《老子》第二章
原文：天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已；皆知善之为善，斯不善已。故有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相倾，音声相和，前后相随，恒也。是以圣人处无为之事；行不言之教；万物作而弗始，生而弗有，功成而弗居。弗唯不居，是以不去。
罗汉乱弹琴：
天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已——当天下人都知道什么是美时，肯定已经知道什么是丑了。
皆知善之为善，斯不善已——大家都知道什么是善言善行时，肯定是因为不善的言行已经存在了。
故有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相倾，音声相和，前后相随，恒也——所以，有和无是一对孪生姐妹，难和易相对而成，长和短互为参照而显现，自然之音与我们的发声，因应和而得以区分。没有前，也就没有后，。。所有这些，都因互相对立、互相比较、互相应和而永恒存在。
是以圣人处无为之事——所以，真正的圣人会顺应这种种自然存在而处事，绝不会做与自然相背的事。
（这里要简单说一下古人造“圣”字的初义：繁体字的“圣”，是“耳”、“口”、“王”三字的组合。就是说，一个王者，应当是一个善于听取来自各方不同声音的人，同时又是一个善于说教的人。
行不言之教——真正的圣人是用自己的实际行动作表率去进行教化的人。
万物作而弗始，生而弗有，为而不恃，功成而弗居，——（真正的圣人）是带头做事而不自诩为第一的人，努力生产而不占有的人，积极作为而不自吹的人，事情成功之后不居功自傲的人。
夫唯不居，是以不去——正因为不自诩，不居功，不自恃，反而永远被百姓追随、被永远记忆。
老子第一章讲人类观察自然和社会的认识活动，有一个从简单到复杂，从具体到抽象的思考过程。第二章接着讲自然和社会万事万象都因为比较才让我们认识到差异和对立的存在。而这种事物的差异和对立是不能保留一端、或者用一个标准，让其整齐划一的。因为没有了长，也就没有了短，没有了前，也就没有了后，没有了高，也就没有了下，没有了恶，也就没有了善。既然如此，一个有智慧，善于听取来自各方不同声音的群体领袖（王者），就应该是尊重这种自然法则的存在，不倒行逆施，而是用自己的实际行动去感召和教化百姓，比如象尧、舜、禹那样，用自己的实际行动去教百姓种地，生产，疏通河流。不以自己是第一人（元首）自诩，不把生产出来的东西据为己有，不居功自傲，（包括不占着位子终身为王，不主动让位给更年轻更有能力的人），如此，反而会让百姓永远跟随，永远记住。
对比我的上述解读，再看看那些所谓学者抛开前后文意，孤立地讨论“圣人处无为之事“的喋喋不休。读者更愿意听那一种呢？在这里要说的不改变客观现状，并不等于就是要纵恶护短，而是通过扬善显长来让行恶护短者相形见拙，知耻自改。
顺便说一说，在远古做一个“王者”，的确是很辛苦的。舜的故事大家都很熟悉，大禹治水三过家门而不入的事也都耳熟能详。。。因为辛劳，所以，才有了许由、务光，听说尧要选他们做接班人，都相继逃跑，远离躲藏。
我们现在的情况恰好相反，不是都三个代表了吗？！都千方百计地争当第一。因为争当第一可以占尽天下众利，也就是普天之下莫非王土，四海之滨，莫非王臣。
Luohan comprehension：
天下皆知美之为美，斯恶己——All in the world know the beauty of the beauty，and in doing this they have(the idea of) what ugliness is.
皆知善之为善，斯不善己——They all konw the skill of the sk
illful，and in doing this they have(the idea of) what the want of skill is.
故有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相倾，音声相和，前后相随，恒也——So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to (the idea of) the other；that difficulty and ease produce the one (the idea of) the other；that length and shortness fashion out one the figure of the other；that (the idea of) height and lowest arise from the contrast of the one with the other；that the musical notes and tones become harmonious through the relation of one with another；and that being before and behind give the idea of one following another.
是以圣人处无为之事——Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything.
（The original intention of our ancestors made the word“圣” ：The traditional character “聖 ”is composed of the three word“耳”、“口”“王”. That is to say，as a king，should be all eyes and ears，and good at lecturing。
行不言之教——The sage conveys his instructions without the use of speech.
万物作而弗始，生而弗有，功成而弗居——All things spring up，and there is not one which declines to show itself；they grow，and there is no claim made for their ownership；they go through their processes，and there is no expectation（of a reward for the results）. The work is accomplished，and there is no resting in it（as an achievement）.
弗唯不居，是以不去——The work is done，but how no one can see；so that makes the power no cease to be.
The chapter 1 talk about the human observation the nature and human society，from simple to complex，from concrete to abstract. The chapter 2 talk about otherness and contrariety by comparison，while the otherness and contrariety can not with a standard，can not be uniformed. That length and shortness fashion out one the figure of the other；and that being before and behind give the idea of one following another；that (the idea of) height and lowest arise from the contrast of the one with the other；that (the idea of) good and evil from the contrast of the one with the other. So as a sage，should be all eyes and ears，learn some beneficial experience by all possible，to respect the laws of nature，they need to back up their words with real work like尧、舜、禹，teach people to cultivate and dredge the canals. The work is done，but how no one can see；so that makes the power no cease to be（make place for the young person），the ordinary people may follow and remember you .
Through the contrastive interpretation，compare with the scholar discuss the “是以圣人处无为之事”in isolation from others，is it can motivate the readers？Here it means we can not change the objective but we can stick to value orientation of justice and good deed.
I merely mention it in passing，to be a king in ancient times is really hard. We are all learn about story of“舜” and“King Yu tamed the flood”…… Because of the laborious，they would not like to be the successor and run away.
2011年12月22日于富力湾
