Sketch

Verse Sixteen When you go into the empty places Remain silent and sincere. All the things in the world, the dancing scorpions and everything else, arise. Look at them. The so-called grown up gathers the flowers And leaves the roots alone To replenish. Yes, return to the pathways of life. See clearly what is coming; when you don’t know what’s going on, Things get fierce, and ominous. Keep learning, keep updating yourself. The world is open to the public, So the public is really in charge. Being in charge is representing the workings of the universe, and the universe is made of how things work out on their own. Things just keep on going! The trail is long, but with no shape, no form - is it real? Which one of the scorpions, which flower is apart from the whole? The job of ruling is watching things happen in spite of you. The duty of the ruled is to live as if there were no rulers, or as if their edicts were weather, more or less natural obstacles to overcome.

Verse Fifteen The good old ways were subtle, delicate, but no longer very well known. People kept themselves to themselves, and they were strong. They had self control, like they were crossing a stream in winter. Cautious, like they were afraid of bothering the neighbors. Respectful, like guests. They made themselves scarce, like melting ice. They were simple and useful, like a grain silo, or like a piece of wood with the bark still on, unprocessed, unshaped. They were broad and open like a valley. It is hard to see through muddy waters.They learned to let them settle and had the practiced skill of maintaining their calm. They had the ability to move through the green unripe world,To keep the trail clear. They didn’t stockpile wealth, just made sure they had enough. They left wiggle room, and room to respond to changes and challenges.

I note that the complete quote from Robert Bly appears in the previous thread.

“The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit. Once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning. Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him?”

My awareness of the Shadow as an idea in self knowledge goes back to my first exposure to Daoist ideas as a kid - Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea books. By my early twenties, I'd also read a bit of Jung, mainly as a response to a psychology course I'd taken and very much disagreed with. (Freud to Frankl to Skinner- which still seems a viscious and ill intentioned arc). Ensuing years of creativity and exploration , along with the drinking games that are part of any demimonde or floating world, had me believing as so many do - that my shadow was particularly dark and fierce, nothing to mess with. My public persona as a busker, a street performer, reinforced illusions - casting false shadows in all directions. Constantly moving meant that the light source was never in the same place - relative to me - that I expected it to occupy. Now we have a small cottage, we've been here a few years. Orion, long time companion on scattered early boat launchings, camp breakings and late returns from the bars, strolls predictably between the cedars. In "A little Book on The Human Shadow", Robert Bly talks about the long bag we drag behind us, filling it up as we go. Later in life, we may start to take things out of the bag. while doing that, I notice that my shadow is no special monster, no devil, just a small thing I cast. Altogether, I'm still far too wrapped up with Kerouac, and Li Bai, so, Among the blossoms waits a jug of wine. I pour myself a drink, no loved one near. Raising my cup, I invite the bright moon and turn to my shadow. We are now three. But the moon doesn’t understand drinking, and my shadow follows my body like a slave. For a time moon and shadow will be my companions, a passing joy that should last through the spring. I sing and the moon just wavers in the sky; I dance and my shadow whips around like mad. While lucid still, we have such fun together! But stumbling drunk, each staggers off alone. Bound forever, relentless we roam: reunited at last on the distant river of stars. —translated by David Bowles April 20, 2014

Verse Fourteen When you look and you just can’t see Might as well be from the land of Yi Listen and cannot smell or hear And it literally might as well be in Greek. You’re just projecting your desires If you can’t get a handle on an idea, It might be too subtle for you to grasp. Your sensory inputs don’t get along; They keep needing to be scolded. So mix them into one thing. Let them settle so that The upper bit is not bright white and clean, The lower bit is not dim and gloomy, Or invitingly dangerous. It casts no shadow; what it is you cannot know. The line, the rope has no name. It turns back into nothing. It has no form, it has no physical image. No name, so there’s no way to spell it. It’s blurry and indistinct, You won’t see the head And you’ll never see the other end go by. This is the way to understand the present, and the beginning. This way of doing things is following the trail marker. 道

I'm stashing my images - just phone snaps of notebook pages - by uploading them to a free blogspot site (one I've used as a more or less blog for years) and linking from there. Left click on an image and it says "copy image address ", among other things. Copy that, paste it into the post and By clicking on the image you can manipulate size and other parameters before posting.

One of my favorites, and one I'm sure I'm enthusiastically mistranslating because of the delicious narrative I'm percieving.

Verse Thirteen To show favor to the disgraced Will scare the daylights out of them. It is very expensive to worry about your body; About survival, about becoming poor,or even homeless. So what do the disgraced have to be afraid of? To show favor is to lower someone, to show that they are your subordinate. Being singled out for favor is as scary as disgrace. This shows that being favored and being humiliated Follow the same rules. Why would someone tell big, expensive problems To a subordinate? The ancient city of Yunwu is in ruins. It has vanished into clouds and mist, The name is Remembered as a quality of Tea still grown in the region; Served at that moment that it is hot and steaming. They had big, expensive problems. The putative author of this account claims to have been there, Not identifying himself as acting as a “the person you should emulate ” in any way At the time. I suppose he was younger, and still foolish. In order to achieve the same level that our putative author Occupied at that time, One would have to solve An unspecified but finite Number of fairly expensive problems. Things pass by, into the past , under the sky; If you are easy going You may depend upon the sky To remain overhead; for events to follow their natural course, For water to flow downhill and so on. Love the body which does the work. It’s all of the power you have under the sky. 云雾 yun wu Yun, Clouds Wu, Mist Shifting nothing Clouds and mist The “Cloud Tea” of Le Mountain 無 wu “it is not” The thing that is not there. Why should I tell some subordinate about my big deal money problems? In my younger days, Before I was as wise as I am now, I was there at Yun Wu When the kettle came to boil; I was lucky to get out with my skin. They still grow tea there, But under different management.

Verse Twelve Five colors dominate the eyes and blind them. Five sounds dominate the ears and deafen them. Five flavors dominate people’s mouths So they don’t know what they are tasting. Excitement over racing, hunting and other sports can dominate the people and make them act crazy. Going to a lot of trouble to acquire goods dominates people, makes them Walk a crooked, cursed path. This is why the the person you should emulate Is in their belly, not in the sights their eyes can see.

Thinking about this always makes me pull the furniture away from the walls a little.

Verse Eleven Thirty spokes together, A wheel has one hub. It’s the nothing in the middle that makes the wheel useful. Clay is fired and made into utensils; But it’s the nothing in the middle that Makes them useful. You chisel a doorway so you can use your rooms when you build them. Look at the empty space to see it’s use. There was nothing there in the first place; The doorway let’s you into the original Empty space that was there before we built the house.

Your life is just a thing you carry from campsite to campsite. You are not your skills and memories, not really. How could those things stay? Taking specific, fine control of your breath will make it soft and supple. Is this the skill that old bears and newborn babies have? If you make your thoughts a deep clear pool how will you see your defects? Love people, learn the skill of getting along. Heaven's Gate opens and closes. Does this mean it is female? If you can train animals, how can you not get this flash of insight? Live with it, Raise it. Live and do not be possessive of your life, Or even of the things you use every day. Work on the wordless techniques. Lengthen, do not cut - once you start, continue, practice basics repeatedly throughout your life and it will be longer. These are the deep inherent qualities to develop.

Hence "everything one can possibly lose"

Being able to gather things and hold them Is not the point of anything. Brandishing a sharp tool Is not the point of a sharp tool, not even A weapon. A warehouse full of valuable metals And precious stones Is useless if you’re just hoarding resources. Being wealthy is expensive Horses are expensive to maintain And arrogant pride comes with all that territory. It focuses your attention on everything one can possibly lose. Work to satisfy the body And step back. The sky, the weather, the planets in their orbits follow this same trail.

Verse 8 The best thing is to follow the rules that water does. The good thing about water; It benefits all living things And does not play favorites. It lives in the places all people find a hostile environment. It flows along to where everything winds up going! Look, the river flows right beside the trail. It is good to live on the land It is good to have a deep heart It is good to give with compassion, To speak truth Take care of the things you are in charge of In an upright manner. Work up to your level of ability. Do things in their season, Timing is essential Then the so-called grownups Will have no reason to bother you.

Verse Seven The sky is far and the Earth has endured, The Sky and the ground are so big, and have existed for as long as they have Because They have no separate existence apart from one another So, they have endured since times long past. This is the reason the person you should emulate Is behind their body But their body advances They perceive themselves as if From outside their body But they still get along And take care of things That need taking care of. What they don’t have Is the fault Of a flawed private self They have the old ability The skills, the techniques To fend For themselves. 能 Neng The original letters almost Seem to say that they are some kind of mythological Bear like creature That the sage is like an old bear Or better still, A mythological Bear like creature Who knows how to fend for themselves. Without evil personal flaws, They are able to just Do what they need to Pick berries, catch a nice salmon, Just wander around Being some kind of bear like, Mythological creature.

Thank you.

Sounds a bit more organized and easy than hanging them in the vestibule. Although the sketches are not so much a journal in this context; I'm not putting them up in chronological order or as I make them. Also I was hoping to continue to place my translation notes in the threads dedicated to those chapters of the DDJ; I hope they can be seen as a contribution to the general pool. Thank you. Dan

Verse Six The Valley has a spirit, it is not dead Depth itself Is a mystery a man could learn about By learning from Women. The deep female mystery is the gate The root and foundation of heaven and earth Soft softness, compliance, shaping to fit circumstances, shapes that harbor and retain Function without effort. I'm remembering my father Teaching me to catch A spiral pass with a football Yelling “soft hands” across the field. “when spirit began to degenerate into intellect, there set a reaction against it, … the dark, earth-born, feminine principle with its emotionality and instinctiveness reaching far back into the depths of time and into the roots of psychological continuity.” — Carl Jung

This was like a Magical Kung Fu Manual, like the Nine Yin Manual. I mean the results were there to use and misuse, I sleep like an unstrung bow since I read it and using it as a practice seems to support other, more vigorous postures, well.