Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Chapter of the Week: #28
Every version/translation has parts and lines that mystify the reader. In some cases, it is really due to a poor choice of words, or a lack of understanding on the translator's part. In other cases, the reader lacks the necessary life experience to truly connect with the phrase. So even if one fully understands the whole book, he will connect with different kinds of phrases and quotes at different parts of his life. I notice this happening to me as I read it over and over again.
I think there's some joy to be found in that EVERYONE gets irritated by the Tao Te Ching regardless of the language it's written in. The universal irritation is proof of the weakness of all language.
1. If you do not know Chinese
-You read one translation and it sounds weird
-You visit compare 2-4 translations and you still don't understand anything.
2. If you know Chinese
-Your Chinese is never good enough, lol
-The same words have different meanings in ancient and modern use.
-Even if you try to discern the word's original meaning from the combination of its pictograms, you realise that the same picture produces different responses in different people, so you go back to scratching your head again.
I think there's some joy to be found in that EVERYONE gets irritated by the Tao Te Ching regardless of the language it's written in. The universal irritation is proof of the weakness of all language.
1. If you do not know Chinese
-You read one translation and it sounds weird
-You visit compare 2-4 translations and you still don't understand anything.
2. If you know Chinese
-Your Chinese is never good enough, lol
-The same words have different meanings in ancient and modern use.
-Even if you try to discern the word's original meaning from the combination of its pictograms, you realise that the same picture produces different responses in different people, so you go back to scratching your head again.
Comments
Chapter 28
Know the male
But keep to the role of the female
And be a ravine to the empire.
If you are a ravine to the empire,
Then the constant virtue will not desert you
And you will again return to being a babe.
Know the white
But keep to the role of the black
And be a model to the empire.
If you are a model to the empire,
Then the constant virtue will not be wanting
And you will return to the infinite.
Know honor
But keep to the role of the disgraced
And be a valley to the empire.
If you are a valley to the empire,
Then the constant virtue will be sufficient
And you will return to being the uncarved block.
When the uncarved block shatters it becomes vessels.
The sage makes use of these and becomes the lord over the officials.
Therefore the greatest cutting
Does not sever.
Read commentary previously posted for this chapter.
Read notes on translations
Standard translations and the literal Chinese part company toward the end of this chapter. Compare them to the one below. As feeble as my translation may be, at least it follows the literal Chinese more closely - and makes more sense (well... to me anyway). Why do the 'standard' translations occasionally go off on these tangents? I suspect it is due to more than mere poetic license... :? Hmm, you would think being so out of sync with the experts would concern me. But, this is Taoist stuff... to paraphrase, [chref=56]one who knows does not 'write'; one who 'writes' does not know[/chref]. So, with that in mind...
The literal Chinese goes like this:
know its male (powerful), defend (observe, abide by) its female, serve as (be, mean) heaven under small stream.
serve as (be, mean) heaven under small stream, always virtue (integrity) not leave,
duplicate (again) return in (at, to, from, by, than, out of) baby.
know its white (pure, clear), defend (observe, abide by, close to) its black, serve as (be, mean) heaven under type (style, pattern)
serve as (be, mean) heaven under type (style, pattern), always virtue (integrity) not error (mistake),
duplicate (again) return in (at, to, from, by, than, out of) without extreme.
know its flourish (honour, glory), defend (observe, abide by) its disgrace (dishonour), serve as (be, mean) heaven under valley.
serve as (be, mean) heaven under valley, always virtue (integrity) be (therefore, only then) foot (sufficient, full),
duplicate (again) return in (at, to, from, by, than, out of) simple (plain).
simple break-up standard (rule) serve as (be) implement (capacity) wise person use of standard be public elder (senior, head).
incident (happening, cause, intentionally, therefore) big make (control, restrict, regulate) not cut-off.
And now my feeble attempt to make the literal readable:
Know its male, observe its female, and be a small stream for all under heaven.
Being a small stream for all under heaven, constant virtue will never leave you,
And you will again return to infancy.
Know its white, observe its black, and be a pattern for all under heaven.
Being a pattern for all under heaven, constant virtue will never be in error,
And you will again return to moderation.
Know its honour, observe its disgrace, and be a valley for all under heaven.
Being a valley for all under heaven, constant virtue will be sufficient,
And you will again return to simplicty.
Simplicity loosens standards and allows a wise person to be a public elder.
This is how even the greatest regulation cuts off nothing.
Also, notice how the literal says 'its male', not 'the male'. 'Its' conveys the [chref=1]mystery[/chref] better than 'the', don't you think?
And doing so, returning to being the uncarved block.
There is pride in the business of living and there will be times when in order for a person to be up, another must be down, take for example the zero sum game such as trading or winning at gambling. Would thankfulness and appreciation for this winning be enough to keep from being separate from the whole? Is this "being disgraced" or "being humble". Are they the same? Or should this kind of "living" simply be abandoned?
One Taoist 'goal' is to [chref=27]abandon nothing[/chref]. Our problem with life is really centered around [chref=46]having too many desires[/chref]. We tend to have to many because our mind's imagination dreams without end. The idea of [chref=64]desiring not to desire[/chref] can help balance this. It applies to everything, e.g., if you desire to gamble - desire it less; if you desire to save the world - desire that less; and so on across the board.
Nothing, whether "thankfulness" or greediness, possesses more [chref=2]merit[/chref] than another. Each are simply symptoms of our inner life - feeling "thankful" arises when we feel '[chref=46]enough[/chref]; feeling greedy arises when we feel we don't and [chref=37]desire[/chref] more of whatever it is we feel will bring us contentment. The irony, from a Taoist and Buddhist point of view anyway, is that this actually never brings us [chref=33]contentment[/chref]. For survival in 'the wild', biology hoodwinks us into feeling 'desire' works. Our problem: We took 'the wild' out of Nature's equation... oops! So, in truth, the only path that works is simply [chref=15]desiring not to be full[/chref]. And that is a winding road to say the least. But, just so you don't think you're going around in circles, consider this.. [chref=36]If you would have 'desire' weakened, you must first strengthen it[/chref].
I'm still pondering "being disgraced" vs "being humble" . Both are low positions, and there is no judgement assigned to either, are they the same?
One can find great relief from judgement by being disgraced. For example, dealing with the annoying petty corporate theivery of the day; when they say one thing and mean another, you try to stop subscriptions and they go on forever unless you call 20 people. When such things occur, I just think of a time when I have been a petty theif, coins drop into the tray of a vending machine when I got my water, and I don't give it back, I make a mistake in my favor on my taxes and the IRS doesn't catch it, and suddenly I am calm. Isn't this being disgraced? it is humbling.
[code:1]YIN = female = ancient = disgrace = humble = selfless = dark = loss = unite = death = soft = low ...etc
YANG = male = young = honor = pride = self = light = gain = divide = life = hard = high ...etc[/code]
Although will always end up going around in circles, of course. The Taoist ideal is to be [chref=15]hesitant, murky, vacant, tentative, and falling apart[/chref] as much as possible, so as not to fight the circle. By ceasing to 'fight the circle' we are best able to [chref=64]deal with things while they are still nothing[/chref]. Oh, and just what is this 'circle'? Consider these...
[code:1]YIN = circle = endless = reality = silence = stillness = NOTHING
YANG = straight = finite = illusion = sound = motion = SOMETHING[/code]
Sure, [chref=2]something and nothing produce each other[/chref]. So, even these opposites are [chref=56]mysteriously[/chref] "the same" at the end of the day. When we realize we can't nail 'it' down, the only sane thing to do is stop hammering. However, in order to stop, [chref=36]we must first[/chref] start. So we are well on our way - hooray! In the end though, this [chref=23]is why one follows the way.[/chref]
Here are these correlations in a column which may help the reading. All the words in the YIN column share a 'sameness'; all the words in the YANG column share a 'sameness'. Deeper down, these columns share a [chref=56]mysterious sameness[/chref]. Before we can see that, we must first be able to see sameness in each column. I know these [chref=81]words are not persuasive nor beautiful[/chref], but just maybe...
[code:1]YIN YANG
female male
ancient young
disgrace honor
humble pride
selfless self
dark light
loss gain
unite divide
death life
soft hard
low high
circle straight
endless finite
reality illusion
silence sound
stillness motion
NOTHING SOMETHING
...etc ...etc[/code]
I hope this doesn't seems like I'm giving you the run around on your question. The blunt truth is: illusion = answer. So, how do I answer your question without Answering it? :?