三、無畏厲害。老子所謂。兇無所投其角。虎無所措其爪。兵無所容其刃。夫何故。以其無死也。又曰。天下莫柔弱於水。而攻堅強者莫之能勝。又謂。天下之至柔。馳騁天下之至堅。然則兇虎兵刃。亦天下之厲害者。猶不足稱。而反獨稱喻柔弱之水。以其至柔。莫能勝也。是之謂及吾無身。吾有何患。縱有兵刃爪角之利。不足為畏也。倘有所畏懼。則精神與體質必緊張。緊張便不鬆。不鬆何能柔。不柔便是剛。故真能洞徹太極拳之原理者。便具有大無畏之精神。亦猶孟子所謂。泰山崩於前而色不變。善養吾浩然之氣。此亦老子所謂專氣致柔。又何厲害之可畏也。
"Third: Do not fear ferocity. Lao Tzu described men who have cultivated the life principle saying: "A rhino finds no place to gore, a tiger feels nothing to claw, a soldier has nowhere to stab."¹³ Why is this? Because they have no fear of death. So rather than praising the ferocity of a rhino, tiger, or weapon, Lao Tzu exalts the softness which overcomes all hardness. When you penetrate the basic principles of taichi you possess a spirit of great fearlessness. Nothing can harm you once you discard your sense of self, not soldiers nor rhinos. Fear tenses your body and spirit, and prevents you from relaxing—how then can you be soft? If you are not soft then you are hard. Mencius said to nourish your vast, flowing ch'i; Hsun Shih said to remain calm even before an avalanche.¹⁴ Together their sentiments combine to emulate Lao Tzu's idea of concentrating your ch'i to become soft. Then no ferocity is frightful."
Translated by Mark Hennessy
Translated by Mark Hennessy
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