ChiDragon

Again, you are making the same mistake by breaking down the character to radicals. In classic, 夫 means "therefore" if put in front of a phrase. BTW You will not find this definition in the modern non-Chinese dictionary. Again, you cannot learn this character on your own without additional help. It took me months to research this character to come to this conclusion. One didn't know this definition; but it doesn't mean it is not. BTW The character doesn't use in this manner, anymore, in the modern Chinese language.

The definitions for 常(chang) as a noun are as follow.... Chapter 16, 52, and 55: 常(chang): a normal routine. Break time, TBC.....

ME.... Yes, it did. In classic, it was written in metaphor. That is the fun part about reading the classic; it is just like a riddle. You said, sometime ago, that you want to learn how to read classic. Now, it's your chance.

So, you did understand the hidden message of Chapter 50. Nice, that makes me feel good that the translation went through....

Look who's talking....... PS....... In that case, it would be interesting to look into "heng and chang", scholarly, with a new thread.

No, the manifest aspects of Tao are only making all the myriad things visible which indicate that Tao does exist. We can only observe the boundary of Tao. We can only be spoken of Tao but not seen. Thus Tao is always invisible. Do you know what Tao look like....???

Chapter 50 Translation in terse English: 1. From birth to death, 2. Those who lived longer are three out of ten, 3. Those who die sooner are three out of ten, 4. Some of the people could have lived longer, 5. But they choose to run toward death, 6. Also, three out of ten. 7. Then, why so? 8. It was due to their extravagant way of life style. 9. I heard one who knows how to preserve life, 10.Walking on land will not meet a rhinoceros or a tiger. 11.Enlisted man will not be harmed by weapons. 12.Rhinoceros has no chance to thrust its horn. 13.Tiger has no chance to utilize its claws. 14.Weapon have no chance to cut with its sharpen edge. 15.Then, why so? 16.Because one has not entered a fatal environment.

Yes, I can say that Tao is not visible.

A modifier or adjective is, normally, in front of a noun. In this case, 恒道(heng Tao), heng(eternal) is in front of "Tao" which makes Tao eternal or the eternal Tao.

19 heng(恒) and 6 chang(常) in the two pages Tao Te Ching reflects both the MWD-A and MWD-B If you are using Firefox, you can go to View/Find and copy the character into the Find window. Then click "Highlight all". Start counting but ignore the first two for both characters. It is because they part of the explanation.

Description of LU11

I have posted this copy somewhere, before, showing all the changes and corrections were made to the Tao Te Ching. However, pinyin is not very convincing. It would probably make it more confusing. FYI Both characters "heng" and "chang"were used in the TTC at the time. There were more "heng" than "chang". Later, all of the "heng" were changed to "chang" because of the name of the ruler.

So, you didn't understand it neither......... PS...... Like you said, I couldn't help it. Just got to give it to you.......???

I am, myself, not you, no beginner. I can say this much. It is not the correct posture that determines the hurting sensation. At the beginning, even the posture is correct but it's inevitable for the leg muscles not to be painful. There is a painful period for the practitioner to be getting over the hurdle. Some take longer for the endurance which depends on the physiological condition of the practitioner. Finally, what it mounts to is the amount of time and effort that one puts into the practice for a stronger leg foundation.

It is a linguistic problem to begin with. I am not against anything else.

Are you kidding me......???

What is the character for "jiu"...??? “living longer" is not = (chang sheng 長生) (chang sheng 長生) = living forever. "living longer" doesn't mean live forever. I see there is an indication that something will die eventually.

vacuous

Okay, so what? It still didn't make any sense.

stillness

It seems to me there is something wrong with the logic. How can a formless called the real person. Let me make it real simple to understand by comparing with two religions, Buddhism and Taoism. In reality, 1. The ultimate goal of a living Buddhist monk is to become a Buddha. 2. The ultimate goal of a living Taoist priest is to become a Zhanren(a real person). A Zhanren is a living person who tries to keep his body in good health with no sicknesses from Taoist cultivation. By Taoist cultivation, it means that Taoists are in celibacy, eating special diet, and practice chi kung to preserve their bodies for longevity. In reality, if a Zhanren can live over 100 years, may be considered to be an immortal. In mythology, an immortal is when the soul left the body and rose to heaven. Note: This is only my understanding gathered through out the years for my own interest. It may not be used as facts for research.

3. 無，名天地之始。 3. Invisible, it was named as the origin of heaven and earth. 4. Visible, it was named as the mother of all things. 5. Hence, when Tao is always invisible, one would grok its quale. 6. When Tao is always visible, one would observe its boundary. 7. These two come from one origin but differ in name, 8. Both are regarded as profound. Profound and more profound, Annotations: Line 3. At the beginning of heaven and earth, Tao was given a name as "Invisible(Wu)". Line 4. After all things were created and manifested, Tao was given a name as "Visible(You)". Line 5. When Tao is always invisible, one would observe its characteristic of obscurity. Line 6. When Tao is always visible, one would observe its limitations. Line 7. Both of them with names, Invisible(無) and Visible(有), are describing Tao in its two states of appearance. The two states were formless and manifested. Line 8. Both names are obscure and profound.

Here are some of the possible definitions: (1)长久；固定。(forever; definite) (2)恒心。(perseverance; determination) (3)寻常；普通。(frequent; common) (4)规律；法则。(routine; principle) (5)伦常。(ethical tradition) (6)副词。经常；常常。(adverb: frequently, always) (7)副词。犹尝，曾。(adverb: tested; not long after)

Wow, the other member did come forward. Welcome back! 宁......

The quote of Qinqie (James) Wang is a bit ambiguous. My understanding are as follow: 1. Heng is eternal. Thus "heng" is only apply to the "eternal Tao" which does not focus more on "living longer" of the myriad creatures. 2. 長生 means "living forever", it doesn't mean "living longer". 3. The eternal Tao is not cyclical. It is true that Tao has no beginning or ending. Thus it is not cyclical. 4. Tao is not like a substance nor an energy which can be used or used up. 5. The word "living" seems not quite appropriate to be applies for the eternal Tao. Tao is obscure with some potential power to create but Tao is not a living being. Hence, Tao does not need to strive for living a longer life.