Cobie

And there are many! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_supernatural_beings_in_Chinese_folklore

Just stare blankly, but don’t let your eyes go glassy or they’ll lock you up.

I did dislike lurkers already anyway, but for me here’s another reason:

Good on you. And imo you do not qualify for the moniker ‘lurker’, 110 posts is definitely chatty enough for me.

(I privately think) that’s beyond creepy.

Yep, confirmation bias. That’s why imo longwinded discussions are pointless. Imo best to state your opinion once or twice and then leave it at that.

I don’t think so.

I don’t think that’s “unskillful, superficial, even disrespectful”. I skip loads, some posts are too long for me to read.

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… Where’s Daniel when he’s clearly needed here! You joined last month and already made 23 posts. This is not “lurking”, that’s being a very active member. Nice to have you on the forum.

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Exactly.

I agree. I think lurkers are creepy. I find them of poor character. Taking only and never giving. Having access to my PPD, I don’t like that.

Yes, I agree with this as a statement. * And it follows from ~~~ * please note this is not referring to it being or not being a correct translation of Ch.1, that topic is closed.

@Taoist Texts would be able to help you, I think.

Yes, I agree with this as a statement. * Thanks for posting that. ~~~ * please note this is not referring to it being or not being a correct translation of Ch.1, that topic is closed.

A native speaker would associate all the possible uses when seeing a character. To translate a character with one English word, will never capture this richness in meaning. But to use more words is imo not an option, because then I’d lose the beauty of the terseness of the DDJ language. The DDJ is so beautifully crafted, all thought through to the extreme.

Yes, that I see a lot in the DDJ. It makes the verses so rich in meaning.

Yes, indubitably so. The meaning of a character depends on the context. The context is the whole of the DDJ.

Yes I agree, this is indubitably so. Yes I agree, it’s quite different.

Terebess Henricks 2000, Ch. 25 又状虫成， 先天地生， 敚[糸禾]， 独立而不亥， There is a form that developed from primordial chaos That was born before heaven and earth. Silent and still, it stands on its own and does not change. ... 可以为天下母。 未智（知）其名， 字之曰道。 吾强为之名曰大。 It can be regarded as the mother of all under heaven. Not yet knowing its name, We refer to it as the Dao. Were I forced to give it a name, I'd call it the Great. 大曰筮， 筮曰远， 远曰反。 The "Great" means "overflowing"; "Overflowing" means "going far"; "Going far" means "to return." 天大、地大、道大、王亦大。 国中又（有）四大安（焉）， 王居一安（焉）。 Heaven is great; the earth is great; the Way is great; and the king too is great. In this realm there are four greats, and the king counts as one of them. 人法地， 地法天， 天法道， 道法自然。 Humanity takes as its model the earth; The earth takes as its model heaven; Heaven takes as its model the Way; And the Way takes as its model that which is so on its own.

@Daniel re. entities Ch. 25 (*) , mentions 5 entities ( 人, 地, 天, 道, 自然 , see last 4 lines). Dao “developed from” (first line: 又状虫成 ); Dao takes 自然 as “its model” (last line: 道法自然 ). 自然 does not have a “model”, it’s “that which is so on its own” (last line: 道法自然 ). The origin, 自然 , is unknowable (** ). ~~~ * Terebess Henricks 2000, it’s in the next post ** see my 自然 thread https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/54593-zi4-ran2-自然/?do=findComment&comment=1003399

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