Chapter 50

出生入死。
生之徒十有三；
死之徒十有三。
人之生，動之於死地，亦十有三。
夫何故？
以其生生之厚。
蓋聞善攝生者，路行不遇兕虎，入軍不被甲兵。
兕無所投其角，虎無所措其爪，兵無所容其刃。
夫何故？
以其無死地。

Out of life, into death.
The companions of life are three in ten;¹
the companions of death are three in ten;
and people who live, yet move toward the ground of death, are three in ten as well.
Why is this?
Because they make too much of living.
I have heard that one who is good at guarding life travels by land without meeting rhinoceros or tiger, and enters an army without being struck by weapons.
The rhinoceros finds nowhere to drive its horn, the tiger nowhere to set its claws, the weapon nowhere to lodge its blade.
Why is this?
Because in him there is no ground of death.

Notes

1. 1. 十有三 is read here as “three in ten.” An old reading takes it as “thirteen,” the four limbs and the nine openings of the body.