt them – unshakable. Keeping their inner nature single‑minded, their spirits remain unmoved by tempting desires – unswerving. Descendants who embody this Dao preserve ancestral temples and unbroken sacrifices.
For individuals, virtue lies in accumulating vital essence; for families, in accumulating wealth; for villages, states and the world, in nurturing the people.
When external things cannot disturb one’s spirit in self‑cultivation, hence: “Cultivated in oneself, virtue becomes genuine.” Genuine means steadfast caution.
When useless things do not disrupt household planning, wealth abounds, hence: “Cultivated in the family, virtue becomes abundant.”
Practiced in a village, more families prosper, hence: “Cultivated in the village, virtue expands.”
Practiced in a state, more villages thrive, hence: “Cultivated in the state, virtue flourishes.”
Practiced in governing the world, all people receive its grace, hence: “Cultivated in the world, virtue becomes universal.”
Self‑cultivation distinguishes gentlemen from common men. Applying these standards to judge rise and decline of villages, states and the world yields unerring insight. Hence the saying: “Judge others by oneself, other families by one’s own, other villages by one’s own, other states by one’s own, the whole world by itself. How do I know the world’s condition? By this principle.”
Note
This passage constructs a complete governance model: inner spiritual steadiness is the root of self‑cultivation; virtue expands outward from individual to world; analogical reasoning enables accurate judgment of all social‑political conditions.
Late Warring‑States Legalist philosopher. This passage is from Explaining Laozi (Jie Lao), his systematic commentary on the Dao De Jing. He transforms Daoist inner self‑cultivation into a hierarchical Legalist governance system from individual to world.
Unshakable & Unswerving
Core spiritual principle: inner tranquility resists external temptation, the foundation of all governance.
Hierarchical Virtue Expansion
Virtue expands outward step‑by‑step: self → family → village → state → world, a classic Chinese political philosophy pattern.
Analogical Observation
Judge others by oneself, other communities by one’s own, using analogy to assess social and political conditions, a rational Legalist observational method.
人無愚智，莫不有趨舍。恬淡平安，莫不知禍福之所由來。得於好惡，怵於淫物，而後變亂。所以然者，引於外物，亂於玩好也。恬淡有趨舍之義，平安知禍福之計。而今也玩好變之，外物引之，引之而往，故曰：「拔。」至聖人不然，一建其趨舍，雖見所好之物不能引，不能引之謂不拔。一於其情，雖有可欲之類，神不為動，神不為動之謂不脫。為人子孫者體此道，以守宗廟不滅之謂祭祀不絕。身以積精為德，家以資財為德，鄉國天下皆以民為德。今治身而外物不能亂其精神，故曰：「脩之身，其德乃真。」真者，慎之固也。治家，無用之物不能動其計則資有餘，故曰：「脩之家，其德有餘。」治鄉者行此節，則家之有餘者益眾，故曰：「脩之鄉，其德乃長。」治邦者行此節，則鄉之有德者益眾，故曰：「脩之邦，其德乃豐。」蒞天下者行此節，則民之生莫不受其澤，故曰：「脩之天下，其德乃普。」脩身者以此別君子小人，治鄉治邦蒞天下者各以此科適觀息耗則萬不失一，故曰：「以身觀身，以家觀家，以鄉觀鄉，以邦觀邦，以天下觀天下，吾奚以知天下之然也？以此。」
Leave a Reply