第二十八章   守根于樸
知其雄，守其雌，為天下溪。為天下溪，常德不離，復歸于嬰兒。
知其白，守其黑，為天下式。為天下式，常德不忒，復歸于無極。知其榮，守其辱，為天下谷。為天下谷，常德乃足，復歸于樸。樸散則為器，圣人用之，則為官長，故大智不割。

Holding onto the Root of the eternal power

He who knows the male and keeps to the female Becomes the womb drawing all the world towards it. Being the womb of the world, He will never depart from eternal virtue, But returns to a state of infancy.

Knowing the obvious and holding the mysterious,

Is to trace back to the world’s pattern of manifested and the unmanifested.

By tracing back to the world’s pattern, paradigm?

the eternal virtue will never falter.

This is returning to the state of Oneness.

Know glory and keep to humility. Trace back to the root of all, By tracing abck to the root of all, He has the eternal power which always suffices, This is to return to the natural integrity as uncarved wood.

When the natural integrity is broken up, it is turned into rules and instruments .

Evolved Individuals who know how employ them,

are made into leaders.

In this way the harmony of human life and the eternal power are in fact one in different states.

[譯文]

雖知成就顯耀，卻能甘守柔弱，效仿天下的溪流。甘為天下的溪流，利萬物的天德不離身，個人的修行就回歸到嬰兒般的先天柔弱與無私。雖知身處物質顯現之陽態，又能體驗道本源意識能量狀態，就符合道的循環模式。符合道的循環模式，與天德沒偏差，個人之修行必然回到先天樸素狀態。雖知榮耀悅人，又安居卑辱，效仿天下川谷，甘愿做天下川谷，天德充沛，回歸本源能量的淳樸。

淳樸的道本源能量按其內在的規律和法則化生萬物， 悟道的人將道德內在的規律和法則用在社會治理上，他就成為百姓的領袖， 因此天下大治和尊道奉德是分不開的。