视之不见名曰夷;听之不闻名曰希;搏之不得名曰微。此三者不可致诘(jié),故混(hùn)而为一。其上不皦(jiǎo),其下不昧。绳绳(mǐn mǐn)不可名,复归于无物。是谓无状之状,无物之象,是谓惚恍。迎之不见其首,随之不见其后。
看也看不见,称之为“夷”;听也听不到,称之为“希”;抓也抓不着,称之为“微”。(道)这三种状态,没法穷根问底,故而混为一体。
上边既不光亮洁白,下边也不天昏地暗。没有边际,不可名状,总保持无物的状态。是没有形状的形状,没有物象的物象,隐秘无痕、微妙不测。前不见首,后不见尾。
根据这个亘古不变之道,可以驾驭如今的万事万物,能够明了其远古的起源,这是道之纪要使然。
(道虽隐秘无痕、微妙不测,但却能提纲挈领,把握万事万物的主要脉络)
Look at it but can't see it, it's called Yi;Listen to it but can’t hear it, it’s called Xi;Grab it but can’t get it, it’s called Wei.The above three states of Tao can't be thoroughly investigated, so they are mixed into one.The top is not bright and white, and the bottom is not dark. It is boundless, indescribable, and keeps in a state of nothing.It's a shape without shape, a behavior and phenomenon without behavior and phenomenon. It's hidden and traceless,subtle and unmeasurable. No head at the front, no tail at the back.According to this everlasting Tao, we can handle all things today, and understand the ancient origin of them, which is caused by the summary of Tao.(Although Tao is hidden and traceless,subtle and unmeasurable, it can concentrate on the main points, that is, it can grasp the main thread of everything.)
(四),问题思辨
第四章讲了道的规律(见下图)——“道冲(chōng),而用之或不盈。渊兮,似万物之宗。”讲了道的作用——“挫其锐,解其纷;和其光,同其尘。”讲了道的特征——“ 湛(zhàn)兮,似或存。”道虽然涌而旋,如同深渊之水不断涌出、螺旋、扩散、周而复始,但这种规律却隐没不现,本章是对隐没不现特征的具体说明。其中“其上、其下、迎之、随之”都是针对其规律而言,道本身无所谓上下、前后。道虽隐秘无痕、微妙不测,但却能提纲挈领,把握万事万物的主要脉络,故而能“御今有,知古始”,“今有”为事物各局部之主体,“古始”为事物整体之起源。