Chapter 41: Listening to the Dao (第41章：同異)

上士聞道，勤而行之；中士聞道，若存若亡；下士聞道，大笑之。不笑不足以為道。
故建言有之：明道若昧，進道若退，夷道若纇。
上德若谷；大白若辱；廣德若不足；建德若偷；質真若渝。
大方無隅；大器晚成；大音希聲；大象無形。
道隱無名。夫唯道，善貸且成。
☸

Translation

When the superior man hears of the Dao, he practices it diligently.
When the average man hears of the Dao, he sometimes believes it and sometimes doubts it.
When the inferior man hears of the Dao, he laughs aloud at it.
If he did not laugh, it would not be the Dao.

Therefore it is said:
The path into the light seems dark.
Going forward seems like retreating.
The smooth path seems rough.

High Virtue (De) seems like a valley.
Great purity seems disgraced.
Vast Virtue seems insufficient.
Established Virtue seems frail.
Solid reality seems to shift.

The great square has no corners. The great vessel is never completed.
The great sound is nearly silent. The Great Image (Daxiang) has no form.

The Dao is hidden and nameless.
Only the Dao provides and brings all to completion.

✦ ◆ ✦

📜 Liuren Perspective

In Liuren Fajiao, the "Superior Man" (上士) is the dedicated disciple who practices their daily cultivation (Daji) diligently, without needing external proof. The "Average man" is the one who only practices when they see results or "miracles." The "Inferior man" is the skeptic who laughs at spiritual reality.

The Paradoxes of the Dao describe the life of a master. To the world, their progress may seem like "retreating" (退) because they are becoming more humble and hidden. Their great power seems "insufficient" because they never boast of it.

"The Great Image has no form" (大象無形). This means that the highest magic is performed without flashy external signs. It is "Hidden and Nameless" (道隱無名). A master relies on this hidden power to "bring all to completion" (善貸且成) in silence.

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