Chapter 54 — Cultivating and observing修觀

固其根而後營其末，故不拔也。

He makes the root firm and only then adorns the tips, and so it is not uprooted.

建，立也。善以道立身立國者，不可得引而拔之。

Jian (建) means to plant. One who has been good at planting the person and planting the state by means of the Dao cannot be drawn out and uprooted.

不貪於多，齊其所能，故不脫也。

He is not greedy for much and keeps what he is able to do in order, and so it is not pulled away.

善以道抱精神者，終不可拔引解脫。

One who has been good at holding the spirit by means of the Dao can never in the end be uprooted, drawn out, and pulled away.

為人子孫能修道如是，長生不死，世世以久，祭祀先祖，宗廟無絕時。

If those who are someone's sons and grandsons can cultivate the Dao in this way, they live long and do not die, they last on through the generations, and they make the offerings to their forebears, so that there is never a time when the ancestral temple is cut off.

子孫傳此道以祭祀則不輟也。

If sons and grandsons pass on this Dao and make the offerings, they do not cease.

以身及人也，修之身則真，修之家則有餘，修之不廢，所施轉大。

It reaches from the person to others. Cultivate it in the person and it is true; cultivate it in the family and there is more than enough; and if the cultivating does not stop, what is bestowed grows ever greater.

修道於身，愛氣養神，益壽延年。其德如是，乃為真人。

Cultivate the Dao in the person, sparing the vital breath and nourishing the spirit, and you add to your span and lengthen your years. When the virtue is like this, one becomes a true person.

修道於家，父慈子孝，兄友弟順，夫信妻貞。其德如是，乃有餘慶及於來世子孫。

Cultivate the Dao in the family, and the father is loving and the son filial, the elder brother is kind and the younger brother compliant, the husband is trustworthy and the wife upright. When the virtue is like this, the blessing left over reaches even the sons and grandsons of later ages.

彼皆然也。

All of those are so as well.

修道於鄉，尊敬長老，愛養幼少，教誨愚鄙。其德如是，乃無不覆及也。

Cultivate the Dao in the village, and the old are upheld and respected, the young are loved and nourished, and the foolish and the dull are taught. When the virtue is like this, there is nowhere it does not cover and reach.

修道於國，則君信臣忠，仁義自生，禮樂自興，政平無私。其德如是，乃為豐厚也。

Cultivate the Dao in the state, and the ruler is trustworthy and the minister loyal, benevolence and rightness arise of themselves, the rites and music rise of themselves, and government is even and without private interest. When the virtue is like this, it becomes abundant and thick.

人主修道於天下，不言而化，不教而治，下之應上，信如影響。其德如是，乃為普傳。

When the ruler cultivates the Dao in all under heaven, things are transformed without his speaking and ordered without his teaching, and those below answer those above as surely as a shadow or an echo. When the virtue is like this, it spreads everywhere.

以修道之身，觀不修道之身，孰亡孰存也。

Look at the person who has not cultivated the Dao through the person who has. Which one perishes and which one remains?

以修道之家，觀不修道之家。

Look at the family that has not cultivated the Dao through the family that has.

以修道之鄉，觀不修道之鄉也。

Look at the village that has not cultivated the Dao through the village that has.

以修道之國，觀不修道之國也。

Look at the state that has not cultivated the Dao through the state that has.

以天下百姓心觀天下之道也，天下之道，逆順吉凶，亦皆如人之道也。

He looks at the Dao of all under heaven through the hearts of the people of all under heaven. In the Dao of all under heaven, going against and going along, good fortune and ill, are all likewise the same as in the Dao of a person.

以修道之主，觀不修道之主也。

Look at the ruler who has not cultivated the Dao through the ruler who has.

此上之所云也。言吾何以得知天下乎，察己以知之，不求於外也，所謂不出戶以知天下者也。

This refers to what is said above. It means: how can I come to know all under heaven? By examining myself I know it, and I do not seek it outside — this is what is meant by knowing all under heaven without going out the door.

老子言，吾何知天下修道者昌，背道者亡。以此五事觀而知之也。

Laozi (老子) says: how do I know that in all under heaven those who cultivate the Dao flourish and those who turn their backs on the Dao perish? I know it by looking through these five things.