Daodejing - Chapter Twenty Six

 

道德經  - 第二十六章

重為輕根，靜為躁君。

是以聖人終日行不離輜重。

雖有榮觀，燕處超然。

奈何萬乘之主，而以身輕天下？

輕則失本，躁則失君。

Daodejing - Chapter Twenty Six

The heavy is the root of the light.

The unmoved is the source of all movement.

Thus the master travels all day, without leaving home.

However splendid the views, she stays serenely in herself.

Why should the lord of the country flit about like a fool?

If you let yourself be blown to and fro, you lose touch with your root.

If you let restlessness move you, you lose touch with who you are.

References

1. 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=2347
2. This chapter on the above video starts at 39.05 and ends at 40.10.
3. 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