道德經 - 第十三章
寵辱若驚，貴大患若身。
何謂寵辱若驚？
寵為下，得之若驚，失之若驚，是謂寵辱若驚。
何謂貴大患若身？
吾所以有大患者，為吾有身，及吾無身，吾有何患？
故貴以身為天下，若可寄天下；
愛以身為天下，若可託天下。
Daodejing - Chapter Thirteen
Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear.
What does it mean that success is as dangerous as failure?
Whether you go up the ladder or down it, your position is shaky.
When you stand with your two feet on the ground, you will always keep your balance.
What does it mean that hope is as hollow as fear?
Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self.
When we don't see the self as self, what do we have to fear?
See the world as yourself; have faith in the way things are.
Love the world as yourself; then you can care for all things.
References
- The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1302
- This chapter on the above video starts at 21:40 and ends at 23.00.
- You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
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