CALL ME MAGGIE

Dao de Jing

Personal translations & commentaries on Lao tze’s timeless classic

  • Daodejing 43

    #43* The softest entity under heaven gallops [1] through the hardest. The intangible Penetrates the solid. [2] Therefore, I know the  the benefit of wú-wěi. [3] The teaching without words. The benefit of wú-wěi: Few under-heaven Keep pace with this. *Translation by LU… Continue reading

    Daodejing 43

  • Daodejing 42

    #42* Dao begets one. One begets two. Two begets three. Three begets 10,000 things. The 10,000 things carry YIN on their backs and embrace YANG. Yin and Yang contest Then blend each with the Other in harmony. People detest most… Continue reading

    Daodejing 42

  • Daodejing 41

    #41* The person having most excellence who hears DAO practices assiduously. The person having average excellence who hears DAO only practices on occasion. The person having least excellence who hears DAO laughs at it. Yet, if DAO were not laughable,… Continue reading

    Daodejing 41

  • Daodejing 40

    #40* The motion of DAO: returning. The usage of DAO: weakening. 10,000 things grow by having. [1] Having generates from not-having . [2] *Translation by LU Wenlong & Keith Wayne Brown, ©2013. [1] Having –> 有 [Yǒu]: to have, to exist. We might put here… Continue reading

    Daodejing 40

  • Among the Chrysanthemums

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    Among the Chrysanthemums

  • Daodejing 39

    #39* In the ancient days: grasping one. Heaven grasping one: clear and bright. Earth grasping one, tranquility. Spirit grasping one, effective. [1] River valley grasping one, fullness. 10,000 things grasping one, growth. Kings grasping one, leading under-heaven. Draw this inference: Grasp one. Heaven without clear and bright, splitting open.… Continue reading

    Daodejing 39

  • Daodejing 38 Redux

    With this poem, we begin the Book of DE (the second part of the Daodejing, the poems on virtue or excellence).  #38* Magnificent excellence (DE): Acting without thinking of being excellent. Acting thus is authentic excellence. Debased excellence: Keeping up… Continue reading

    Daodejing 38 Redux

  • Daoist Immortal

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    Daoist Immortal

  • Daodejing 37

    #37* The Great Way (DAO): Never doing (WU WEI) but always doing all. If kings can follow this, the 10,000 things will grow and develop spontaneously. During the course of growth and development, whenever arises a desire to do… I… Continue reading

    Daodejing 37

  • Pǔ or the uncarved block

    Very often, translators render the Chinese word Pǔ into English as “the uncarved block.” The term refers to a state of pure possibility (what the Greeks mean by DYNAMIS). This describes the original condition of the mind before the happening of… Continue reading

    Pǔ or the uncarved block

  • Daodejing 36

    #36* To shrink it, expand it. To weaken it, strengthen it. To demote it, promote it. To take it, give it. Call this subtle brilliance: Bending and weakness overcomes rigidity and strength. *Translation by LU Wenlong & Keith Wayne Brown,… Continue reading

    Daodejing 36

  • Daodejing 35

    #35* Grasping the appearance: all will come along following without quarrel. Tranquility Peace Quietude Sweet music and good food catch the passersby (like bait). When the Great Way (DAO) is spoken: dull and tasteless. Seeing it: not enough to be… Continue reading

    Daodejing 35

  • Daodejing 34

    #34* DAO (Great Way) everywhere. Left or right, all around. On It, the 10,000 entities† relying nurturing, never rejecting. Achieving completion without needing recognition. Feeding the 10,000 without being the master. Forever without desire: It can be called small. The… Continue reading

    Daodejing 34

  • Daodejing 33

    #33* Knowing others: lucidity. Knowing self: brilliance.† Defeating others: strength. Defeating self: discipline. Contentedness: wealth. Perseverance: will. Never losing self: endurance. Dead yet unforgotten: longevity. †The characters translated in these two lines both contain the glyph for sun. Lucidity is… Continue reading

    Daodejing 33

  • Daodejing 32

    #32* DAO (the Great Way) always and forever without name. Simple and small. Nothing under-heaven can rule over the Great Way. If Kings obey this, all under-heaven will follow them spontaneously. Heaven and earth† join together: sweet dew will fall… Continue reading

    Daodejing 32

  • Daodejing 31

    #31* Powerful weapon: inauspicious instrument. The person on the Way disapproves of such instruments. Such are disgusting. The worthy person in daily life respects the Left as place of honor.† The person in time of war regards the right as… Continue reading

    Daodejing 31

  • Daodejing 30

    #30* The minister who relies on the DAO never threatens all under heaven with violence. Surely such an action must lead to retaliation. Wherever troops walk, weeds grow After the time of war, must come the time of famine. The… Continue reading

    Daodejing 30

  • Daodejing 29

    #29* Desiring to possess all under heaven by force I think this never works. All under heaven is sacred. It cannot be taken over by force. It is uncontrollable. Possessiveness destroys; Control loses. Hence, the sage “does nothing” (wu wei)†… Continue reading

    Daodejing 29