Chapter 47 It is not necessary to leave home

 

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
xia

不出戶,知天下

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
dao
不窺牖,見天道

It is not necessary to look out of the window. You will understand what dao is.

qi chu mi yuan, qi zhi mi shao
其出彌遠,其知彌少

Ignoring dao, the farther you travel, the less you know about the world.

shi yi sheng ren bu
xing er zhi
是以聖人不行而知

Therefore the shengren does not need to leave home to investigate and he will know.

bu xian er ming
不見而名

He does not need to appear as a leader and he will earn his honor.

bu wei er cheng
不為而成

He does not need to be directly involved in the work of the people and the work will be accomplished.