嚴捷章第五十
Key Takeaway: "He who knows how to safeguard life travels over land without meeting rhinos or tigers, and enters battle without wearing armor." — Laozi, Daodejing Chapter 50
Coming forth into life, returning into death. Why do so many rush toward demise? Because they cling too feverishly to the preservation of physical life. The grounded soul gives the tiger no place for its claws—a foundational perspective explored in Daodejing Chapter 50 Translation.
Daodejing Chapter 50 Translation: The Deathless Space of the Grounded
The wisdom of Daodejing Chapter 50 Translation addresses a fundamental human dynamic: how we navigate ambition, quietude, and the natural flow of existence. In the classical tradition, this passage serves as both a metaphysical mirror and a practical compass for daily living and leadership. Explore how this principle translates into contemporary daily life in our guide to Why the Desperate Need for Safety Can Become a Trap — Ancient Chinese Wisdom for Modern Life.
By shifting our focus from outer coercion to internal stillness, we uncover a more resilient way of relating to ourselves and the world around us.
Complete Chapter Translation: Modern Western Reading
He who aims at life achieves death. If the “companions of life” are thirteen, so likewise are the “companions of death” thirteen. How is it that the “death-stops” in man's life and activity are also thirteen? It is because men feed life too grossly.
It is said that he who has a true hold on life, when he walks on land does not meet tigers or wild buffaloes; in battle he is not touched by weapons of war. Indeed, a buffalo that attacked him would find nothing for its horns to butt, a tiger would find nothing for its claws to tear, a weapon would find no place for its point to enter in. And why? Because such men have no “death-spot” in them.
道德经中文原文与对照
【原文】 出生入死。生之徒，十有三；死之徒，十有三；人之生，動之於死地，亦十有三。夫何故？以其生生之厚。蓋聞善攝生者，陸行不遇兕虎，入軍不被甲兵；兕無所投其角，虎無所措其爪，兵無所容其刃。夫何故？以其無死地。
核心要义解析 (Philosophical Insights)
- 道义发微：本章通过“嚴捷章第五十”阐发了《道德经》的核心精髓。从“有”与“无”、“动”与“静”的辩证转化中，提醒我们在日用常行中摒弃过度的功利执念，回归纯粹本真的生命状态。
- 现代启示：当外界喧嚣与评判标准不断施加压力时，保持内心的虚静与不争，反而是最强大的定力与智慧。
Follow the sequential development of the text in Laozi’s next philosophical movement in Nurturing Virtue: The Tao Gives Birth; Virtue Nurtures and Sustains.
For a deeper comparative examination of these ideas, explore our related study on Guarding the Subtle: A Tree of Giant Girth Begins as a Tiny Shoot.
