Chapter 47 |
不出戶,知天下;不窺牖,見天道。其出彌遠,其知彌少。是以聖人不行而知,不見而名,不為而成。 |
bu chu hu, zhi tian |
It is not necessary to leave home to investigate personally yourself. You will know what is happening around the world. |
bu kui you, jian tian |
It is not necessary to look out of the window. You will understand what dao is. |
qi chu mi yuan, qi zhi mi shao
|
Ignoring dao, the farther you travel, the less you know about the world. |
shi yi sheng ren bu |
Therefore the shengren does not need to leave home to investigate and he will know. |
bu xian er ming |
He does not need to appear as a leader and he will earn his honor. |
bu wei er cheng |
He does not need to be directly involved in the work of the people and the work will be accomplished. |