Harmonious Emptiness

to still your ego erect a fence if he mows... The lawn in the nude...

On the issue of charging small amounts of money, I think that the main imperative is that the dharma is spread. If you have something that you find valuable but give it away for free it may not be viewed as having any value and then it does not get spread. This is a basic marketing strategy, though it usually involves hundreds of dollars, rather than a bunch of quarters.

I'll add my take on the written characters of this chapter, not to say this is the only or definitive way to grasp their poetry: 出生入死 With the appearance of life there is also death 生之徒十有三 those who pursue life are three in ten 死之徒十有三 [thus] those who pursue death are three in ten 人之生動之死地亦十有三 Those who live dangerously while pursuing life are also three in ten 夫何故 There is one who is unlike these others (3+3+3 =/= 10) 以其生生之厚 because he thrives on deep and magnanimous 厚friendship blossoming [in his heart] 蓋聞善攝生者 Affixing, and protecting within, the good善 known by all, he grasps and understands the secret of all life (lit.: cover, understand, great good, absorb, life, + particle to create adverb) 陸行不遇兕虎 Walking the earth without encountering tiger or rhinoceros 入軍不被甲兵 Passing through a battalion without wearing a soldier’s armour .... This 厚 deep friendship guarded within allows him to know when he is trespassing on others. I think this applies to encountering animals in the wild as well. If they see you are not a threat, nor want to encroach on their boundaries/personal space, and you are not afraid for yourself (which leads to defensive response), you are less likely to be perceived as a threat. Not being afraid for yourself also shows courage which can protect from predators. This is, in a way, giving up the ego, which some perceive as part of, or the meaning of, resurrection.

Thank you for sharing your work here Dr. Wang. If I may, Is "appearance" an implication of the word 欲 yù/desire here? I can see how "true wu" incorporates "without desire" while not stating it explicitly, assuming that that 欲 was referring separately to both appearance and desire. It seems I was not far off from the same track when coming up with 無名天地之始 One cannot conceptualize where Heaven and Earth came from (as they did not come from a concept.) "Without name: the origin of Heaven and Earth" 有名萬物之母。 There can, however, be a concept of where the myriad children of Heaven and Earth came from (: they came from the concept(s) of Heaven and Earth). "Existing: the name of the mother of the myriad things" Thanks, Dan

There is a range. There is Wu-Wei at an every day level, non-action/non-contrivance, where contriving to be non-contriving is at odds. Then there are further practices where one's organs pulse with the universe like the tide pulses with the moon. There's more and more to be said about it, and it will vary from teacher to teacher, school to school, individual to individual.

I it really comes down to the rest of the chapter too, since all of this is explained clearer and clearer as the chapter continues. I like your wording though. They work as a stand-alone stanza, which most stanzas do in the original words of the DDJ. Sometimes I realize that the fun I have with translating is like when I played tetris as a kid. Flipping the English sentence around until it fits what was already there, while keeping future structure in mind, and leaving space open for different contexts when possible.

Do you practice any other Qi Gong? I suggest contacting Michael Lomax, TTB username: Ya Mu. Something you can try to smooth it out: while standing or lying flat put left hand on top of right with right thumb around the left wrist so centers of hands are lined up. rub in circles from solar plexus around to dantien, pushing left at plexus and pulling right at dantien do this until you feel ready to switch then switch hands and directions. Another thing you might try is brushing hands down down from the hips, down the front of legs to feet and brush stagnant energy off from the toes, swirl hands around and come back up the ankles, up the back of the legs, up the lower back, over the kidneys to the solar plexus (this massages the organs), then push down the front again. Repeat about 9 times or whatever is comfortable without straining yourself. If doing these both, do the second one first. Do them with calm and attention to the sensations they produce, letting them happen spontaneously on their own.

Thanks for the help CD. i usually at least compare that website and the other one when I'm not sure of the word, though the other one goes more into the radicals which is needed I think especially for poetic style. A quote for the earlier discussion, from The Huainanzi: "At the very beginning, people were born from non-being and formed of being. Once they had form they were constrained by things. If they can go back to where they were born and be as if formless, they are called real people. Real people are never separate from the great unity." (Cleary trans.) Sorry, I don't have the original characters.

lol, thanks ChiDragon, and no that wasn't insulting at all.. I'm getting "delicacy" from: http://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/character-etymology.php?searchChinese=1&zi=%E7%9C%9E 眞 Pictographic. Picture of spooning out food from container being cooked , representing its original meaning of "delicacy"

Well that makes a lot more sense for the Taoist usage of zhen 眞 than it formerly meaning "delicacy."

Hey, come on Chi Dragon.. no need for thinly veiled personal attacks.

Okay, so here's a better way to say lyrically what I had above, which fits the meaning. 道可道 The Dao that can be taught 非恆道 is not the eternal Dao 名可名， terms and concepts, honourifics and explanations 非恆名 can never be that which is glorified I've seen that 名 can mean honoured and glory, so this is a helpful way, to render the phrase in English. Enduring+not =/= "never" exactly, but it works in the sentence for the English construction of the phrase. Interesting notes about Heng and Chang. I think you could get the same meaning of true/whole from the English word "eternal." These three words seem to be made from the same clay.. edit: Before all this, I had "The Dao known as Dao, is not the true and everlasting Dao," based partly on Ke可/can being "a mouth consenting." Seems that hunch was leading to this same idea. However, either one would need additional notes to explain historical context. 2nd edit: On, uh, third thought... I don't know why this seemed so different to me. It really says the same thing as all the other translations but with a footnote about Mo-ism.. Okay... sorry for thinkin' out loud..

... 'scuse, wrong place

Thanks, and yes, could use some tweaking for lyrical aesthetic.

A light seemed to turn on for me yesterday, while going over the first lines of the Dao De Jing. I had mentioned before that I felt "Dao Ke Dao" referred to something similar to Legge's translation "The Dao that can be trodden." Dao is a path and it is also following that path. This needs to be read in context of the fact that Mo-ism was a predominating philosophy of the time, predating Confucianism, which talked about 道 Dao as a way of ethics or dao-de. When starting the treatise on Dao-De, the first thing that needed to be established is that Dao is mystical! It is not merely a way of human ethics and behavior! So: 道可道 The Dao of accepted precepts to be followed by humankind 非恆道 is not the eternal Dao Laozi is showing that the Dao extends far beyond the mere rules that govern human behaviour! It is the way that governs all nature and gives birth to Heaven and Earth! 名可名， The names and accepted descriptions, 非恆名 can never be that which is glorified These descriptions and precepts are not the Eternal Dao, the Vast Greatness(see chapter 25, or commentary in my personal practice discussion). So there you have it (I believe)! "The Dao as a way of precepts to be followed by humankind Is not the Eternal Way!"

Hi Kris, Here is a free pdf you can download and print of "The Neiye." It's more of a manual for mediation in daily life versus sitting meditation, but you can easily apply it to sitting meditation as well. If you can't download from a public computer, you can also find it online under "Nei Yeh."

Could we pin this in the Taoist Textual studies?

Sure, the Tao is not simply a logical concept, yet: DDJ chapter 20: "The thing that is called Tao Is elusive, evasive. Evasive, elusive, Yet latent in it are forms. Elusive, evasive, Yet latent in it are objects. Dark and dim, Yet latent in it is the life-force. The life-force being very true, Latent in it are evidences. From the days of old till now Its Named (manifested forms) have never ceased, By which we may view the Father of All Things. How do I know the shape of the Father of All Things? Through these (manifested forms)!" (Lin Yutang trans.) The Dao can be spoken of by examining its many manifestations, especially by their "sudden and indistinct" beginnings; but these examinations are only of temporary images, so no definitions will forever fully describe what is Dao.

Also will add, when you're relaxing in song, think of your nerves (which are connected to liver/wood element) as plant roots. When dry, they clutch the earth. You want to relax the roots, like they just received pure water, expanding and drinking, and releasing control.

Morning frog in throat? Qu'est-ce qu'on regarde? Bleue, blanc, rouge yin yang grenouille?

feeling and breathing through the pores, meridians life, trails, streams, rivers

brewing till sunrise new moon began this Monday ferment by silence

I wouldn't mind seeing, not a one world religion, but rather a dissolution of the boundaries between religions. For example, Christian generosity and humility, Buddhist non-attachment to ego, Native American appreciation of the Creator and Creation, Daoist wisdom and understanding of the inner and outer worlds. These things exist in all the traditions but for some reason people are expected to choose one or the other rather than just accepting that they are all looking at the same painting. There should be no reason that people can't go from one tradition to another, like a bit party house with many rooms. That's pretty much how I see it. Sometimes I like the party in the kitchen, sometimes in the living room, sometimes in the basement. No reason to stay in one room our whole lives.

While we're hating though, I will add that there is a distasteful level of dogmatism here sometimes, ironically coming the most from people preaching their anti-dogma-dogma or anti-belief-belief, or "only my way is the real way." Sort of like the fundamentalist-atheists or fundamentalist-scientists. On that level, I'd agree with superdao that some people need to take stock of what they don't really know.

Well, superdao's sharing his point of view, most of what people post here is just their point of view. Occasionally someone adds "all other points of view should be stricken down and banished from the face of the earth." I'm not sure superdao knows what adhering to Dao, to One, can mean on a simple everyday level, which is the lion's share of what Daoism instructs. One does not need supernatural powers to achieve this, just some control over the emotions, mind, and will. Then there is becoming a body of light which, sure, probably nobody here is going to achieve/become. I think most of what people are here for is akin to figuring out how to jump the Mexican/American border and find a better life on the other side. Some have teachers and apply for citizenship, others are just looking for the best route to charge through the fence. Either way, there is some experience to be shared, for what it's worth, though you need to learn how to spot accuracy and fluff, and investigate where your going as many trails don't really go anywhere. Besides, a lot of stuff is self evident whether read somewhere else or not, for example (I forget which Daoist or Buddhist text it was in) "when a mirror shows your ugliness you consider it a good mirror, yet when someone accurately points out your error you hate them." Makes sense to me, so I'm sharing it. Nothing wrong with this.