Chapter of the Week: #74

Carl

Cheers for that, gave me food for thought.

Hello and welcome, by the way.

Carl

Each week we address one chapter of the Tao Te Ching. The Tao Te Ching can be obscure, especially if you think you're supposed to understand what it's saying! We find it easier and more instructive to simply contemplate how the chapter resonates with your personal experience. Becoming more aware at this fundamental level simplifies life. This approach conforms to the view that true knowing lies within ourselves. Thus, when a passage in the scripture resonates, you've found your inner truth. The same applies for when it evokes a question; questions are the grist for self realization.

Chapter 74
When the people are not afraid of death, wherefore frighten them with death?
Were the people always afraid of death, and were I able to arrest and put to
death those who innovate, then who would dare? There is a regular executioner
whose charge it is to kill. To kill on behalf of the executioner is what is
described as chopping wood on behalf of the master carpenter. In chopping wood
on behalf of the master carpenter, there are few who escape hurting their own
hands instead.

Read commentary previously posted for this chapter.
Read notes on translations
Now, do it too at Wengu!

Carl

[Note: I italicize phrases I borrow from the chapter, and link to phrases I borrow from other chapters to help tie chapters together. While making it more tedious to read, :? the Tao Te Ching is best pondered in the context of the whole.]

Looking out to the horizon, I see Nature as being the regular executioner and the master carpenter. Our species has been [chref=16]willfully innovating[/chref] and chopping wood on behalf of the master carpenter for untold millennia. Sure, there is ‘progress’, but we not only don’t escape hurting our own hands, we don’t do the rest of life on earth any favors either. I can’t think of one aspect of life on earth that is better off for us being on the planet. Perhaps you can?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not humanity bashing here; we are as helpless, free-will wise, as the cows we harvest for hamburger. We have no more control over our actions than any other life form; we are just an awful lot better at [chref=48]learning, doing, and meddling[/chref] that the other ‘dumb’ species we dominate. We are a [chref=3]clever[/chref] animal and that [chref=18]cleverness[/chref] costs us dearly.

Hmm, perhaps this more of a downbeat commentary than usual. Ouch! Have I been chopping wood on behalf of the master carpenter? I suppose.

In literal’s ballpark:
When people don't respect death, why use the fear of death.
If we could enable the people to always respect death and be in wonder,
And we caught and killed them, who would dare.
Always have the killer manage the killing,
A man taking the place of the killer killing,
Is to said to be taking the place of the great craftsman.
A man taking the place of the great craftsman rarely never hurts his own hands

And even more literal
the people not fear (respect) die (to the death, extremely)
how (to no avail, do something to a person) use (take, according to, because of, so as to) die (to the death, extremely) of fear (dread).
like (if) send (enable) the people always fear (respect) die (to the death, extremely),
and (as well as, yet (not) do (act, act as, serve as, become, be, mean) strange (queer, rare, surprise, wonder, astonish, -ist -er (person)
I (we) need (must> get> satisfied> be ready> catch) and (as well as, yet (not) of kill (weaken), who dare.
always have take charge of (attend to, manage) kill (weaken, -ist, -er (person) kill (weaken).
man take the place of (be in place of, acting) take charge of (attend to; manage) kill (weaken, -ist, -er (person) kill (weaken),
this say (mean) take the place of (be in place of, acting) great craftsman.
man take the place of (be in place of, acting) great craftsman, hope (rare) have not hurt his hand (hold, handy, convenient, personally).