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dao

  • A Mantra on the Way

    After spending the last year translating Dao de Jing with my dear friend and good brother, Lu Wenlong, a new “mantra” or phrase has become a regular part of the day. Dào does; I should not do. In my not doing,… Continue reading

    A Mantra on the Way

  • Daodejing 3

    #3* Do not encourage excellent abilities, [1] [and] keep people from contention; do not value rare goods, keep people from stealing; do not flaunt the desirable, keep people’s hearts undisturbed. Hence, the governance Of the sage Empties their hearts Fills their… Continue reading

    Daodejing 3

  • Daodejing 4

    #4* Dao is empty yet when used, it seems never endless. Bottomless, yet it seems like the progenitor of 10,000 things. [Blunt the sharpness, Remove the distractions, Soften the light, Blend with the dust.] [1] Formless, yet it seems like existence.… Continue reading

    Daodejing 4

  • Daodejing 2

    #2* Under-heaven all know the reason why the beautiful is beautiful: the existence of the ugly; All know the reason why the good is the good: the existence of the bad. Therefore, to-be and To-not-be beget One another, Difficulty and… Continue reading

    Daodejing 2

  • Daodejing 1

    My beloved friend, LU Wenlong, has been graciously going through Laozi‘s great work with me. He transliterates directly from the Chinese into the English, and then we dialog for a bit about an expressive translation. In doing this, I have found that many… Continue reading

    Daodejing 1

  • George Zimmerman, Propriety, and Losing Way

    Got up this morning and began looking through the reactions about the George Zimmerman acquittal. As usual, Charles P. Pierce over at Esquire magazine’s Politics Blog caught my eye… Thought experiments are useless now. Of course, if the races of… Continue reading

    George Zimmerman, Propriety, and Losing Way

  • Daodejing 44

    #44* Fame or life: Which is dearer? Life or fortune: Which is most valuable? Gain or loss: Which is more harmful?  Hence, excessive love Is bound to great cost. Too many possessions Is bound to great loss. Knowing satisfaction, [1] Avoid… Continue reading

    Daodejing 44

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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