戴營抱一 能毋離乎 摶氣至柔 能嬰兒乎
[dai4] [ying2] [bao4] [yi1] [neng2] [wu2] [li2] [hu1] [tuan2] [qi4] [zhi4] [rou2] [neng2] [ying1] [er2] [hu1]
Carrying and commanding [the self] while embracing the one[ness], is it possible to not separate [them]? Focusing qi to become soft [relaxed], can one become [as soft/relaxed as] an infant?
載營魄抱一，能無離乎？專氣致柔，能嬰兒乎？
[dai4] [ying2] [po4] [bao4] [yi1]，[neng2] [wu2] [li2] [hu1]？[tuan2] [qi4] [zhi4] [rou2]，[neng2] [ying1] [er2] [hu1]？
Carrying and commanding the soul while embracing the one[ness], is it possible to not separate [them]? Focusing qi to become soft [relaxed], can one become [as soft/relaxed as] an infant?
This section involves a bit of rhetorical device. The very first sentence is a bit hard to translate cleanly, but it boils down to if you act with “为” or “coercion” (“无为” is “without coercion”, so “为” is loosely “coercion”), can you truly separate yourself from intention. “为” is a bit hard to pin down, but it can also be thought of as acting with some intention which tends to color the action itself. The term itself is not used in this section, but it permeates the entire book. The phrasing indicates that forcing one’s “spirit” to act in some way while trying to attain oneness works to separate the two.
An infant is relaxed or soft by nature, it does not have to try to be relaxed or at rest, it just is. One can strive to imitate this by focusing their qi or energy on doing so, but can one really accomplish matching the natural state of something different without making it their nature? One must do things without coercion and in a truly natural way for them to be with the Dao, and the only way to do this is to focus on the task at hand without obsessing over the results. Be mindful without obsessed, be natural without trying too hard.
載~戴
摶~專
脩除玄藍 能毋疵乎 愛民括國 能毋以知乎
[xiu1] [chu2] [xuan2] [lan3] [neng2] [wu2] [ci1] [hu1] [ai4] [min2] [kuo4] [guo2] [neng2] [wu2] [yi3] [zhi1] [hu1]
Cleanse the obscurity of your views, can they be without blemishes? Loving country and restraining the people, can this be done without knowledge?
滌除玄覽，能無疵乎？愛國治民，能無為乎？
[di2] [chu2] [xuan2] [lan3]，[neng2] [wu2] [ci1] [hu1]？[ai4] [guo2] [zhi4] [min2]，[neng2] [wu2] [wei2] [hu1]？
Cleanse the obscurity of your views, can they be without blemishes? Loving country and ruling the people, can this be without coercion?
This section changes a little bit from the last. Instead of focusing on accepting the natural progression, this section focuses on accepting that certain assertions are wrong. “Cleanse the obscurity of your views.” One’s views almost assuredly have something blemished with them in one way or another. Even the most correct views will be subject to some flaw. Accept the lack of perfection, fix it, and move on.
When one loves their country and wants to rule, one acts with coercion of sorts. This seems a bit odd considering some of the previous chapters mentioning that only the wise can govern and similar, but it makes perfect sense at the same time. The person who wants to rule and who loves their country cannot rule without a bias. A decision between the lives of 10 of your fellow country’s citizen and 1,000 of an enemy country’s citizens may lead one to choosing that which is least compassionate for humanity at large.
覽~藍
天門啓闔 能爲雌乎 明白四達 能毋以知乎
[tian1] [men2] [qi3] [he2] [neng2] [wei2] [ci2] [hu1] [ming2] [bai2] [si4] [da2] [neng2] [wu2] [yi3] [zhi1] [hu1]
Opening and closing the gate of heaven, can one be [act as] [the] feminine [force]? Understanding [knowledge] in all directions, can one act without understanding?
天門開闔，能為雌乎？明白四達，能無知乎？
[tian1] [men2] [kai1] [he2]，[neng2] [wei2] [ci2] [hu1]？[ming2] [bai2] [si4] [da2]，[neng2] [wu2] [zhi1] [hu1]？
Opening and closing the gate of heaven, can one be [act as] [the] feminine [force]? Understanding [knowledge] in all directions, can one act without understanding?
“Opening and closing the gate of heaven, can one be act as the feminine?” This sentence requires the context of Chapter 6. Chapter 6 details some of the traits of the Yin (阴) from the traditional balance of Yin and Yang (阴阳). The Yin is a passive force, but a life-giving one which is often attributed to being feminine. The action of opening and closing the “gate of heaven” is active and therefore masculine by this duality. By being Yang, one precludes oneself from being Yin. By acting Yang, one cannot appear as Yin.
By taking note of all directions (both literal and figurative) and learning, one becomes incapable of acting without that knowledge. One doesn’t not walk towards a desert when one is looking for somewhere to farm except by ignorance or accident. By being enlightened, one cannot help but to act enlightened. One limitation of this, is that if one has knowledge in only “one direction” or one way, one may not help but act on this knowledge even if it is incorrect. This both gives advice and a warning, though it is ultimately a very optimistic statement.
生之 畜之 生而弗有 長而弗宰也 是謂玄德
[sheng1] [zhi1] [xu4] [zhi1] [sheng1] [er2] [fu2] [you3] [zhang3] [er2] [fu2] [zai3] [ye3] [shi4] [wei4] [xuan2] [de2]
Birth [create] it, rear it, create it but don’t possess it, lead it but don’t command it, this is called obscure virtue*
生之畜之，生而不有，為而不恃，長而不宰，是謂玄德。
[sheng1] [zhi1] [xu4] [zhi1]，[sheng1] [er2] [bu4] [you3]，[wei2] [er2] [bu4] [shi4]，[zhang3] [er2] [bu4] [zai3]，[shi4] [wei4] [xuan2] [de2]。
Birth [create] it and rear it, create it but don’t possess it, act but don’t obsess [over the action], lead it but don’t command it, this is called obscure virtue*
I made a note about “obscure virtue” above. The text refers to De (德), which is often translated as “virtue”, “ethics”, or similar. The phrase “obscure” is added to put it over the more mundane bits of virtue and to show that this is a much higher virtue above the common virtue, like how The Dao which can be described, is not the Unchanging Dao.
The structure of this section follows close with Chapter Two. The section about the Ten Thousand Things, namely “The Ten Thousand Things are worked but not quit [by the wise], started but not possessed, acted on but not relied on, [and] completed but not claimed,” is a direct parallel. All of existence follows the same pattern as the De. These concepts are ephemeral and flow their own way, trying to direct or control them usually leads to shaping them out of their natural way. Those who are enlightened, or wise, or any number of positive words know better and work with them to their ends, rather than trying to fight the nature of existence.