Chapter 49
圣人无常心，以百姓心为心。善者，吾善之；不善者，吾亦善之；德善。信者，吾信之；不信者，吾亦信之；德信。
圣人在天下歙歙，为天下浑其心，百姓皆注其耳目，圣人皆孩之.
Translation
The sage does not have a heart of a normal person; he has the heart that accommodates all. To those who are good, I treat him well; to those who are evil, I also treat him well. This is called the virtue in discerning good and evil. To those are trustworthy, I trust; to those who are not trustworthy, I also trust. This is called the virtue of discerning trustworthiness.
The sage is harmonious with this world, in doing so he blurs his heart. The people all look up to the sage and the sage treats them as his children.
Comments
The 常心 in the first paragraph is bit tricky to understand. Most translations say that it is a changeable heart; therefore the sage doesn’t have an unchangeable heart. The normal person has got likes and dislikes. When the majority agrees on things, they become the social standard. The ethics that emerge from these standards guides this society. When one abides by these standards and ethics, he is said to be “good”, otherwise he is “evil”. This is the source of the judgement of people. When you are doing good, you expect others to do the same and if they don’t, you will think or act negatively about that person. Some people will treat others nicely on the surface but hate them in their hearts. This is the reason I believe that 常心 should be translated into normal heart, or a heart of a normal person, who likes and dislikes, loves and hates.
In Chapter 5, Lao Tzu said 圣人不仁，以百姓为刍狗. That’s right, the sage is not kind, he is only indifferent. He chooses not to distinguish, and automatically he does not hate.
I cannot quite reconcile the last sentence with the general idea of Lao Tzu. If the sage treats the people like grass dogs, why then he also treat them like their children. Is it because there is no difference between the grass dog and the children?
圣人在天下歙歙，为天下浑其心，百姓皆注其耳目，圣人皆孩之.
Translation
The sage does not have a heart of a normal person; he has the heart that accommodates all. To those who are good, I treat him well; to those who are evil, I also treat him well. This is called the virtue in discerning good and evil. To those are trustworthy, I trust; to those who are not trustworthy, I also trust. This is called the virtue of discerning trustworthiness.
The sage is harmonious with this world, in doing so he blurs his heart. The people all look up to the sage and the sage treats them as his children.
Comments
The 常心 in the first paragraph is bit tricky to understand. Most translations say that it is a changeable heart; therefore the sage doesn’t have an unchangeable heart. The normal person has got likes and dislikes. When the majority agrees on things, they become the social standard. The ethics that emerge from these standards guides this society. When one abides by these standards and ethics, he is said to be “good”, otherwise he is “evil”. This is the source of the judgement of people. When you are doing good, you expect others to do the same and if they don’t, you will think or act negatively about that person. Some people will treat others nicely on the surface but hate them in their hearts. This is the reason I believe that 常心 should be translated into normal heart, or a heart of a normal person, who likes and dislikes, loves and hates.
In Chapter 5, Lao Tzu said 圣人不仁，以百姓为刍狗. That’s right, the sage is not kind, he is only indifferent. He chooses not to distinguish, and automatically he does not hate.
I cannot quite reconcile the last sentence with the general idea of Lao Tzu. If the sage treats the people like grass dogs, why then he also treat them like their children. Is it because there is no difference between the grass dog and the children?
posted by Eugene Chen | 7:44 PM
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