ChiDragon

Chapter 51 was actually introducing Tao and Te of Tao. It was all about Tao and Te of Tao and human was not mentioned. 1. Yes, lines 1 through 7 were the introduction of Tao and Te. 2. Yes, lines 10 through 17 are making a listing of the good deeds of Tao. 10.Tao engenders it, 11.Te fosters it. 12.Grow it nourish it, 13.Let it grow to maturity, 14.Foster it and protect it. 15.Produce it but not possess it. 16.Keep it but not restrain it, 17.Raise it but not control it, 18.Is the abyssal virtue. Line 18 was coming to a final conclusion that lines 10 through 17 are the abyssal Te(Virtue) of Tao. 3. ..... 4. The virtue of man was referred as the good human conduct e.g. morality and good behavior. 5. Human who follows the Te(Virtue) of Tao, but not the te(virtue) of man, was considered to be following the guidelines of Tao. One who follows the guidelines or principles of Tao was considered to be a Taoist which was being Virtuous. Thus a Virtuous Taoist was considered to be the one who follows the Te(Virtue) of Tao. In other words, a Virtuous Taoist is different from a virtuous person which who follows the morality guidelines. A Virtuous Taoist is more toward following the concept of Wu Wei but not excluding the morality. Those who follow the morality principles are said to be Confucians. 6. These ego lessons were taught in other chapters of the Tao Te Ching. I don't see them, here, in this chapter.

Why so serious? The Universe just laughs, It's so serious!

Chapter 4 - The Fathomless Tao. 1. Tao is a vessel and its function seems inexhaustible. 2. Abyss, aha! It seems like the ancestry of all things. 3/7. Fathomless, aha! Unconscious or conscious. 4/8. I don't know whose son he is, 5/9. It seems like before the heavenly god. ***** lines 3 through 6 seem to be out of context. They were reappeared in Chapter 56***** 1. 道沖而用之或不盈。 2. 淵兮似萬物之宗。 3. 挫其銳 4. 解其紛， 5. 和其光， 6. 同其塵， 7. 湛兮似或存。 8. 吾不知誰之子， 9. 象帝之先。

dawei... Please make the following correction. ChiD Most straightness seems crooked, Most skillful seems inept. Most eloquence seems stuttered. Vs Wu The greatest straightness looks like crookedness. The greatest skill appears clumsy. The greatest eloquence sounds like stammering.

Ref link:GD Version 45 1. 大成若缺， 2. 其用不币。 3. 大盈若中， 4. 其用不穷。 5. 大巧如拙， 6. 大成若诎， 7. 大植若屈。 ------------------------ 8/1 躁胜寒，(impetuous overcomes cold) 9/2 青胜然（热），<--- 然(ran2) was in error, 热(heat) was replaced. 10/3 清清可以为天下定。<---清清(pure pure or clear clear) makes no sense neither, 清靜(pure quietness) is more proper. 8/1 躁胜寒， was corrected by consensus because the logic did not make sense. Illogical: 8/1 躁胜寒,(zao4 sheng4 han2) 8/1 Impetuous overcomes cold, Consensus: 8/1 靜勝躁，(jing4 sheng4 zao4) 8/1 Calmness overcomes impetuous This is more logical and makes more sense. Ref link: Wang Bi Version Received or Wang Bi Version 45 大成若缺， 其用不弊。 大盈若沖， 其用不窮。 大直若屈。 大巧若拙。 大辯若訥。 靜勝躁， 寒勝熱。 清靜為天下正。

1. The greatest straightness looks like crookedness. 2. The greatest skill appears clumsy. 3. The greatest eloquence sounds like stammering. These statements seem illogical. I see that they were not translated in accordance with the character 若（ruo4）. I don't see any of the lines that says this "looks, appears or sounds". 5. 大直若屈 6. 大巧若拙 7. 大辯若訥 1. "The greatest straightness looks like crookedness." The straightness only can be seen by illusion to make it seem like the crookedness. 2. The greatest skill appears clumsy. How can a skill job appears to be clumsy...??? 3. The greatest eloquence sounds like stammering. How can an eloquent speaker sounds line stammering...???

EXACTLY.... PS... There was no such thing as damaging dantiAn(丹田).

Link: the major chinese language qigong forum

Thanks Y'all for your open mindedness. Let's give line 6 an impartial evaluation with a scholastic approach. 6. 大巧若拙。 6. da4 qiao3 ruo4 zhuo2 Definitions from Etymology. Ref Link: 巧(qiao3) 1. 巧(qiao3): clever; witty; ingenious; artful; skillful; a clever feat; a stunt; pretty; cute; coincidence; coincidental; coincidentally; opportune Ref Link: 若（ruo4） 2. 若（ruo4）：　similar to； like； Ref Link: 拙（zhuo2） 3. 拙（zhuo2）：　stupid； crude； poor(works, etc.)； slow and clumsy； a conventional term referring to oneself All the tentative translations: a. The greatest skill appears clumsy. b. Great intelligence seems stupid. c. Great skill seems to be clumsy. d. Most skillful seems inept. By our reference, line 6 did not mention a notion about "intelligence" directly. Indeed, the majority use the word "skill" for translation. All these statements are superficial and paradoxical. Since we are dealing with classic text, a further interpretation was required. Let's look at c and d; they seem to be the closest translation. They are really saying: The most skillful person should act like that he is incapable of what he is good at.

Is not always sweet. The fruit that faces the sun, Always the sweetest.

Here is my understanding of the paradox in the first seven lines. 1. Most perfection seems lacking, 2. Its function is endless. 3. Most reality seems vacuous, 4. Its function is inexhaustible. 5. Most straightness seems crooked, 6. Most skillful seems inept. 7. Most eloquence seems stuttered. They were saying: Even you are most perfect, and skillful but don't display these fine qualities. Just show the opposite to avoid envious conflicts from challenging individuals. In other words, do not glorify yourself and always display yourself in a humble manner. Hence, this will help you to go a long way. 8. Calmness beats testy. 9. Coldness beats heat. 10. Serenity and calmness are the norm for all people. These three lines are suggesting that one should stay calm, at all times, so one won't be deceived by the fallacies in any adverse situation. Indeed, one had won half of the battle already.

1. No. 2. Breathe deeply to the abdomen? Yes, most definitely. 3. Yes, most definitely. That will increase your alertness and vigilance. 4. No. 5. Optional 6. No. 7. Yes, most definitely. 8. No. Note: If one doesn't concentrate on breathing during meditation, then one is defeating the purpose of meditation.

Chapter 45 Serenity and Calmness are the norms Translation in terse English: 1. Most perfection seems lacking, 2. Its function is endless. 3. Most reality seems vacuous, 4. Its function is inexhaustible. 5. Most straightness seems crooked, 6. Most skillful seems inept. 7. Most eloquence seems stuttered. 8. Calmness beats testy. 9. Coldness beats heat. 10. Serenity and calmness are the norm for all people. 1. 大成若缺， 2. 其用不弊。 3. 大盈若沖， 4. 其用不窮。 5. 大直若屈。 6. 大巧若拙。 7. 大辯若訥。 8. 靜勝躁， 9. 寒勝熱。 10.清靜為天下正。

Chapter 67 - The Three Treasures 1. I have three treasures. 2. I hold on to by safekeeping them. 3. First is mercy, 4. Second is humbleness, 5. Third is not dare to dwell before others. 6. Merciful, thus makes one brave. 7. Humbleness, thus makes one encompass. 8. Not dare to dwell before others, 9. Therefore, one can beome a patriarch. 1. 我有三寶 2. 持而保之： 3. 一曰慈， 4. 二曰儉， 5. 三曰不敢為天下先。 6. 慈故能勇， 7. 儉故能廣， 8. 不敢為天下先 9. 故能成器長。

LaoTze would have had let Nature take its course by letting the person go without delay. Chuang Tzu would have had celebrated for someone's death because it was ending all the miseries that the person was going through. That was why Chuang Tzu was beating on a pan and singing for the death of his wife.

1. I don't quite follow you here. Edited to add to rephrase line 3 as a scenario only: "Gain and loss of fame and goods" or death which is more harmful? Would that fall back into sequence...??? 2. Of course we could say: Possessions or life, which is more beneficial? In line 3. 得與亡孰病。 The character 病(bing4) is a negative thought as opposed to "beneficial". It may be a good interpretation if one wish to twist the meaning but not a closest translation within context per se. Edited to add: PS... If you put line 2 into a positive sense, then you would be braking LaoTze's habit. LaoTze likes put a positive thought in a reverse negative logic.

1. Fame or life which is more intimate? 2. Life or goods which is more precious? 3. Gain or death which is more harmful? The translation was considered within context as I had indicated. If lines 3 was translated as: 3. Gain or loss which is more harmful? Then, the value of life has been ignored as life mentioned in lines 1 and 2. Suppose a question was asked in this way: 3. Gain, loss or death which is more harmful? Wouldn't you say that death is more harmful and life is more important to you....???

1. 名與身孰親。 2. 身與貨孰多。 3. 得與亡孰病。 4. 甚愛必大費。 5. 多藏必厚亡。 6. 故知足不辱。 7. 知止不殆。 8. 可以長久。 Good question, I think you are wondering about this character 亡(wang2) in lines 3 and 5. Normally, 亡(wang2) means death. 1. Fame or life which is more intimate? 2. Life or goods which is more precious? 3. Gain or death which is more harmful? If we look at the lines 1 and 2, they were asking something about fame, goods and life. In line 3, it was asking about the gain of fame and goods; then the death which was related to life. 5. 多藏必厚亡。 5. Excessive storage(of goods) may result in a heavy loss. In line 5, it was talking about the storage of goods which was related to loss instead of death. In the classic text, only, the character 亡(wang2) means loss here. In modern Chinese, 亡(wang2) will not be used in such manner. Edited to add: I did a further investigation, the character 亡(wang2) does have the meanings of "death" and "loss". Again, in modern Chinese, 亡(wang2) was seldom used as "loss".

Chapter 44 - Knowing Your Limitations - Revised Translation in terse English... 1. Fame or life which is more intimate? 2. Life or goods which is more precious? 3. Gain or death which is more harmful? 4. Superfluously in love(with fame) must pay a high price. 5. Excessive storage(of goods) may result in a heavy loss. 6. Therefore, one with content will not be ignominious, 7. Knowing when to quit ended with no risk, 8. Can be long lasting.

This is not weird, if you really understand the meaning of Chi Kung. I'd given the definition of Chi Kung here for many times. Let's me give it another shot. Chi Kung is the ultimate method of breathing which needs to be practiced to its perfection for cultivating energy. Many people, mistakenly, thought that Chi Kung was cultivating energy but actually it is not. Chi Kung is really cultivating breathing to breathe as much air(chi) into the body as possible. The more air(chi) circulation in your lungs, the more energy which the body can be generated. The reason you hear that man's voice from his breathing because he is the master of the art. He was demonstrated that he have reached to a point where he can manipulate the air circulation in his vocal cord. Ultimately, he can project his voice to any magnitude and duration. I had practiced Tai Chi and Chi Kung for more than thirty-five years. I can manipulating my voice and a good singer.

hehehehe.......... This is only part of the learning process of the Tao Te Ching. All misunderstandings are ironed out only by talking it out. Nobody will have the last word, until all the reasons are being depleted.

If we are talking about the term Chi in Chi Kung, let's stay within the definitions of Chi Kung and keep the other definitions away to avoid confusion. In Chi Kung, Chi means breathing. The dan tian, here, was referring to the "one down and beneath the navel (low dantian)." Have the Chi sink to the dan tian which means take a deep breath by sending it down the the low dantian(the abdomen). Under this condition, your abdomen is fully expanded which causing the diaphragm to be flattened allowing the lungs to hold more air. That's what it means but nothing else. PS... Dantian is only a location of the body. It is not a part of the body.

"Let it go. No response needed." This was the MSG. This was analogous to to an old saying: Only the ruler was allowed to set a fire, but the people were not even allowed to light a candle. Sorry. If that wasn't what you meant, please forgive me for my over sensitivity and stupidity.

All words have meanings. I can only follow your words fanatically but not blindly. I got your "shut up" MSG. Therefore, I will not respond to any of your posts even though my words were seriously criticized.