道十五 - Tao Chapter 15

古之善为道者 微妙玄达 深不可识

夫唯不可识 故强为之容

曰

豫呵其若冬涉水

犹呵其若畏四邻

俨呵其若客

涣呵其若凌释

沌呵其若朴

湷呵其若浊

旷呵其若谷

浊而静之 徐清

汝以重之 徐生

保此道者不欲盈

夫唯不欲盈 是以能敝而不成

以前那些善于治理水道的人，知识结构和处事方式是精细的、巧妙的、持续迭代进步的、思路明晰通达的，他们的表现出来的能力只是冰山一角，真实的水平深不可测，很难用常规的语言来描述。因为没法描述他们的真实水平，所以只能通过描述他们外在的表现来勉强说明一下。他们， 大象般小心谨慎，就好像严冬时履冰过河的样子；猿猴般时刻警觉，就好像随时防备着被别的邻居（猴）骚扰的样子；（不管事情有多紧急）他们时刻保持庄重，就好像在别人家作客一样。 当需要开辟（尝试）新方向的时候，他们表现出持续的积累（并最终获得成果），就好像冰凌消融的样子；当对事物不了解，积累知识的时候，他们表现出巨大的可塑性，就好像没有经过雕琢的木材一样；当需要阐述观点、表达自我的时候，他们把握住大的方向，可以容忍错误，就好像江河中奔流着的浑浊的水流；他们通达事理，对万事万物（的规律）都清楚明了，好像山谷一样可容万物，没有什么问题不可以解决。 对于奔流的浑浊水流，当你需要使用她们的时候，只需要把浊水静置，就可以慢慢清澈下来；把这些水流使用起来（灌溉），就能逐渐生发万物。 按照这个规律治理水道的时候，要保护水道，就不能把水道充满。只有保留一定的空间，才能处理掉沉淀物，去故更新。（堵不如疏）

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People in the past who were good at governing the waterways had knowledge structures and ways of handling things that were delicate, clever, continuously iterative and progressed, and had clear and comprehensive thinking. Their abilities that were shown were only the tip of the iceberg, and their true level was deep and unmeasurable, making it difficult to describe with conventional language. Since it is difficult to describe their true level, it can only be explained by describing their external performance.

They were like elephants, who were cautious and careful, as if walking on ice in the middle of winter; like monkeys, who were always vigilant, as if always prepared to be disturbed by other neighbors; and always maintained their dignity, as if they were guests in someone else's house.

When new directions needed to be opened, they showed continuous accumulation and eventually achieved results, like melting ice; when they were not familiar with things, they accumulated knowledge and showed great plasticity, like unrefined wood; when they needed to explain their views and express themselves, they grasped the big direction, could tolerate mistakes, and were like muddy water flowing in rivers; they were clear-minded, understood the principles of all things, were like valleys that could accommodate everything, and there was no problem that could not be solved.

For muddy water flowing, when you need to use them, you just need to let the water settle and it will gradually become clear; if you use these water flows (irrigation), you can gradually develop all things.

Following this rule, when managing waterways, it is important to protect them by not filling them up completely. Only by preserving a certain amount of space can sediment be removed and the waterway be constantly renewed. (It is better to let things flow than to block them)