《道德经》第八章
上善若水，水善利万物而不争。处众人之所恶，故几于道。居善地，心善渊，与善仁，言善信，正善治，事善能，动善时。夫唯不争，故无尤。
《Tao-Te Ching》Chapter 8
The highest good is like that of water. The goodness of water is that it benefits the ten thousand creatures；yet itself does not scramble，but is content with the places that all men disdain. It is this that makes water so near to the Way. And if men think the ground the best place for building a house upon，If among thoughts they value those that are profound，If in friendship they value gentleness，In words，truth；in government，good order；In deeds，effectiveness；in actions，timeliness- In each case it is because they prefer what does not lead to strife， And therefore does not go amiss. Even ordinary people realize the importance of the Taoist principle of‘water-like’behaviour，i.e. not striving to get on top or to the fore.
【易解】
上好的行为典范就像水一样。水，善于利导万物而不与之争，处守于众人所不愿处的低下处，所以，接近于道。
水，居处善于择下而居，存心幽深而明澈，交游共处谐和相亲，言行表里如一，公共关系易于清静太平，办事能干，行动善于应机顺势而行。正因为水总是利导万物而不与之争，所以，它很少患过失。
道德经全文及译文