聖 人 “sage” : literally “holy man”; in the DDJ, a sage is anyone who fully embodies and expresses Dao and De; as the ruling class would have been one of the few literate groups in ancient Chinese culture reading the DDJ, it seems possible that references to the way the sage does things could have also been a subtle way of saying “this is what a wise ruler would do” (especially in chapters like 5, 57, and 66, where the sage seems to be the ruler) 常 “ever-constant” : while this is often translated as “eternal”, it probably had more of a sense of “constant” or “permanent” in ancient China; unfortunately “constant” doesn’t imply the enduring nature of “permanent”, nor does “permanent” imply the unchanging quality of “constant”, so “ever-constant” is used here 心 “heart/mind” : usually translated as either “heart” or “mind” (the symbol means both), “heart/mind” seems to be the best translation 自 然 “naturally so” : this has the connotation of something that happens spontaneously, without being forced (“of itself”, “of its own accord”, “on its own”); Dao is “naturally so”, and although the DDJ does not say so explicitly, presumably the sage acts “naturally so” as well 樸 “uncarved block” (of wood) : just as a block of wood can be carved into virtually anything, in the DDJ the “uncarved block” represents the limitless undefined potential of our original nature 無 為 “non-action” : not passivity or lack of action, but spontaneous action taken at the proper time according to the situation 無 事 “non-interference” : to change the natural order of things as little as possible in achieving your goals 無 知 “without-knowledge” : not an absence of knowledge, but a kind of understanding that does not resort to pre-conceived ideas or rules 無 名 “without-name” : a reminder that things, concepts, and experiences are far more than the names we give them and ultimately cannot be described with words (in contrast to the Confucians, whose goal was to find the “correct name” for everything) 無 欲 “without-desire” : not a total lack of desire, but desires that do not control us or our happiness; a sort of spontaneous, unattached desire 無 or 無 有 “non-being” : the nameless absolute that is the source of all existence (“being”) 爭 “strive” : to struggle or make vigorous effort to achieve something, perhaps competing against others to get it; the opposite of non-action 陰 “yin” : the feminine principle; receptive, yielding, dark, cool, soft 陽 “yang” : the masculine principle; aggressive, active, light, warm, hard 氣 “qi” (ch’i, chi) : vitality, life energy, life force, vital energy 善 “virtue” : the traditional sense of moral virtue and goodness 靜 “stillness” : a mental/emotional stillness of the heart/mind