六三、寧虛勿溢 寧缺勿全

63. Emptiness is better than spillage, and so is incompletion than completion.

欹器①以滿覆，撲滿②以空全。故君子寧居無不居有，寧處缺不處完。

【注 釋】

① 欹器：古代一種傾斜易覆的盛水器皿。沒盛水時，它呈傾斜狀；盛水一半時則呈直立狀；而裝滿水時則立刻翻倒。古人將此物置於案頭右側引以為戒，後來的“座右銘”一說即源於此。孔子常以此物對其弟子進行教誨。

② 撲滿：儲錢罐。過去的儲錢罐大多是陶製的，頂部有一個小小的放入口，等裏麵裝滿了硬幣，主人要用錢時就會把罐子砸了。所以，就儲錢罐本身而言，裏麵沒有硬幣才是最安全的。

【今文解譯】

欹器裝滿水就會傾覆；撲滿空無一文反倒安全。所以，君子寧可一無所有也不願意竟長爭短，寧可有所不足也不願意完美無缺。

【English Translation】

An inclined vessel is easy to topple when it is filled to the brim. A piggy bank is safe to be its self so long as it remains empty. Accordingly, the genuine person would rather have nothing than compete for advantages, and rather be contented with incompletion than with completion.